Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 17

Monday, August 28

Flights: Vienna to Amsterdam to Atlanta

We woke up at 6:00 to take Uber to the Vienna airport.  What an easy way to get around.  Some European drivers are maniacs.  They follow on the bumper at 60 mph.

We had a nice breakfast in the business class lounge and boarded our KLM plane to Amsterdam.  There is no difference, apparently, between tourist and business class sections in Europe except that the airlines don't book the center seat on each side.

We changed planes in Amsterdam.  Since we had flown from an EU country, we didn't have to go through passport control.  And our luggage was checked through to ATL.

We arrived ATL at about 5:00, tired but happy to be home.

Decided to try Lyft from the airport to Decatur.  Made the mistake of choosing Lyft Line thinking that it would simply take several people from the airport.  Instead it picked up one on the way, making our bleary-eyed trip from the airport very bad.

Home again, we began our week-long recovery from jet lag.

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 16

Sunday, August 27

Vienna, Austria

Yoyi is still sick.  We rented bikes and rode around town; our first stop was a pharmacy. It was not easy to find one open on Sunday;  even then, the business was not exactly open.  The pharmacist opened a trap door/window, through which we discussed Yoyi's malady.  She had just the thing;  we purchased some tablets that actually helped.

Bicycling for free

The bike sharing program in Vienna is essentially free.  For 1 Euro and the registration of your credit card, you join the bike share community.  Then every rental is free up to 1 hour; the second hour is 1 Euro, and the 3rd hour is 2 additional Euros.  What a deal.  We kept a bike over an hour and used up our 1 Euro registration, but never paid an additional cent.

We visited one of Beethoven's homes. The plaques on historical sites give the most abbreviated description of what you see.  In some cases just

a couple of the works he composed here. 

We decided that this was probably the house that the children's book "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" was based on. And no wonder poor Beethoven was a grouch during his last years. Deaf and having to climb four flights of steps every time he came home. 

Strauss monument in Stadtpark

It was very touching to walk around the same place Beethoven walked around.  Well, actually, his flat was the one across the hall, but it's owned by someone who wouldn't give it up to the museum.  Instead, the city made a museum of the identical flat that we visited.

We also went to Mozart's house, but just saw it from the outside. This city has been home to some of the world's greatest composers. 

Of course, we made the obligatory visit to the Stephansdom -- the main cathedral.  Needless to say, very impressive.  After a little wandering around, we went back to the hotel where Yoyi spent the rest of the afternoon trying to build back some strength.

Ed went out on a bike ride by himself, just wandering the city aimlessly.

Franz Schubert

At the end of the day, we rode bikes again to the Stadtpark, in which there are statues of most of the famous Viennese composers, including the famous memorial to Johann Strauss.  A genuine beer garden is found here, as well -- Biergart'l im Stadtpark. Ed is in love with the beer here and, believe me, he wouldn't pass a sobriety test if he were given one. The beer is really good.

We spent the evening packing up for our return trip tomorrow.

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 15

Saturday, August 26

Vienna, Austria

Yoyi is sick. We try to take it a little easy.

We stayed in a very pretty place that used to be a monastery. Little did we know that there would be lots of crosses everywhere, including one on top of each bed. I'm reminded of Abuela Yoya, for those of you who know what I'm talking about. 

Holocaust memorial
in Judenplatz

What's a little bit freaky is this full-size saint of some sort that stands in a hidden corner near the elevator. Every time I go by him, I gasp. He's a little eerie.

This morning we walked around the neighborhood and passed Judenplatz, where there is a Holocaust memorial and a couple of congregations, including the main synagogue.  We talked to security to find out about mincha, where we showed up later in the day to find out that the fellow had given the wrong information.

In the garden at Schönbrun

We walked past the Hofburg and caught the hop-on bus to Schönbrun, where we strolled through the spectacular gardens of the palace.  There were many "Aaron's trees," as Ed and I like to call them -- unnaturally perfectly trimmed trees and shrubs. 

Mozart, himself

Then, exiting the palace grounds we ran into Mozart on the street.  The street performers impersonate the great Austrians all over the city, but especially where there are large numbers of us tourists.

