VIKING RIVER CRUISING – PART III – Austria & Hungary

April 15, 2024
There were many sights to see during Days 12 & 13 in the very large city of Vienna, Austria (2 million people). We were able to take in many of them on our favorite HopOn/HopOff Bus (called “The Big Bus” here), including the famed Hapsburg Schonbrunn Palace, plus remarkable museums and opera houses. What struck us most of all (other than the very slow-moving traffic) was the juxtaposition of so many ancient buildings with those that are quite modern. We especially enjoyed spending time in St. Stephens Basillica (note very modern building next to it, left).

           

Vienna, “The City of Music,” is an important cultural center, famous for its many musicians and composers (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss) and the Vienna Boys Choir. AND, it is also famous for its Spanish Riding School, “Home of the Dancing Horses,” also known as the world-famous white Lipizzaner stallions. The facility was commissioned in 1729 by Emperor Charles VI and is the oldest of its kind in the world. A portrait of Charles VI is displayed in the opulent baroque hall—the riding school’s performance venue. Every time a rider on horseback enters this hall, for trainings and performances, s/he stops, turns toward the portrait and tips his/her hat—forever grateful for this amazing program and the Emperor who made it all possible. We also got to take another horse carriage ride around the town as part of our tour! So much fun!

We had two opportunities to experience these magnificent Lipizzaners—first on a special “shore excursion” where we got to see the horses up close in their stalls, visit the tack room and performance venue (above) and learn about the training of both horses (8-10 years, starting at age 4) and riders (about the same, starting at age 16+). We also learned that performing classical dressage horsemanship comes naturally to these specially-bred horses—they are strong, agile, highly intelligent, gentle, and adored by the Hapsburg family. The Lipizzaners only perform on weekends at the School, and this excursion didn’t include seeing any of them in action. However, we went back the next day to witness a one-hour training and that was awesome. We weren’t allowed to take photographs here, and we didn’t get to see any fancy jumps, but we were spellbound as we watched 2 sets of riders and horses go through relaxation exercises, “the refining and perfecting of lessons and the targeted strengthening of muscles” (including the advanced long-rein training) and the cool down, all accompanied by classical Viennese music. If you ever have an opportunity to see a Lipizzaner performance, I highly recommend it. I saw them with my two daughters many years ago in Washington, DC and have always been in awe of them. There was a video playing during our excursion tour that I caught with my iPhone to share with you, but after many attempts to import it here, we can’t seem to figure out how to do it. Apologies! Maybe you could get one on Google! 🙂

Day 14 we docked in Budapest and took our final shore excursion—a panoramic tour of this beautiful city, with hilly Buda and its awesome castle on one side and the flatter, more populated Pest (pronounced Pesh) on the other side of the Danube River. This gave us a wonderful overview not only of the history of the city, but also about its highlights, including the massive Parliament building and Buda Castle, St. Stephen’s Basilica, the Jewish Quarter and its Great Synagogue, together with its many statues and tree-lined avenues and parks. We also learned a lot about the Hungarian people and their language—one of the most complicated in the world, most closely related to but unlike Finnish and Esthonian. Hungarians are quite proud of their culture, their creativity and “thinking differently.” It was here that Vitamin C was discovered and the ballpoint pen and Rubik’s Cube were invented. They also have 16 Nobel Prize winners.

Our final dinner on the boat was delightful and a bit emotional. Once again we sat with our “adopted family” from Colorado (below). Everyone we know had such a good time and we loved the people who served us so brilliantly and joyfully the entire cruise. There were lots of photos and lots of hugs and farewells, as many people were taking very early flights the next morning. This would be a good place to mention the food we had onboard. 85% of it was scrumptious. For some, all of it was, but frankly I’m not too keen on meats that have been cooking for a very long time and featured in each country’s variation of stew or goulash. I much preferred the consistently delicious caesar salad, rib eye steak, roasted chicken, soups and pasta dishes. AND, the desserts were all superb! Below are some examples of what was offered. Note the famous Hungarian paprika on one side of the pickle!

As we conclude this amazing 15-day Viking River Cruise (we LOVE Viking!), we will always remember the people and the high level of service (and food!), as well as the beautiful scenery and how much we learned about this part of the world. We continue to LOVE river cruising…it is very soothing and peaceful and relaxing.

One more thing that was also very relaxing was doing a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle I discovered in the boat library on the 3^rd day. Over a dozen people worked on it for over a week—a fun way to get better acquainted with fellow puzzlers! It was a lot harder than we’d expected so we’d cheer each other on when we’d finally find a piece. Below is a buddy from Ohio who probably found the most pieces.

Even though Gary and I weren’t disembarking until 1pm on the last day (Day 15), we had to put our luggage in the hallway and be out of our room by 9am. We made ourselves at home in the lounge and had both breakfast and lunch on the boat since we couldn’t check into our hotel until 2. We are very glad we chose to spend 5 more days in Budapest, a city of 1.7 million yet feeling much smaller than Vienna. We stayed at the Casati Hotel, a small boutique hotel right off of Andrassy Avenue, the “Budapest Champs-Elysees.” We were fascinated with its modern, creative décor, inside an 18^th century building.

One of the most fun things we did the next day was to take a 2.5 hour “Tuk Tuk” tour around the city (named for the sound of its original motor). As you can see, it’s like a motorized rickshaw, just right for the two of us and a very entertaining driver who drove us to lesser-known places. He also zipped up and down the hills of the Buda side to show us the Lady Liberty statue (to celebrate democracy) and panoramic views of the City. I was particularly intrigued with the amazing Matthias Church in front of the Fisherman’s Bastion at the heart of Buda’s Castle District. I loved its exquisite “Majolika”-style roof with its 150,000 colorful tiles. It opened in 1255!

Another highlight was an audio tour of the new House of Music, which we’d heard about from a Korean couple we dined with in Salzburg. (We find a lot of treasures from suggestions we hear as we travel.) Its modern mushroom shape was designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto and presents the history of music since its beginning in multi-faceted, interactive ways, beginning with the sounds of nature and the drum. We heard everything from 6^th century Gregorian chants, church hymns, folk music, opera and symphonies to jazz, rock and pop. The exhibit also traced the development of instruments, written music and the recording of sound and other technologies. We now have a greater appreciation of how music has affected everyone in the world, from cradle to grave, and can create a common language among all people, often transcending everyday realities into a realm far more enlightening and often mystical. This permanent exhibit is called “Dimensions of Sound – Musical Journey Through Space.” It was quite the experience and we highly recommend it. Afterward we had lunch at TGI Fridays, which used to be a favorite restaurant in San Jose. It was good to have some “American” food, including their famous loaded potato skin

We purposely planned two quieter days before heading to Croatia—the next chapter of our journey (that we are VERY excited about!). On Sunday we slept in, had a late breakfast and then both had 90-minute massages in the hotel’s spa. Ahhhhh, was that wonnnnnderful! After short naps, we showered and headed for our last scheduled Budapest tour—an evening cruise along the Danube. The boat was a bit “tired” so that was disappointing, but the views of all the magnificent buildings and bridges lit up were quite beautiful. Below is the Parliament Building and Chain Bridge.

We slept in again on our final day in Budapest, very, very grateful for all of the experiences we’ve had and the wonderful people we’ve met along the way. Thanks again for cruising along with us. Hopefully you are enjoying it too!