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Tour of Normandy Beach, Helsinki, Stockholm, Viking River Cruise from Vienna, Austria to Bucharest, Romania aboard the Viking Rinda. Read more
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  • 23footprints
  • 10countries
  • 25days
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  • 11.3kmiles
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  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    Day 25

    Heading home

    June 28, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 79 °F

    Up at 3:00 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m. flight to Amsterdam, with a connector in Boston and back home at 11:00 tonight. Just hit Boston. 4 hour layover then home.....well, maybe not. Weather issues in Boston means a TWO NIGHT stay over because they can't rebook us until Thursday. Going to make the most of it with a stop at Faneuil Hall. Hopefully home tomorrow by noonish.

    In the meantime, my lovely wife helps out a stranger and her 1 year old getting on and off in Amsterdam...from Bucharest.

    Enjoying a lazy day at Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market , Public Garden, Boston Commons a walk down Newberry Street in Boston. Like I said, making the most of it!    Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    Day 23

    Bucharest Day 2. Final day of this trip

    June 26, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Today is going to be a lazy day spent walking around downtown Bucharest. Ended up being a 2.5 mile walk to get there and same getting back. Plus likely another mile in and out of stores. Quite exhausted when we arrived back around 330p. Ran into close to 15 "cruisers" while shopping so said some goodbyes. Gonna chill, pack and get ready for a 24-hour travel day tomorrow beginning with a 3am wake up call.Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    Day 22

    Bucharest..Final Stop

    June 25, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☁️ 81 °F

    Left Constanta in a bus for a 2.5 hour drive to Bucharest. Long day. When we arrive in the Capital City we have lunch and then off on a city tour. Check into the JW MARRIOTT and then a Sights and Flavors of Bucharest dinner at 630p until 10p. Busy last 2 days.

    Lengthy bus ride but well worth it, as we arrived safely in Bucharest. Too many things to describe, but the Palace of the Parliament is truly the biggest building I have ever seen in my life. So impressive. It is now the home to interpole as well as a national museum. And it is apparently only about 30% completed .The National Cathedral is also something to behold as is their monument to their world war I soldiers, and their impersonation of the Arche de Triomphe.
    Back in 1977 they had a 7.6 earthquake that caused a lot of trouble in the city. Their 1989 revolution which got rid of communism and their dictator, Nicole Ceausescu was another constant talking point. He and his wife were killed by a firing squad on December 25th, 1989 the exact same day that they were captured after fleeing the capital.

    The Royal Palace of Charles. The First is the photograph that has the statue of the horse in front of it. The church that is pictured was built in 1599.

    The day was capped off with a tour called, The Sights and Flavors of Bucharest. It ended up being a beautiful evening with stops at three different locations for appetizers, the next place for the main course, and the final place for dessert. I tried to take pictures of all.

    We are already looking forward to our day tomorrow, without a wake up call without a planned tour, just wandering the streets of Bucharest.    Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    Day 21

    Constanta, Romania The Black Sea

    June 24, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Arrived a little bit late due to a slow down at the locks coming into the black sea. But we arrived at our final port safely. Well safely for us, but not so much for the guy who tied us to the dock. Look about 30 seconds into this video.

    Had an excellent guide today for our tour, even though he was on puppy uppers the whole time. Constanta is the largest port in Eastern Europe and is very impressive. The Ethnographic Museum is beautiful. Ovid is the poet statue in front of the archaeology museum. St. Anthony of Padua Church was built in 1947..... even though there are only about 600 Catholic families in Constanta. And the She Wolf statue with Romulus and Remus nursing....it is an exact replica of the one in Rome.

    Finished the tour with 45 minutes of free time in the town of Mamaia. A quaint little seaside district with sky tram and little mostly not open shops and restaurants. I will stay back and Can is taking a shuttle back into the downtown of Constanta.    Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    2
    Day 20

    Pleven, Bulgaria

    June 23, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    A different kind of experience today. Still in Bulgaria, we did the included tour of Pleven. When we left the port we passed a TWO MILE line up of semis waiting in line to take a ferry boat ride 1/2 mile over the Danube to get into Romania with their goods. Similar to our experience in South Africa to cross the Chobe River . A crazy thing to see. We then passed a nesting area for storks... And this was similar to Vancouver, British Columbia.

    We went into St. George mausoleum in Pleven which was a beautiful building. We then walked through a park and the downtown area. Unfortunately, no chance to stop and shop and eat...but it was still quite lovely. Went into St. Nicholas Church, which was built in 1834. Very small and very uninspiring. We've gotten to the point where a church is a church is a church.

    Unquestionably the highlight of the day was a trip up to a museum that is called the Panoramic. The building itself was unusual and the grounds were okay. The battle of Pleven,that it was built for, was nothing more than a typical skirmish in this area of the world that took place July through December of 1877. Russia and Romania were fighting the Ottoman empire. But the layout and design of the museum was very cool. The top floor had a panoramic canvas painting of a depiction of the battle. There was lots to see for both of us.

