Melk,Passau,Bamburg...all sounded very exotic and the brochure promised a relaxing river cruise through central Europe on the Danube River. Great...but I started to get a little nervous when, two days before the trip, I traced the latitude lines eastward and discovered that our trip, in November, would require taking coats. Living in Orlando is a false representation of winter weather.
So, off we go to our first river cruise. We went one day early and stayed on Margaret Island in Budapest (my husband still doesn't believe that these are two cities...Buda and Pest.) My son, who was in the Army years ago, stayed on Margaret Island during a week of R&R that he was given when stationed in Bosnia. Of course, he saw a different Budapest than we did, but he did give us some great information. Dis you know that one of the most beautiful McDonald's is location in the Budapest train station?
The Viking Freya was our longboat selection and while we have traveled on many blue water cruises - this would prove to be quite different. First off...no need for those annoying ear patches. Second....the boats are much smaller and rooms are too...we upgraded to allow for 44 years of marriage. Third....don't plan on spending too much time on the upper deck due to potential decapitation of your head. Half of the time it was off limits due to low bridges....and anyway...who would want to be on the upper deck with 40 degree weather?