A river cruise from Bucharest to Budapest is a sophisticated way to explore Eastern Europe
PEOPLE TRAVEL for all kinds of reasons. Some want to find better weather; some look for a beach and pampering. There are those who don’t care where they go provided they are on the move; this is the “If this is Tuesday it must be Brussels” kind of person. Others want to experience new places, meet people and learn about the history of the places they visit. We mostly fit into the last category and our trip from Bucharest to Budapest on the Danube was everything we wanted.
Our 12-day river cruise itinerary took us to Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Hungary — places that have histories dating back many centuries and are not well-known by most North Americans. We saw the effects of ancient and recent wars, communism and its lingering legacy, modern cities, small villages, ancient sites and Roman ruins. We visited people in their homes, sampled regional cuisines and were treated to wild and wonderful folk dancing.
The trip was an elegant, enjoyable eyeopener that introduced us to parts of the world that were unfamiliar and fascinating. There were many highlights but these are the things that stand out.
We started in Bucharest. Founded in the 14th century, Romania’s capital is a mix of things modern, ancient, interesting and depressing. We spent two days on our own before boarding the Viking Riverboat and walked everywhere, taking care to avoid the broken sidewalks and low-hanging electrical wires. The city’s infrastructure is in bad shape and cries for attention. We took a free, three-hour walking tour with a local guide, saw the major sites, the Old Town, ugly communist buildings and learned the history of the city from the time of Vlad the Impaler, Count Dracula, and communism under Nicolae Ceausescu and the revolution that led to his death.
Following a devastating earthquake in March 1977, the megalomaniac Ceausescu seized the opportunity to forcibly displace 40,000 people — destroying more than 3,000 homes and one-fifth of the historic city centre — to build his lavish People’s House or People’s Palace.
With an area of 333,000 square metres and a volume of more than 2 1/2 million cubic metres, it is the largest, heaviest and most expensive civilian building with an administrative function in the world. Only the Pentagon in the United States is larger. The building is partially empty but costs $6 million a year to operate.
We learned a great deal about life under the communists. Things were tightly controlled, but there was work for everyone and the state took care of everything and everyone from birth to death. There were many things wrong with the system, but today some people long for this kind of security.
The effects of communism can be seen in the general lack of an entrepreneurial spirit. Our guide informed us that bribery and black markets still exist and getting someone to do something by paying under the table is an acceptable practice.
We enjoyed Bucharest and spent hours in the old town visiting ancient inns, wonderful restaurants and sitting in one of the numerous cafés watching people come by. The Danube River and the sights along it provided continual delights. It’s not blue and probably never was, and we saw little or no river traffic. The banks were covered mile after mile with nothing but forests interspersed with the occasional village. Cottages as we know them are unheard of.
We were often surprised by something unexpected. Near the Iron Gates, between Serbia and Romania, we sailed past the 40-metre-high face of Decebalus, a Dacian king and Romanian folk hero who took on the armies of Emperor Trajan to maintain his country’s independence. He didn’t win, but centuries later in 1994, a wealthy benefactor commissioned a sculpture. It took 10 years to complete and is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe. It is very impressive.
We often docked and boarded buses for tours. One memorable excursion took us to a lovely historic Bulgarian village where we admired the royal castle, shopped for rose perfume and paprika and went to a country restaurant in Arbanasi, where we had a wonderful meal and were entertained by an enthusiastic band (complete with bagpipes) and folk dancers.
Our guides on these trips were good but
sometimes had difficulty finding something interesting nearby. Tourism is not welldeveloped in these areas and we often drove considerable distances to find something. However the buses were comfortable and one guide in particular was a wealth of information that we might never have learned otherwise.
For instance, she told us the little-known story about how Bulgaria saved more of their Jewish citizens than any other country during the Nazi occupation. When the Nazis put the Jews in rail cars and prepared to send them to the camps there was widespread resistance and outrage throughout the country. Newspapers denounced what was about to happen and 43 party members of the Bulgarian parliament walked out in protest. Before the train could leave it was surrounded by people and Archbishop Kyrill, the patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, threatened to lie down on the railroad tracks. The Nazis backed down and more than 46,000 people were saved.
Another highlight was our visit to a family home in Vukovar. The city dates back to the sixth century and is located at the confluence of the Danube and Vuka rivers. It is Croatia’s biggest river port and was severely damaged during the Croatian war of independence fought from 1991 to 1995.
The destruction was the worst in Europe since the Second World War and 90 per cent of the city was destroyed. Many of the city’s buildings are pockmarked by shrapnel and the shelled water tower has been left as a reminder. Most of it has been completely rebuilt as was the case in the home to which we were invited.
The family had abandoned their former house during the war and returned to find it demolished. The government supplied funds for a rudimentary house and the family has extended it to create a lovely, modern residence. About a dozen of us were warmly welcomed by the family, all of whom spoke English well. We were shown
through the house and garden and served coffee, tea, fresh cherry juice and cakes. Their house was modern and filled with all the amenities we have at home. The teenage daughter was receiving a good education, was about to visit London with her class and expected to visit her brother who was living in California. It was wonderful to meet these people and we had a lesson on the great resilience of people.
On the last day of our cruise we docked at Kalocsa, Hungary, and were taken to the Bakod Puszta Equestrian Centre where we were treated to a traditional greeting of drinks and bread and paprika followed by an amazing display of horsemanship.
The performance was based on the nomadic Magyar warriors and bandits who were tough, accomplished equestrians. They trained their horses to lie flat in the grasses to make them disappear or to sit and provide a backrest while their riders sat around their campfires. The riders provided a 45-minute demonstration making the horses do amazing things. It ended with a man standing bareback on a group of 10 untethered horses and racing them in a circuit.
The trip ended in Budapest, ranked as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Budapest is really two ancient cities and became a single city in 1873 when Buda on the west side of the river was joined with Pest on the east bank. We were given a tour of the city before being taken to our hotel on the Buda side of the river.
The city is gorgeous with a wonderful blend of old and modern making the city
an architectural paradise. It has almost 125 thermal springs and a great number of indoor and outdoor spas dating back to Roman times. Some spas in use today are a legacy of the Turkish occupation. We spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Gellert Baths, an Art Nouveau gem, and found that not only were we wonderfully refreshed, but our aches and pains from miles of walking had completely disappeared.
An outstanding aspect of this trip was the riverboat cruise itself. The ships are smaller, more intimate and more enjoyable than large liners. We think the cabins, food and staff are superior, and it is easier to find kindred spirits among the fewer passengers. You are taken care of very well and there are no surprises. There are several competing operators, but we chose Viking.
In addition to seeing superb sights, we learned a great deal on this trip encountering ancient histories that are seldom part of a North American education.