Cruising Begins

We left Budapest at 5.30 pm last night and began our journey along the Danube.  The night lights of Budapest from the water were quite spectacular.  The evening had a Hungarian theme, with traditional food and an orchestra which accompanied the most amazingly athletic and talented folk dancers (two females and 4 males) as a floor show.  The girls wore the most intricately embroidered outfits, and the men black boots and  with a white bell-sleeved shirt underneath.  The girls were so light on their feet that they seemed to float, whilst the men stamped and slapped their boots very loudly and with great agility.  This was truly a treat for them to demonstrate for us.

This morning at 5.30 am we passed through the first of 68 locks between Budapest and Amsterdam.  A slight amount of vibration was the only indication that this was happening.

The meals have been amazing (both quantity and quality), and they even made Moët Chandon champagne available for breakfast this morning.

Today there was a rather sad event which has sobered the general mood on the ship.  We made an unscheduled stop, police and an ambulance were called, and afterwards a hearse arrived.  A lady had passed away on board, and we watched her distraught husband leave with the police.  Very sad.

Tonight we will arrive in Vienna

Cruising the Danube at 25 knots

Judy, Marie and Constantin the waiter

Bridges on the Slovakian border

More towns along the border

Fire drill on the Top Deck.

The bar where it all happens nightly !

Houseboat, Slovakia style !

The tour of Budapest

The tour of Budapest was interesting.  Communist influence in some of the buildings is obvious, being flat and uninteresting.  The city is renowned for its hot springs and spa baths.  The Danube splits Budapest in two - Buda on one side and Pest on the other.  Buda is very hilly and Pest is flat.  They say there are two sorts of people in Budapest - those who live in Buda and those who wished they lived in Buda. There are some very expensive houses on the hill overlooking the Danube.  Zsa Zsa Gabor's old house was there along with the piano player Liszt.  The river is the major attraction with many cruise boats like this one coming and going each day. 12 moored here today but there must be dozens travelling each night as they cruise to Amsterdam and back.  

The guide this morning told us that Hungary has always come second - every war, the second longest river in Europe, the second largest Parliament House, the second oldest Cathedral, the second oldest bridge, etc etc.

We leave for Vienna late this afternoon before a Hungarian evening with their food and dancing.  If the wine flows like it did last night, it will be a good evening. I noticed that many did not catch the buses at 9 am this morning -  must be the change of diet !!!!!

This cruise is the highlight so far and we have not even left the dock yet.  This Scenic Tours "Jewel" was only launched in Feb this year, so is almost brand new.  Have met many nice people and the staff are exceptional.  The majority of the tourists on board are Australian, with a couple of Canadians and New Zealanders.

The Boat in Three photos - the bow

The Midships

The Stern

The top deck ( half only )

The Blue Danube

Guns left behind by the Russians - note bullet holes in the wall behind.

The rebuilt Catholic Church- roof tiles similar to the Cathedral in Zagreb

Parliament House opposite where we are moored, a magnificent building.

Bridges over the Danube at Budapest.

Budapest - A Beautiful City at night

We have arrived on the cruise boat at Budapest, and had a wonderful introduction to cruising.

The meals and the all included drinks could be a problem, they just keep coming and the meals, wow !

This boat which is the latest and best boat they have built is unbelievable.  The quality of the cabins and the size is amazing. Hopefully the photos will give you some idea of how magnificent this boat is.

Yes we have met some Canadians already and they are nice.  They enjoy a pre dinner drink, so we had to join them.  

The boat went up the river tonight so we could get some photos.  I can not believe the length of this boat. It is 135 metres long and that is a big boat, even longer than our barge at Eildon.  Wow what an introduction to a cruise.

More drinks have arrived and more people, I think this is going to be one hell of a ride !!!!

The Train to Budapest

The driver arrived at last with the tickets for the trip to Budapest, which was a relief as we only had minutes to go to purchase more tickets if he did not arrive.

When we arrived at the station we were on our own.  Many platforms and many trains all looking the same.  Instructions at the information centre were that the first three carriages go all the way to Budapest so get on there.  Problem was -which direction did the train go as we could have easily got on the wrong end .  The train had no engine so who knows.  I asked the man cleaning out the rubbish bins and he knew so all was fine.

The trip was long, hot, and uneventful. ( temp. 35 degrees again and the same tomorrow)

6.5 hours in a partly air conditioned train that stopped for many small stations and three passport checks. The countryside in Hungary ranged from bushland, fallow fields, corn crops and sunflower fields.  We passed a very large lake - at least one hour on the train (Lake Balaton)

 As soon as the passport checks were complete, the backpackers poured into our first class carriage and the singing began.  All was fine and we were met by our driver and off to the hotel.

Dinner tonight was at a small street restaurant, with our table being a flat piece of timber atop an old metal sewing machine base including the foot pedal.  (See photo below) Judy's mother had one just the same.  Food choices were fine, and menu available in English.

This is a very good hotel, and we have been upgraded to a Junior Suite which is very comfortable.

This is the huge lake that we passed on our way to Budapest.

Holiday accommodation by the lake.

The hotel at Budapest.

The table for dinner was made from an old Singer Sewing Machine.

Statue of Zichy outside the Palazzo Zichy Hotel.