I had to have lunch at a Wienerwald restaurant, as I had when I was in Vienna 50 years ago.  Neither the atmosphere nor the food was as good, but oh well.  Afterwards we walked to the Naschmarkt, a LONG street with permanent booths for restaurants and vendors.  Markets are always fun to visit.  

Main Synagogue in Vienna

We took the tram back to the hotel to rest, and then went to Schwedenplatz, near the Danube canal, for ice cream, while waiting for the time we had been told for mincha services.  At the appointed time we walked to the nearby main synagogue to learn that there would be no mincha.

When we got back to the hotel, Yoyi was feeling especially "punk," so I went out into the neighborhood and found some chicken soup that she could have for dinner.

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 14

Friday, August 25

Esztergom, Hungary
Budapest, Hungary
Vienna, Austria

Breakfast at the bnb was special.  The hostess doesn't normally serve breakfast, but prepared one for us, with fruit, bread, coffee, and various specialties.  The coffee creamer packets were sealed with covers depicting Hungarian historical sites, including the Dohany Street Synagogue.  We left an additional sum to cover the breakfast.  The rent for the room had been about $19.

Former Esztergom synagogue

This morning we visited the town of Esztergom, where we saw the erstwhile synagogue, now a community center.   I many of these small towns, everyone knows where the synagogue -- or the building that used to be a synagogue -- is located.  We also visited the huge basilica, which is the seat of the Catholic Church in Hungary, as well as the largest church and tallest building in Hungary.  We strolled around the town, taking in the riverfront and parks, as well as the 19th century architecture.  

Afterwards we drove back to Budapest through a national forest.  In Budapest, I dropped Yoyi at the train station with the luggage, where she purchased ticket for Vienna.  I returned the car and came back to the train station by tram, where we met up.  While we took the train to Vienna, we ate lunch.

In Vienna, we called an Uber to take us to our hotel, a converted monastery right in the middle of the city.

Once we were settled in, we took the hop-on bus to get our orientation.  Yoyi was feeling even a little worse today, but didn't slow down very much at all.

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 13

Thursday, August 24

Danube Bend: Szentendre, Esztergom

Szentendre, Hungary

In the morning Yoyi started to feel under the weather.  She was a trooper.  We went to our regular little bakery for our breakfast of breads and coffee, and then took it easy for several hours, going back to the city park and looking at the so-called castle -- mainly facades that depict various historical periods.  But she didn't feel any better for the rest.

Marzipan "artwork"

While Yoyi packed our luggage, I took the tram to a car rental office where I had reserved a car.  I drove back to the AirBnB, picked her up, and we left Budapest.  We drove around the Danube Bend through some of the small towns on the outskirts of Budapest. They were so beautiful!

In Szentendre we stopped at the marzipan museum.  Sculptures of Michael Jackson, Princess Di and 101 Dalmatians, are all made of marzipan. It is so incredible and such a work of art as well as considerable works of kitsch. 

A caravan in the eye of a needle,
as seen through a microscope

In the same town we stopped at the miniature museum. Here are works of art carved into the head of a needle, a grain of rice, an apple seed and such things. You have to look at them through a microscope. l'm not sure how this is even possible. I read that the artist needs such a steady hand that even his heartbeat disrupts his steadiness, so he makes lines in between his heart beats. Can you believe it?

We drove through Visegrad, but didn't have enough time to visit the castle on top of the hill.  Oh well.

We slept overnight in Tat, a REALLY little town, in a beautiful AirBnB. Nobody in the town speaks anything but Hungarian -- other than the AirBnB proprietress.  Finding the building was challenging, since we couldn't ask directions very easily.  After we settled in, I went to the grocery to get fixings for sandwiches for dinner; even the labels on cheeses, cold cuts, etc. are only in Hungarian.  Thank you Google Translate.

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 12

Wednesday, August 23

Budapest, Hungary

Shoes on the Banks of the Danube

Budapest's Jewish history is mixed.  Jews have lived in the city for a long time, and so has anti-semitism.  The Hungarian Arrow Cross were some of the most enthusiastic collaborators with the Nazis during WWII.  There are various monuments around the city, including the weeping willow mentioned earlier in our description of the visit to the main synagogue.

