I knew much less about Eastern Europe than places like Vienna, Paris, and London. Viking found interesting things to show and I learned a great deal about these countries. Lots of opportunities to sample local cuisine and meet local people. If I could only do one cruise in my lifetime, it would be the Rhine, but since I've already done that, I'm very glad I chose this one. It helps me understand European history and the impact of Communism to see what these countries really look like and to hear from local people how Communism impacted their lives. The natural beauty of this part of the world was very impressive, especially the Iron Gates. The Dracula things on the pre-extension were fun too. Doing the pre-reading for Dracula was very helpful and added more depth to the sites we were seeing. Understanding the dam construction and the positive and negative impact on the people and environment was also helpful.