Euro '25: Riverboat

I walked around the docks and found the Amaverde, and Bill and I were the first 2 guests to board.  The bonus with early boarding is that the staff is waiting to serve you.  We got a walkabout beer to check out the boat, and then the afternoon teatime began.  However, tea was replaced with a great nosh (finger sandwiches and soup!) and wine (to erase the stress of the border crossing).

We live well.

As other passengers arrived, we went through the face-recognition I don’t remember your name game.  These Alan Doyle riverboat cruises tend to get repeat customers.  We caught up with a number of previous riverboat guests, notably Ross and Karen.  So good to see them again.  Then a waiter approached us, asking if we wanted to be at the Chef’s dinner tonight.  Absolutely!  So Bill and I joined Ross and Karen later for a many-course dinner and way too much wine. 

Good times.

Tuesday, April 22. Bill took off on an extended tour of Veliko Tarnovo and various castles.  I opted to stay on board due to the long travel times.  Instead, I did a long walk in Ruse.  I stopped for an espresso during the walk, and reflected on that I was walking about in a foreign country that I couldn’t even get into during the first 20 years of my life.  Bill returned with tales of long travel times (ha-ha!).  After dinner, the boat took off for an all-night motor.  We, being in the cheaper rooms near the boat engines, had the engine hum to soothe us to sleepy time.

Wednesday, April 23.  Everyone agrees it’s great to not have to go off and do something first thing in the morning after an Allen Doyle concert. I got up before sunrise and watched the sunrise come up from the lounge and the topside. Then, a short low-grade rain started to come down.

I looked at the 50 bill received from Faith, which was to be a repayment for not taking the shuttle from Bucharest to Giurgiu. Ha-ha. Faith gave both Bill and me a 50 Romanian lei bill – we were expecting euro bills! This was an easy mistake to make once you compare the euro and Romanian lei bills.

Not quite euros.

After breakfast, we waited until Alan Doyle gave a talk relaying stories and then signed a number of things. Bill bought Allen’s latest book and got it signed.

In the afternoon, we traveled to Vidin and had a walking tour of a HUGE synagogue and fortress.

Thursday, April 24.  The riverboat cruised through the most beautiful part of the lower Danube, called the Iron Gate.

The Iron Gate

High natural walls down to the water with some cave entrances in the almost sheer walls.  Alan Doyle and the band performed on the sundeck while traversing the Iron Gate.

Jim, Bill, Elise, and I.

Again, good times.

Friday, April 25.  In Belgrade, we did a tour of the “city by two rivers”.  We then had free time, so Bill and I did a tour of the Nikola Tesla Museum.  Very cool.  In the afternoon, we took a bus to a brandy tasting event.  Brandy is very different here (Yuk) versus the US.

Saturday, April 26.  We were in Vukovar.  I opted to stay on board while Bill went off the see yet another museum.  Bill burned out at the first of two museums and opted to walk back to the boat.

Sunday, April 27.  The cold and windy conditions convinced us to skip off-board tours.  By now, we were both nursing a low-grade head cold.

Bill's "healthy" breakfast.  Then added cheese, salmon, and bacon.  And mimosas!

Monday, April 28.  Riverboat departure day.  We wisely opted for an Uber to get us and our luggage the 1.2 KM to our usual Budapest hotel, the Astoria.  I broke my treasured (they don’t make them anymore) SunCloud sunglasses while getting in the Uber.  Thanks to Bill for finding the glass lens.  Later at home, I superglued the glasses back together!  

We dropped off our luggage at the Astoria, then took off for (1) laundry drop-off and (2) onto the Szechenyl Spa for a soak.  We researched and found the laundry drop-off place from years ago.  So cool; they move laundry between wash to the dryer and will stack it for when you return.  Worth a tip.  The hot spa seemed somewhat different:  we needed flip-flops (5 euros) and towels were extra.  Next trip, bring our own.  

Afterwards, we walked from Hero’s Park (on Embassy Boulevard) back to our hotel.  On the way, we walked on “Embassy Boulevard” and had lunch at Andrassy Garden (great spot), then picked up our laundry.  That afternoon, we wandered around the pedestrian mall and stopped for a beer at Anna Café (we stopped there last trip too).  Later that evening, we walked over to Grinzingi Borzo for dinner.  It’s my local spot while in Budapest.