The most poignant and most horrific of all is the memorial entitled "The Shoes on the Banks of the Danube."

The Nazis lined up men, women and children here. They would proceed to shoot them and their bodies would fall into the Danube River. However, before shooting them, they would order them to take off their shoes (it was freezing cold and the Nazis needed the shoes).  The memorial sculpture is a large number of shoes a the quay's edge on the river.

The baby's shoes made a lasting impression. It brings the viewer to tears. 

Public transit

The Budapest transit system is free for European citizens over 65.  We took advantage of the offer by impersonating Europeans.  Even the one time that a ticket monitor passed through the tram, we were accepted as bona fide free riders.

Fisherman's Bastion

We visited the so-called Fishermans Bastion, overlooking the river from the top of Castle Hill.  Its name derives from the medieval responsibility of the city's fishermen for defending the city of Buda -- even though the construction of the largely decorative structure seems never to have been used for that purpose.

While we were on the hill, we came upon a large traveling group of students from Bulgaria, if I'm not mistaken, who sang in the square for tips.  They were good.

City Park

We made our visit to St Stephens cathedral, required of anyone visiting
Budapest.  Then we relaxed for a few hours by taking the tram to City Park and sitting by the lake to read.  At the entrance to the City Park is Heroes Square, a collection of gigantic statues of historical figures.

At sun-down we attached ourselves to a free night time walking tour.

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 11

Tuesday, August 22

Budapest, Hungary

Holocaust Memorial at the Great Synagogue
(Dohany Ut.)

It's hard to describe how beautiful this city is.

We had breakfast at the neighborhood cafe just down the street from our front door.  Why is it that baked goods in European cities are so scrumptious?

We arrived at the Great Synagogue a few minutes before opening time, and we were at the head of the line.  At the Dohány Street synagogue is a Holocaust memorial.  The artist, Imre Varga, made a sculpture of a weeping willow. The heart-breaking thing is that each of the little leaves has, engraved on it, the names of one of the Jews  killed during the Holocaust. And all the names are not even here. Just some. It can make you cry. At one time the city had more than 250,000 Jews. After the Holocaust there were only 50,000 left, mainly those that were hidden by clergymen and other non-Jews, including Wallenberg.  Believe it or not, this is a high survival rate during the Holocaust.

Homage to Rubik

This is the famous synagogue in Budapest. Theodore Herzl became Bar Mitzvah here and was born in the house right next to the synagogue (torn down early in the 20th century).  It follows the so-called Neolog tradition, which is very similar to Conservative/Masorti.  There are few Neolog synagogues outside of Hungary.  The development of this movement dates to  the late 19th century, and its followers were ostracized by the orthodox community.

The Synagogue building also contains a Jewish museum, with the expected ritual objects, but also historical materials, like playbills from the Jewish theater.  It also has some grave-stones from Jewish cemeteries of the Roman period.  The rehabilitation of the synagogue and other Jewish communal buildings and activities were financed in part by Hungarian ex-patriots, like Estee Lauder.

Central Market
GroundFloor

Budapest is also the city of Mr. Rubik, of the Rubik's cube.  There are murals on many of the blank walls of the city, and one of them commemorates Rubik.  Why, one might ask, are there so many blank walls?  Two reasons,  (1) When buildings were destroyed either during the war or during the Hungarian uprising of 1956 against the Soviet Union, the intervening buildings were not replaced at the same height.  (2) "Socialist" architecture from 1948 - 1989 didn't pay much attention to aesthetics, so blank walls just happened.

Széchenyi Thermal Bath

We hopped on the hop-on bus and got off at the great city market.  This huge building has stalls where you can buy anything from sausage to souvenirs. We had lunch at the market, where we sampled goulasch and schnitzel, two of the signature dishes of the region.  We weren't impressed.

Parliament Building

We boarded the bus again, and rode to the huge City Park.  After strolling in the park a while, we went to the Széchenyi Thermal Bath.  Going to the thermal baths is de rigueur in Budapest.

