Setting Sail on the Danube

Back on board the Viking Lif after a final walk about Budapest, we took a few moments to read about the Danube River, before setting sail for Vienna. We knew the Danube was an expansive body of water, but we were frankly astounded to learn that it is 1,775 miles long (2,857 km), and is…

Shoes on the Danube

In a literal sense, the title of this blog “Shoes on the Danube”, refers to the last few hours Mary and I spent in Budapest on July 4th, 2019.  After lunch onboard the Viking Lif, we ventured out for one final walk before our 5:45 departure from the city.  Our previous wanderings had been in…

Budapest’s Castle Hill District – Part Two

For the most part, we really enjoy organized walking tours. Occasionally they can linger too long in one spot, or one finds themselves in a slow-moving group, but for the most part, they are very informative, and provide a solid foundation for solo exploring…..and we really love to venture off on our own. On this…

Budapest’s Castle Hill District – Part One

Mary and I have visited many forts and castle ruins in multiple settings around the world, and on those tours, the guides will often point out holes in the wall left by cannon fire or some other type of weapon fire.  The thing is, these events often occurred hundreds of years ago, so they don’t…

A Bus Tour Through Budapest

Our first full day in Budapest began with Mary enjoying a coffee on the Aquavit Terrace at the front of the ship, followed by an early breakfast. Our first “included” excursion was scheduled for the morning with an 8:30 bus tour departure planned, and safe to say that just about all of the 188 guests…

Dancing in the Moonlight

At the end of my previous blog posting I teased that we had one more adventure left in us at the end of our first day in Budapest. It began somewhat innocently after dinner as we stood on the balcony in our room. We were being treated to a stunningly clear night, and the bridges…

No Time To Rest, Let’s Go For a Walk

We had barely set foot on the Lif, when one of the concierge staff asked us if we wanted to join a Budapest “welcome walk” that was leaving in just 15 minutes.  Heck, our bags hadn’t even made it to our room yet, and we were still in the same clothes we had flown in…

First Stop – Budapest

At the end of long hot muggy day in Toronto, we departed Pearson Airport at 10:40 in the evening, on an Air Canada Rouge flight.  Our trip involved an 8 1/2 hour overnight flight and a time zone adjustment of 6 hours (ahead), and shortly after 1 o:clock local time, we arrived in Budapest, Hungary….

An Unexpected Adventure

Following our extensive road trip in Scotland last September (2018), our “what next” discussions had mostly featured language like “for the next trip, let’s get off the road and do something a little slower paced”; and “hey what about something completely different, like Japan or a trip down under“. So, it was almost completely out…