Vukovar, Croatia

We took an optional Viking tour called the Croatian War of Independence. We hoped to learn more about the complicated history of this region, but unfortunately, our tour guides were well-meaning but disorganized and not terribly knowledgeable. 

When Croatia attempted to secede from Yugoslavia, Vukovar suffered through an 87-day siege, and the town was completely destroyed. DUring the battle shells were fired into the town at a rate of 12,000 per day. Vukovar was the first major European town to be destroyed since WWII. 

Our main goal was to see the famous Vukovar Tower (shown at left).

Our first stop was a War Museum with many planes and vehicles used by the Croatians during the conflict.

One room displayed photos of Croatian soldiers on the walls along with various munitions.

Next, we visited a Memorial Center honoring the victims of the Serb's concentration camps. Thousands of Croatians died in this war, and horrifically, the Serbs removed over 200 people from the hospital to torture, and eventually shoot them. The memorial included an eternal flame and photos of the fallen displayed on the surrounding walls. 

The Vukovar Tower remains as a symbol of the heroism of the Croatian people. The structure was hit 600 times, and it's amazing that it is still standing. Every day, the Serbs would shoot down the Croatian flag flying on the top of the tower. And every night, Croatians would sneak into the tower and replace the flag.

The damage is most noticeable inside the tower. 

Of course, Croatia did achieve independence, but the town of Vukovar has never recovered.

The Hungarian Countryside

 

Our tour for today takes us (by bus) to the small Hungarian town of Kalocsa. The land here is extremely fertile. On average, fertile land on earth runs 8-11 inches deep--here, it's 150 inches!

We visited the Assumption Cathedral, a lovely 18th c. Italian Baroque church with soaring white and pink walls decorated with frescoes and lots of gold leaf. We were treated to an organ concert on the magnificent organ with its 4668 pipes. Incredible sound. I kept thinking that back before radio and TV, coming to a church like this must have felt like being in heaven.

Next, we went to a horse farm. Maybe it was the heat (pushing 100 degrees), but the show wasn't very exciting. 

The best part happened at the end when one horse rider stood on two horses (they wear special shoes) as he was being pulled by a team of eight horses. 

This is paprika country, and I thought we were going to visit the Paprika Museum but that didn't happen. Here's a pic of the peppers used to make paprika aka "red gold."

More pics:

The Viking Lofn and Budapest from the Danube

Time to board our Viking boat, the Lofn, named for the Norse goddess of forbidden love (sounds like a wilder ride than we were expecting lol).

Our Viking river boat, modeled after the historic Viking long boat, is long and narrow with three floors and an open roof terrace on the top. 

We knew better than to expect a rock climbing wall or an ice skating rink as you find on some of the big ocean cruise ships, but we thought this little putting green was cute (& funny).

Our room was quite small but well designed with a balcony we thoroughly enjoyed. However, on this day, we were side-by-side with another Viking ship, and the balconies were touching one another. Not the least bit private.

A highlight of our time in Budapest was leaving the city after dark via the Danube. We were fortunate that our balcony was on the Buda side of the boat giving us magical views!

More pics of beautiful Budapest:

Budapest, Hungary

Hello, Budapest!

Our driver, a Tunisian named Sami, got us to the airport in plenty of time for our short (45 minutes) flight to Budapest. He was an interesting character who does a lot of business driving tourists from the Arabian Gulf countries. We figured he was probably used to big tippers, but he wasn't going to score big with us. He insisted he couldn't take a credit card (even though the hotel had told us he would), so we think he just wanted the cash, probably to pocket it for himself.

Once again, Travel Assistance came to our aid, and we were soon seated on a small but comfortable Embrayer. The flight was quick and uneventful. Upon our arrival in Budapest, Travel Services took over, taking us to baggage claim and then delivering us to our Viking transportation for our first Viking accommodation, the Corinthia Hotel.

The 5-star Corinthia was quite posh with a gorgeous indoor swimming pool Which we did not get to use because Viking had said access to the pool was not included, and we didn't pack bathing suits. This was just the first of our disappointments with Viking.

For our first dinner in Budapest, we walked to a 

Hungarian bistro called Ket Szerecsen. It was surprising how easily we fell back into our old independent traveler habits. The food was great, starting with Hungarian goulash and followed by  a Frank favorite, Osso Bucco served with polenta. 

The next day, we took our first included Viking excursion, and it was a good one with a terrific guide named Sylvia. We toured Castle Hill on the Buda side of the city, taking in the famous square (below) and the marvelous views across the river.

We also visited Matthias Church, one of the most important in Hungary. Franz Joseph and Sisi were crowned here.

That night we ate in a cute little place called the Incognito Bar on a wonderful pedestrian restaurant street. (These are the kinds of places you only discover on your own.)

Then, we headed to the lovely Budapest Operetta theater to see a musical version of "The Count of Monte Cristo." Anne had found it online, and after struggling with the Hungarian website managed to buy tickets. It was well worth the effort with an impressive stage set and lots of flashy dance numbers. They even had English captions! 

More pics:

Vienna, Austria

On Our Way

J & J, our trusty transportation service, dropped us at Newark Airport. We had requested wheelchair assistance for Frank, since long distances are still an issue for him, and we were curious to see how this worked. What a Godsend! His assistant Debra whipped him along and even gave us priority access through Security. 

We avoided the Friday the 13th curse and flew safely out of Newark on Austrian Air.  Seating was cramped and our flight attendant bossy to the point of being nasty, but we were just grateful to be on our way!

When we arrived in Vienna, our hotel-arranged driver was waiting for us holding a big "Anne Supsic" sign.  Believe me, after flying all night that sign is one welcome sight!   

        

Willkommen, Vienna!

Vienna, one of our favorite European capitols, is a city of majestic architecture reminding us of the glory days when it was the seat of the Holy Roman Empire, and later, the center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This is a city designed for royalty. It's also a city of music where Mozart performed as a child.

We were on our own for this part of the trip and stayed at the Elaya Hotel, a small and very friendly place, perfectly situated in the center of Vienna.

We began our sightseeing by paying homage to St. Stephen's Cathedral, the symbol of the city situated in the very center. When we first came here in 1992, we climbed the 343 steps to the top. This time, we were thrilled to be able to take an elevator!

View from the top of the roof decorated in distinctive, colorful tiles. Looks just like we remember it!

For dinner, we ate at Figlmülller, home to Vienna's best schnitzel. 

Obviously, we should have ordered one to share! 

The following day we visited the Sisi Museum. Sisi, aka the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, was a tragic figure often compared with Princess Diana. 

She was murdered by a revolutionary (a dagger to the chest), and the myth of her popularity took hold after her death (this is her death mask). In life, she was a reclusive personality unsuited to her role who spent as much time as possible away from Vienna.

           

Sisi was a quirky character obsessed with her appearance. She had a 20-inch waist and her hair reached her ankles, requiring her to sit for 2-3 hours every day for hair styling. 

She also created her own exercise equipment (which didn't exactly match the decor in her bedroom).  

This is probably the most famous portrait of Sisi with diamond stars in her hair and on her gown.

      

That night we attended a wonderful classical concert in stunning Peterskirche. This is one of the things we miss most about Europe--enjoying our favorite music in a marvelous historic setting.

More pics:

Trying to stay cool in a 

European heatwave.

A rare photo of Frank drinking water rather than beer. He was

so thirsty, the waiter took pity on him and brought him water

in a giant beer glass. But not to worry, he still prefers the good stuff!

On top of St. Stephen's