    Two other photos of note... apparently a famous Bulgarian singer in the statue, Emile Dimitro. And at the Panoramic they say the only other collection of Gatling guns in the world. Still in working condition and can shoot over 600 rounds per minute.    Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    Day 19

    Vidin, Bulgaria

    June 22, 2023 in Bulgaria ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    Enjoyed the wonderful walk through this town. Our guide was outstanding. We toured the triangle of religious tolerance, which included a Bulgarian orthodox Church, a mosque and a synagogue. The thing that looks like the Washington monument is their statue of liberation ending communism. There is a memorial to the Balkan wars in the early 1900s, that was built in the late 1900s. The inscription reads: "The glory of the motherhood is built on the bones of those who lived and died for it.".

    Another memorial is labeled: " Memorial of the Victims of Communism".

    The fortress which we visited was Baba Vida in the old town. It is very close to the Epigraphic museum which has all those tombstones. Then we had a little bit of shopping and back on the ship for a quick 3-hour sail to our next stop, Nikopol, Bulgaria

    The video on the end is from yesterday evening when we went through the second largest lock in Europe. White Party tonight in the lounge!!    Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    Day 18

    Donji Milanovac, Serbia

    June 21, 2023 in Romania ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Not many highlights of Donji Milanovac. First Viking tour we left halfway through...in any location. Took us to a concert of the choir of the Holy Trinity Church. A quaint little place pictured herein Again, a Serbian Orthodox denomination. Then we went to the public school, no kids, to have a teacher explain the Serbian alphabet. We walked out. Very, very hot today...about 92 degrees and very little shade. I didn't take photos of the water but think of India...very dirty. We leave around 230p to "scenic cruise" near the Iron Gate.

    Finally beautiful shore lines along the not-so-blue Danube. Cruising through the Iron Gates Gorge (Danube Gorge) had many highlights including the 130 foot high carving in the side of a mountain in Romania of King Decebalus, who ruled the area around 100AD. It is actually in the city of Orsava, Romania and was carved in that mountain between 1994-2004. Yes, 20 years ago. The Carpathian Mountains are quite lovely. In this area the Danube has Romania to the north + west (left) and Serbia to the east + south (right) as we sail both south and mostly east.

    And a little geography lesson...we began in Austria and then through Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Romania, with a stop tomorrow in Bulgaria. Look at the attached map for clarity.    Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    Day 17

    Belgrade, Serbia The Capital City

    June 20, 2023 in Serbia ⋅ 🌙 79 °F

    A morning tour to check out the sights and sounds...and, this evening, a dinner in the Bohemian Quarter. The tour was quite good. The theme of war continues with all guides. Very sad that they all have experienced this as a WAY OF LIFE. For the most part, it is incomprehensible to us. The photos vary immensely between a walk in a beautiful park, Parliament Building + City Hall, St. Sophia Serbian Orthodox Church (absolutely breathtaking), tanks and more WOMD, the Fortress of Belgrade (Kalemegdan Fortress) and more. Our Cruise Director, Leonard, in shackles where he belongs. And more.

    Dinner in the Bohemian Quarter is pure Rhapsody...hey, I had to! Truth is we had no idea what it would be and it was great. Lots of food and music...the restaurant is called the Two Deers. The Bohemian Quarter was a happening place. Fun evening. Both glad we tried it out!!    Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    Day 16

    Novi Sad, Serbia

    June 19, 2023 in Serbia ⋅ ☀️ 84 °F

    Today's itinerary involves a tour of the town of Novi Sad and a strudel making workshop.

    We did a walking tour by "The Name of Mary Catholic Church" (at least that's what our guide called it), the city hall building with the statue out in front of the first mayor, the obligatory shot in front of a candy store, and we added in a giant popcorn box. Just an okay town to visit that falls into the category of, " Glad we stopped in but no need to go back".
    One of the weird things was the shot of the tank, which is just randomly there as a reminder of the past wars. So much of this entire Eastern block has that feel of "We have been at war forever.". Sad but true.

    The afternoon was spent at a Salas with Milan + his grandmother Draga seeing how they make strudel. A Salas is basically their home where everyone lives and works surrounded by the crops, chickens, horses and more. The farm was beautiful and very large....lots of different buildings. Very relaxing trip.    Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Sojourn
    1
    Day 15

    NEXT UP: Vukovar, Croatia

    June 18, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    First stopped at a tiny little church (the Virgin Mary of the Snow) and had an impromptu solo concert. Next up was Osljek Citadel (fort). Mostly deserted now...just coffee shops and 4 high schools within the fortress. A cool Ginkgo tree that sheds it's leaves ALL AT ONCE... I had never heard of such a thing. Photo of the oldest road in the city with our guy Joseph. Got a sobering education on WAR just 30 years ago in this area. 1991-1995. Vukovars, a town of just 20,000 was leveled in the war with Serbia. The aide by side photos in the Eltz museum was beyond sobering. Basically another history lesson in this area....our guide, Joseph lost his father in the war and lived through it all. Just crazy.Read more

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