The Tour of Zagreb

Zagreb has evolved over many years from the old town with the wall to the lower town built on the swamp below with a river separating both. The river which had water wheels along its banks became very dirty (butchers tipped their scraps into the water, and other unsavoury habits made the water quite polluted).  This small river is a tributary of the Sava River which flows into the Danube.  It has been piped and covered to become an underground clean stream, and the water wheels taken over as bars and restaurants.  The third section of Zagreb is the new town, about 5 kms south on the banks of the Sava River.  All three are now joined as one city which houses about 1 million residents. The population is slowly decreasing, with most families having one child only.

The man on the horse in the main St Marks square is jelavic (Joseph). He saved Croatia when the Hungarians came to take over the country.  He is the hero of Croatia, but when Tito arrived with his communists, he destroyed the Statue and cleaned out the old history.  In 1945, the locals were rid of Tito and they found the ruins of the statue of Joseph on the horse, put the pieces back together, and that is what we see today in the Square.

In the High Town an elderly Christian lady lived in a small apartment, and spent much of her time praying.  One night in 1731 one of her candles set a fire alight, and with most of the buildings being constructed of wood the majority were completely destroyed.  She survived, as did the painting of Madonna and Child in her home.  This painting is now displayed in a memorial at the entrance to the Stone Gate, and revered by Catholics.  

The earliest currency here was mink skins (minks are plentiful in Croatia and Bosnia).  The name for a mink is "Kuna" which is where the currency gets its name.

We had an excellent guide for a walking tour for two hours this morning.  There is so much to be learned about the history, buildings, people, geography, and politics which would be missed if you just walked around yourselves.  

The fenicula was out of service for maintenance during the peak tourist season

Traditional clothing worn by the girls in Croatia

Tiled roof on church. Tiles made in Hungary in shape of coat of arms of Croatia.

Cathedral of Assumption - 19th Century (took over 100 years to build and one earthquake to destroy!

Krishna enthusiasts

Statue in St Marks square

This spot was where the criminals were beheaded !!!!

The main market open 7 days per week.

Zagreb

Having only just arrived in Zagreb, we have little to report.  Had an interesting time trying to find where to return the hire car.  Had the address and put it into the GPS but it was not accepted.   Tried to google the location but got a different address to the one we had ???   When the hire company tried the drop off point they could not find their own office in Zagreb and said we will put the centre of Zagreb into the GPS and when you get there, just look for a very high building and that will be the spot !!!  Not satisfied, I asked the hotel reception to ring this hire company and ask which address. The answer was that both addresses were correct but don't come to either as roadworks will not permit entry and then gave us another address which would not work in the GPS!!  We allowed 2 hours to drive to Zagreb and 6 hours to find the drop off point.  So off we go.   125 kms and got there in just over an hour.  I sat on the speed limit of 130 and was by far the slowest car on the road.  At one point I passed a vehicle at 140 and was flashed by a car from behind. As he went past I estimated he was travelling at about 200 kph !

We were led by the GPS to one of the addresses and believe it or not, we got out of the car, saw a high building and there it was, the hire car company.  The office was just behind the roadworks, but closed !!!

Eventually we located the operator and all ok and safely in our nice cool hotel. (35 degrees today outside).   

 Zagreb has an old part with a main square, and trams run through the centre.  Population of Zagreb is approx. 1 million and is the capital of Croatia.  Unlike Australian cities the population here has remained fairly static for years.

The road here was through very beautiful country.  Many pretty little villages every few km.  Lots of green bush, with cleared areas for farming corn, grains and vegetables (no more vineyards this far inland).  Have not seen any sheep, cows, or beef cattle anywhere, although a few pigs on a small farmlet.  

We have been told everywhere that the water is potable, but taken no chances - bottled water only.  The food is good, particularly the healthy European breakfasts, and the white wine and coffee are excellent.  Main meals usually come with some form of potatoes plus cooked green spinach.  The number of Pizza restaurants is outstanding.  Most seem to eat Pizza either for lunch or dinner.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

This National Park is the largest in Croatia, and in 1979 was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites.  Australians have only recently started coming here.  The park is well organised with tourists being able to walk clockwise or anti clockwise around the park to reduce the mass of people on either side.  By walking, boating, walking then getting on a road train and then more walking, the whole tour takes about 5 hours.  It is spectacular and photos do not do it justice, or at least mine don't.  The wild life, the limestone cliffs, the colour of the water and the multitude of long waterfalls all add to give an awe-inspiring experience.  Travertine is  found here (our new patio), and the forest is mostly beech.   The colour of the water in the lakes is an unbelievable clear turquoise blue, which reminds me of Lake Pukaki in the Sth Island of NZ where we went for our honeymoon 45 years ago.

What a great day!!

It snows here in winter.  There are photos taken in winter, with the waterfalls appearing as frozen icicles - can you imagine how beautiful those photos are?  

Plitvice Lakes

Set out from Split this morning in a very nice black Citroen.  All mod cons including GPS, but so much automation we had trouble finding the handbrake, air conditioner controls and alarm release.  LH drive of course.  Drove along the beautiful coast for a while to Trogir then cut across to the main A1 autobahn which runs through the centre of Croatia.  Travelled inland through very high barren limestone mountains - very high bridges and long tunnels (one must have been at least 5 km long)

The A1 is an excellent toll road which would have been very expensive to build and maintain (who paid??).  It is well signed and has a 130 kph speed limit.  Most cars were travelling much faster.

We are now staying at a very nice guest house about 5 km from the Plitvice National Park entrance.  The photos below are all taken here.

Among the tourists we hear a small sprinkling of spoken English, a little French, and the majority impossible to tell (most likely other parts of Europe). There are not many from Asian countries.