I am including the following now, as it was the end of the riverboat trip.

As is custom, Niche Travel (Faith) announces the next riverboat cruise dates/prices at the end of the current trip.  Bill and I immediately said “Yes” so we are committed to September 2026 in the Netherlands.

And since the riverboat has other repeat customers, Bill lists off their names.  This year is missing a group picture.  The list is so we can review it before the next trip and try to associate a name with a face.

People:

• Emily and her mom, Susie
• Shirley and Jeff
• Mark and ???
• Karen and Ross
• Dave and ???
• Denise and ???
• Barry and Biz
• Greg and Deidra
• Claudia, doctor of college health
• Kevin and Laurie
• Whiskey Mike and Moriah
• Jeanie. Bill photobombed her on her first trip. 
• Mark and Jan

More Euro '25 Riverboat pics here.

Euro '25: Romania & Bulgaria

Originally, I booked an outbound from LAX direct to Vienna, then on to Bucharest.  But United changed the flight so now I was first going to Newark, NJ, then on to Vienna.  This flight change worked to the good since Bill’s flight also got changed, and we were on the same Newark to Vienna flight.  

Wednesday, April 16.  I had rented a car for a one-way trip to LAX.  I left home at 2:30 AM with an uneasy feeling. I pulled over outside of the Turfwood complex to search for the passport packet. Found it. I drove two more exits north on I-5 to have another uneasy feeling. Pulled over to check for a wallet and could not find it. Panic!  I returned home and found my wallet where it usually sits on my desk. I dodged a disaster there!

The LAX to New Jersey flight was uneventful. I met Bill at the airport. While walking around EWR, Bill ran into Jim and Elise Bacon (known from previous riverboat cruises). We were all on the same next leg.

Sad note: Bill left his red jacket on the plane.  Lucky for him I had an extra jacket.

Bucharest airport was somewhat small, about the size of the Syracuse airport. I had scheduled a cab to get to the Bucharest Intercontinental Palace Hotel.  The cab driver found Bill while he was in the terminal.  The drive to downtown Bucharest was slow. Both Bill and I were exhausted. Fortunately, the room was available as we got to drop off our luggage, splash some water in our faces, and then walked about. I told Bill I would not make it to sunset after some walking about, and to find a place for a burger and beer. We finally opted for the dining place, Casa Romaneasca, next to our hotel. It was a light enough meal that didn’t overstuff either of us, of a mushroom-packed piece of toast for Bill and a roast beef-topped piece of toast for me, with two beers each.

I got upstairs and think I fell asleep as I was falling down onto the bed. 

Friday, April 18.  After a well-needed overnight 12-hour sleep for both Bill and I, we struggled to awaken and get jetlag out of our heads. I went for an early half-hour walk around the city. After returning, we went down to a very good breakfast at the hotel. The waitress really liked it when Bill asked how to say thank you in Romanian. Then he went to look at the sparkling wine selection and was told he needed to take back two glasses of mimosas. The waitress topped off our drinks without asking.  Nice to start the day a little blurry.

Cheers to Mimosas!!

We took off to look for the Parliament building, which we are told is the second biggest building on the continent. It certainly was big - we could not walk around it.  What a let-down!  The building did not have any presentation opulence, being set back with a tall fence blocking the view.

Mow the lawn!!!

The park in front of Parliament was neglected: overgrown, with bare patches.  Now I understand helping nature by letting fields be overgrown with wildflowers, but in front of the Parliament building?

The only lawn mower in eastern Europe.

We started to walk around the building, but gave up when we realized the view would not change.

We then walked to Bucharest Old Town.  This walk included crossing a canal and (unfortunately) a motorcycle crash with an auto.  In Old Town, we stopped for lunch at Caru’ Cu Bere (translation: Beer on a Cart). 

Lunch!

This was an incredible bar/restaurant inside – so much, we skipped seating outside.  Excellent lunch of bean soup for Bill and mushroom stew for me, and the obligatory two beers each.