At night we took a 2 hour river tour of the city, its buildings brightly lit.  It is a beautiful city, and seen from the river, it makes quite an impression.

We have taken walking tours, boat tours, subways, buses, trains; you name it.  We go from morning until night every day. We need to get back home to take a vacation.

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 10

Monday, August 21

Budapest, Hungary

Dohany Ut. Synagogue

What a great cruise that was. We already put down a deposit for our next one!

We got to Budapest, Hungary and disembarked after our last worry-free breakfast. The cruise had a process for leaving luggage until later in the day, and we did just that.

Kazinczy Ut. Synagogue

We immediately took a (free) walking tour of the Jewish Quarter here. The guide was great. We saw the Great Synagogue from the outside, as well as two other large synagogues.  The congregations here are named for the streets on which they are located.  For example, the great synagogue is called the Dohany U. Synagogue.  We learned a lot about the Jewish history of the city.  The guide was not Jewish, but he could have fooled us.

We stayed at a nice AirBnB in the center of town, checking in after we picked up our luggage at the boat.  It's a

whole studio apartment with a washing machine, and we washed our clothes.

The free tour of Jewish sites; our guide

We went to the Vodafone store to get a SIM card for our phones. It took FOREVER, mainly because mom couldn't remember her Apple password.

Since we have only a few days in the city, we bought a hop-on-hop-off bus ticket to familiarize ourselves with the place.  While we were at it, we added the bus for Vienna.

At nightfall, we boarded a round trip river cruise of the city center.  All the waterfront buildings in Budapest are beautifully illuminated at night, including the parliament, all the churches, and all the historic buildings.

This city is like Disneyland except it's real. There are castles and palaces everywhere and at night it is an amazing place.

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 9

Sunday, August 20

Mohács, Hungary
Pécs, Hungary

On the last full day of our cruise, we stopped in the town of Mohács, primarily in order to board buses for Pécs.   Mohács was the site of an important victory of the Ottoman empire over the Hungarians in 1526.

Liszt
on the
Archbishop's balcony

We visited the city of Pécs, Hungary, on Sunday. It was raining when we woke up, but it just drizzled lightly during part of our walking tour and then it stopped. We've had gorgeous weather thus far. 

Entering the city, we saw huge pipes running from the power plant to the city.  Apparently the whole city is heated by heat generated at the power plant.

Statues and homages to Franz Liszt are all over Hungary, but the irony is that he spent very little time in the country.

The highlight for us was the beautiful synagogue in Pecs. It is situated on one of the main squares of the city, an imposing structure dominating the square.  The sad thing is that there used to be a thriving Jewish population here and all that is left now is 200 Jews. They were all killed during in the Holocaust during the German occupation.   The occupied countries, like Hungary, have not completely come to terms with their complicity in the Holocaust.  The Hungarian Arrow Cross was responsible for a large proportion of the murders of Jews in Hungary.

During our visit to the synagogue, the tour guide had everyone singing Shalom Chaverim. It was very poignant and we got teary-eyed.

At the end of the day, we had a dress-up dinner on the boat as a sort of farewell dinner.  The entire staff was recognized and applauded.

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 8

Saturday, August 19

Novi Sad, Serbia
Vukovar, Croatia

We are visiting two towns today one in Serbia and the next in Croatia. We start the day in Novi Sad, Serbia. 

Defensive tunnel in the fort

We left early and took a hike through town to the Petrovaradin Fortress, and went through the underground tunnels. You couldn't be claustrophobic and be a soldier there. The fort is one of the largest Habsburg installations and it defended Europe against the attacking Turkish Empire. There were multiple levels of fortification. The lower-level, where the civilians lived, was surrounded by a moat. Then there were upper levels with dry moats and the military installation.  It was the newest military technology of it's day.

Yoyi is not feeling well and will stay on the ship for the afternoon today.

Landing in Vukovar, Croatia

This afternoon we head for Croatia.

The tour this afternoon focuses on the Civil War in Yugoslavia in 1991. We disembarked the ship near the town of Vukovar, which was a flash point of the war. The bus took us to the middle of a sheep farm where a memorial building was constructed on the site of the most famous massacre of the war.

