This was our tenth river cruise, our seventh with Viking. We chose this cruise as we had not sailed east of Budapest previously. We visited new countries and learned about life behind the Iron Curtain. As usual the service was great onboard the longship. Our cabin was a veranda stateroom. We took advantage of the veranda to watch the lights of Budapest as we set sail long after dark. These views were among the cruise highlights. Another highlight was the home visit in Croatia where we learned of her hardships during the fighting with Serbia. We visited many beautiful orthodox churches. This trip incorporated more "country life" than others that concentrated more on the bigger cities. We visited small villages as well as an equestrian center. Our only problems came at the hotel in Bucharest for our final night. Eventually things got squared away but the service did not match that onboard the Viking Jarl.