Saturday, April 19.  Bill took a tour bus to Dracula Castle, and I skipped due to the considerable travel time.  Later, Bill reported the castle had a 2+ hour wait to get in, and little crowd control with lots of pushing.  But the castle was beautiful once he got inside.

I instead walked around Old Town again.  I have been in other soviet controlled countries before Romania and Bulgaria, but there is a big gap in beauty and wowness between newer (Poland, Hungary) and older (Romania, Bulgaria).  The older countries seem as though they are just now emerging from soviet rule, and the newer ones are 20 years ahead (more vibrant).

Not pretty.

I walked by Alan Doyle earlier in Old Town, and my wave and “Hello Alan” made Alan realize that riverboat cruise people might be in town earlier.  So later, when I passed Alan again, Alan made a point to come over for greetings and conversation.

We’re cool, Alan.  I realize you meet hundreds/thousands of people every week.  But I will always fan-gush when meeting you again for the many times.

Sunday, April 20.  Easter. It was one of the better sleeps for me after having propped open the hotel room window. We arrived back home last night about midnight. A new late record for us on this trip, and we set alarms for 7 AM. Both of us were up long before then. The morning was repack to leave, get some Prosecco with breakfast, and Uber over to the train station.

The train station is embarrassingly easy to understand compared to the US. 14 tracks all in a row. We got to track number one, where ours was, and boarded. Train travel was slower than expected. Of course, we could’ve looked over the itinerary and figured that out beforehand, but oh well. The train seems to max out at 35 miles an hour, and of course, does not go in a straight line. But we did get there.

After the 2.5-hour comfortable train ride, we arrived at the Ruse train station.  While Bill walked out of the station (getting his bearings), I looked around to try and interpret how to get a taxi.  Then an elderly gentleman approached, speaking English, and asked if I needed a taxi.  I guess English-speaking tourists all look the same.  The driver assured us he had a taxi license and could get us to the Hotel Anna Palace for the princely price of 5 euros.  Deal!  

Once we arrived, I gave our driver a 5 euro bill and an extra 1 euro coin as a tip.  He looked confused about the tip.  This is not a tipping economy.

The Hotel Anna Palace was a beautiful yellow upscale (for Bulgaria) hotel, except no shower curtain.  Water goes everywhere.

Don't need no stinkin' shower curtain!!!

After checking in, we walked the waterfront until we found an outdoor stop for a Bulgarian beer.  The young waiter was excited – he got to practice his English with us!

Yummy Lagers.

It was a relatively warm spring day; the waterfront parks had local families strolling, runners were running, and there were few tourists.  Later, we walked the main pedestrian walkway.  While it was vibrant, I still saw the recent soviet rule overlay.

Monday, April 21.  We needed an 11-hour sleep to further shake off jetlag, and then we had to get to Giurgiu, Romania, to board our riverboat, the Amaverde.  We previously booked a train for a mid-afternoon departure, but decided to leave earlier.  We asked the front desk person if she could get us a taxi to get across the border (normally a significant event) and to our boat.  The front desk person (again) liked to work on her English-speaking skills with us then called a taxi.  The quote was for about 8 euros.  Really???  That’s it???  The ride was uneventful (good for border crossings), and the driver nailed it on where to go.

More Romania/Bulgaria pic here.

Europe 2025

The 2025 Europe trip planning started with signing up with The Good Life Abroad for a month's apartment rental in Florence, Italy for May 4 to June 3.  My motivation was to push my comfort zone boundaries and determine if extended Europe trips should become the new normal.  Later, Niche Travel announced another Alan Doyle riverboat cruise that would end 6 days before my Florence stay began.  So, Bill and I signed up for the riverboat cruise, then decided to add a few days in Romania and Bulgaria before the riverboat trip started, and to spend a few days in Budapest and Paris between the cruise and our stay in Florence.  Bill would also stay for a week in Florence.

Originally, I booked an outbound from LAX direct to Vienna, then on to Bucharest.  But United changed the flight, so now I was first going to Newark, NJ, then on to Vienna.  This flight change worked to the good since Bill’s flight also got changed, and we were on the same Newark to Vienna flight.