The floor of the memorial:
Bullets memorialized in concrete

The last Croatian defenders of the town, besieged by the Yugoslavian army, had been cornered in the city hospital. When the Yugoslav army finally took the hospital, They marched everyone from the hospital including nurses, patients, and defenders onto the sheep farm and into a stable where they apparently tortured them. Then they marched them all out into the field, shot them, And buried them in a mass grave. The memorial was built in the reconstructed stable similar to the model of Yad Vashem. 

The entire city of Vukovar was destroyed by Yugoslav bombing, and buildings bear the scars of bullet holes and bomb blasts to this day.

Walking through the center of town.
Buildings bear the markings of battle.
Often owners have fled, and repairs can't be made.

We then visited the city museum in the Eltz Palace. This is a converted Habsburg palace, donated to the city by the Habsburg family. For a mere city museum it was very beautifully done. 

From the museum we walked back to the ship through the center of the town. The population of the town had been 40,000 before the Civil War, but now numbered only 23,000. While the nationality mix of the town is 60% Croatian and 30% Serbian, many of the Serbians that had lived there before the war left after the war. 

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 7

Friday, August 18

Beograd, Serbia

Contributions by Yoyi

Kalemegdan fortress  in Belgrade

Today we are in Belgrade Serbia.  We spent the morning taking a bus tour of the city, including the Kalemegdan fortress and the surrounding city park. We passed a few important sites including Tito's residence. We spent our free time at the end of the tour walking in the very large pedestrian streets in the heart of the city.  We loved Belgrade. What a party city! Bars all along the Danube and young people everywhere. 

Biking through Belgrade

Again, we were two of 8 brave souls that took a bike ride in Belgrade. It was 12 miles in 93 degree weather. It was lots of fun, and we kissed good-bye to the ice cream sundae we had the night before. We followed a tributary of the Danube on a bike path. There are paths that extend most of the length of the Danube river through Serbia. People have stationed rafts and houseboats along the tributary river for their homes and businesses. Apparently in the early years of independence there was no regulation and people could claim a spot on the riverbank for nothing and pay no taxes in addition. 

Taking a break on bike tour

We rode out to the end of a large park that surrounds an artificial lake. The lake is maintained as part of a set of natural filtration lakes that keep the quality of the water pristine.  Typically 100,000 people come out to this lake on weekends in the summers and there have been occasions when 300,000 people have been at this lake.  

We took a break and had something to drink at a concession stand off the beach.  We sat and watched people walk and bike past.  Yoyi took this opportunity to wade into the lake to cool off.

Serbian dance troupe

At the end of the lake there is a mechanical waterskiing pulley that allowed people to ski around the end of the lake as if they were being pulled by a boat.

At night, a group of dancers from Belgrade came on board and danced for us. They were sooo good. 

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 6

Thursday, August 17

Danube River

Today is a full day of cruising to get from western Bulgaria to Belgrade by way of the so- called Iron Gates. 

Iron Gates locks

Got a tour of the wheel house of the ship. There is no wheel. Only joysticks and video monitors. 

Relatively early in the morning we arrived at the iron gates dam and hydroelectric power station, A joint venture between Serbia and Rumania. The dam is approximately 60 m high and is one of the largest hydroelectric stations in Europe and the largest dam on the Danube River. To cruise past the dam we had to go through a two stage lock. We entered the lower stage and we were lifted up about 25 m. Then the gate was opened at the upper end and we moved into the second tandem lock in March we were raised around 30 or 35 m.  This was the entry point into the iron gates passage.

So-called Iron Gates on the Danube 

The cruise through the iron gates was between two imposing cliffs on opposite sides of the river.  There were very few towns on the river.

In the absence of shore excursions, We had a lecture on the history of southeast Europe, especially the Balkans.  Talida, the cruise director, did a very good job of putting things into perspective.

Trying to keep us amused, the cruise offered us a Balkan delicacies snack. It was a sample of three different Balkan sausages that everybody raved about.

