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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
