Day 2 Budapest
Monday, August 31 Sunny 27C/80F Chance of Rain 30%
We opted for the “Early Bird” breakfast in the lounge from 6-7 AM because our shore excursion for Budapest started at 8 AM!

When we got back from breakfast, I said we should open the curtains so we could see our nice view. I said, “Um, Paul,” and handed him his pajamas that were on the large window ledge behind the curtains. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

We had our earphones for the Quietvox system that Viking uses for walking tours. The guide wears a transmitter and microphone. We were given the receivers on the bus. This system allows you to hear only your guide even if you end up some distance away from the guide.

The tour was a combination of bus tour, walking tour and free time. We had a very knowledgeable guide who was very well versed in the history of Budapest which has a very long complicated history. Some areas of Budapest are really beautiful, but there are still remnants of the soviet era with some really ugly apartment buildings. The amount of graffiti really surprised us.

The Castle Area was absolutely stunning with great views down over the river especially from the Fishermen’s Bastion. The Fishermen’s Bastion is very lovely and looks much like a white fantasy castle.

We were glad we were in an early group, because the Castle Area was getting very crowded by the time we left.

After leaving the Castle Area, we had a short bus tour that took us primarily around the Hungarian Parliament House. It is magnificent. We had seen it the day before when we were walking over the Chain Bridge and thought that it might be a huge cathedral.

After our return to the ship, we sat in the lounge until time for lunch at 12:30. There are 2 options for lunch: A light buffet in the lounge or lunch in the dining room. Lunch in the dining room can be from the buffet in the dining room, ordered from the menu or a combination of both. We all opted for the dining room as eating in the lounge is awkward.

We originally sat at a rectangular table for 6, but decided it would be easier to talk at a round table. Our first waiter sent us to another waiter’s table where we remained for the rest of the trip.

At noon we set sail for Vienna. The weather was beautiful so we were able to sit on the sundeck and watch the world go by. The guide book sent to us before the trip was written in the reverse order of our trip so it was a little difficult to figure out exactly where we were.

The guys had signed up for a tour of the wheelhouse. They all found it very interesting, especially our friend, the engineer.

After that we all went to the Apple Strudel Demo and a talk on Viennese coffeehouses. We had coffee and strudel during the talk on coffeehouses.

At the conclusion of this, we went back up to the sundeck. One thing that surprised us was that there were a number of small sandy beaches along the river. Several times we had fun watching children wait for the wake from our boat. All-in-all, it was a pleasant, relaxing afternoon that really helped to overcome our jet lag.

Around 5:30 we headed to the lounge for drinks and our Daily Briefing. Our next stop was Vienna. During the Daily Briefing Marcela was explaining how to take the subway (underground) to Vienna center and back to our ship. It was pretty complicated, and people started giggling. She looked very puzzled until someone spoke up and said, “You have a roomful of senior citizens here.” That got a big laugh even from Marcie who then continued her complicated instructions. She also told us where and how to get a taxi back to the ship and how much it would cost (about 15 Euros).

Dinner was the Welcome Dinner. Afterward, back in the lounge there was a question and answer session with all heads of departments. Our friend, the engineer, asked a question that even the captain couldn’t answer. Part of that was a language problem, not lack of knowledge. I’m not sure whether or not he ever got a satisfactory answer; although, several people went to work on the question. Once that was over there was a music mystery quiz. We didn’t stay for that because it had been a long day with much of it spent outside.

Day 3 Vienna
Tuesday, September 1 Sunny 25C/77F Chance of Rain 30%
Our excursion for Vienna didn’t start until 10AM so we had a leisurely breakfast in the dining room. There is a breakfast buffet with all manner of choices both for European and American tastes. You can also order from a menu or you can combine a menu order with the buffet.

Again, our tour was a combination of a bus tour and a walking tour. The bus tour was a brief ride around the Ringstrasse. We had a hard time seeing out of our bus window because of the reflections of things from the other side of the bus. We left the bus at St. Stephan’s Cathedral for our walking tour which ended in front of the Imperial Palace.

Paul and I opted to stay in Vienna for lunch and the rest of the afternoon instead of going back to the ship. There were 2 things that I could not imagine leaving Vienna without doing. One was taking a tour of the Spanish Riding School.

After purchasing our Spanish Riding School tickets, we headed to Demel’s Coffeehouse for lunch. We had club sandwiches which were nothing like American club sandwiches. I had forgotten that the Germans and Austrians like to serve sunnyside up eggs with various entrees.
Our club sandwiches came with French fries and an egg on the side. We had Sacher Torte for dessert because Demel’s is allowed to use the original recipe. There are Viennese pastries I like better. The other thing that surprised me is that mocha has disappeared from the scene. This lunch was one of the most expensive lunches we have ever had.

After lunch we walked around a little and decided to check our Euros. We decided that we needed to get some. We happened to be standing across the street from a bank with a MAC machine. I did the transaction and it spit out a 100 Euro bill. Paul reminded me that we were at a bank. We went inside to a teller. I asked for 20 Euro bills. She asked me if I wanted smaller bills. Of course, I said yes. She then broke it into several denominations, and told me I should buy ice cream with the 5 Euro bill. She smiled and joked with each customer that came to her window. I suspect needing bills from the MAC machine broken to smaller denominations happens frequently.

Back to the Imperial Palace for the Spanish Riding School Tour (Lipizzan Stallions). We saw the performance ring, the exercise area, the stables with the horses in them, and the tack room. It was a very interesting tour both historically and because of the horses. These horses are really well cared for. Because they are white or gray, their stalls are cleaned every hour! Giving them vacation time is also something that is done every year. They had just returned 2 days before. After the tour we took a taxi back to the ship. Before leaving the ship, we were given a slip of paper to give to the taxi driver so he would know where to go. It cost us 14.50 Euros plus a 10% tip. (We were told that 10% was the maximum we should tip, and if the driver was bad not to tip him at all).

While we were in the city there was an optional tour to the Shonbrunn Palace. No one from our group opted for this tour.

Drinks, orientation, etc were early tonight. There were 2 seatings for dinner. The first was for those of us who signed up for an optional concert. That was the second thing that I couldn’t imagine leaving Vienna without doing, going to a concert.

When we entered the dining room the Maître d’Hotel, Zoltan, was wearing an 18th century costume. All of the waiters were wearing 18th century wigs in various states of disarray and costumes. Our waiter, Tomas, had one of the wigs that was nicely done. He said his fiancé had done it for him.

After dinner we were bused to the Kursalon Palace for a delightful Strauss and Mozart concert. At intermission we were treated to champagne. The period chairs were—um—interesting. Very small and hard.

When we got back to the ship we were told that they had prepared a surprise for us—goulash soup. We were still full from dinner, but it certainly smelled good.