Sculpture on Iron Gates passage

Then we had an ice cream party but they had only exotic types of ice creams.

The natural scenery surrounding the Danube River is spectacular. Tree covered mountains and cliffs overlooking the river.  A highway and a rail line follow the river much of the way. The highway traverses large high bridges and tunnels similar to the Pacific Coast Highway.

Golubac castle

While there is no traffic jam, there is considerable barge traffic on the Danube. We see barges being pushed sometimes in tandem, going in both directions up river and down river. 

Sunset over the Danube

At the end of the iron gates passage we saw the Golubac castle on the shore. 

The banks of the river began to level off, and as the sun set we continue cruising towards Belgrade. 

Danube Cruise and Exploration 2017 -- Day 5

Wednesday, August 16

Vidin, Bulgaria

Ruins of the synagogue in Vidin, Bulgaria

We spent the entire morning cruising on the Danube until we arrived at the Bulgarian port of Vidin. 

Today's excursion was a one hour bus trip to a medieval fortress and then a one hour return bus trip followed by a visit to a fortress in the town of Vidin. The alternative is a bike hike that would also include a visit to the fortress. We didn't feel like sitting on a bus for two hours on such a beautiful day.

We were two of only 8 brave passengers to take the bike tour of the city of Vidin. It was 12 miles round trip. We burned one piece of baklava. Or maybe not quite. The terrain, more or less following the river, is almost perfectly flat. Our total climbing of hills probably came to less than 4 feet. A ride of equivalent length in Atlanta would have required us to climb at least 300 feet. 

Part of our bike entourage

The bike trip started through the city park which was beautifully shaded by Linden trees along wide paths. At the edge of the park were the ruins of the city's main synagogue.  In Europe before the war, just about every town, no matter how big or small, had a synagogue.  This particular synagogue was ruined by the war, and then the Communists compounded the insult by refusing to allow it to be used except as a storage building.  

Then we followed streets that were not busy at all through residential areas. Almost every house had a vegetable garden and fruit trees in the yard. We even had to follow a highway for about a thousand feet and we weren't very much concerned about the traffic even on the highway.

Edward the Terrible

The trip continued through an agricultural area where large plots of corn and sunflowers were growing. These areas were not huge commercial agricultural installations, but were probably owned by farmers who lived in the village. Before returning we rested in the shadow of a large modern bridge that connects Romania on one side and Bulgaria on the other side. Most of the traffic was commercial trucks and it wasn't very heavy. The bridge apparently replaces ferry service which, according to our guide, was very sporadic. The ferry would leave when it was full and had no particular schedule. By my calculation, this modern bridge is the only permanent connection between Bulgaria and Romania for hundreds of miles.

Fortress in Vidin, Bulgaria

On the way back we broke at a truck stop to get refreshments. We sat at a table with the guide and her assistant and talked about school in Bulgaria, job prospects, and learning English.  There aren't many prospects in small-town Bulgaria.

The bike tour met the bus tour at a fortress that, as you can see in the photo, is ruled by Edward the Terrible. Look at his teeth, in particular. Some actors had prepared a play and we watched a 20 minute summary of 1400 years of history. Cliff Notes. We explored the fort with our guide who gave us nice interpretive insight into the the legends surrounding the building as well as the history.

When we got back to the boat, people commented, "how is it that you haven't been sweating but all these other people are soaked?"

Dance troupe on the ship

Yoyi dancing with Bulgarian dance troupe

At night a local group of Bulgarian children came on board to dance traditional dances of Bulgaria. They were so good and so, so beautiful. At the end they picked a few of us to dance with them. Yes, Yoyi was one of those chosen. It took her 5 minutes to master their simplest step, she claims. Evin, mom quips that you would have been ashamed of her. I thought she did fine.  

UPDATE 06/28/2021: In one of my newsfeeds today, Jewish Heritage Europe, May 30, 2021 reports that work will begin to restore the synagogue in Vidim.  (See above)  I just happened to recognize the ruin of the synagogue, and the town's name struck a chord.  See 

https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2021/05/31/bulgaria-vidin-begun/.  You can see what the proposed project entails and what the final product will look like.