Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Stateroom assignment and entertainment announced!


I’ve been packing and organizing the last few days.

GRAND WORLD VOYAGE ACTIVITIES GALORE
Gala Celebrations and Formal Theme Nights: Black and Silver Ball, Five Oceans Casino Night, Mutiny on the Bounty, Chef’s Dinner, Valentine’s Ball, Royalty Ball, St. Patrick’s Day, Bollywood Awards Night, Greek Toga party and Roaring Twenties

Casual Theme Nights include: Murder Mystery Dinner, Bali Hai BBQ, USA Superbowl XLV, Ozzie Outback Barbie, Mardi Gras Sail Away and Kebab-ecue

And we will be entertained in high style! Mitzi Gaynor will be onboard from Jan 5-14, right at embarkation! “With 17 classic films, 17 Emmy nominations and dazzling triple-threat nightclub talents, she is one of the top singing and dancing starts of all time.” AND Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton, will end the voyage with us from April 14-26! He was named one of the top three entertainers of the century, along with Sinatra and Elvis.

Our stateroom has been assigned – oceanview #3324. Nice large room near the hub of the ship. We’re getting more excited each day!!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

NEWS - AMSTERDAM World cruise in January!



Happy 2011 to everyone! We're off on Holland America's AMSTERDAM very soon!
The Ensemble Travel Group invited Gene and I to host the world cruise! The ship is smaller than the Queen Victoria, the itinerary is slightly different and it will be wonderful to meet new people and experience new cultures! I've been a busy beaver getting ready and hope I learned a lesson or two from the last trip to limit the packing.

We've had some issues getting our visas and those are now finally complete. Our stateroom has not yet been assigned but we know we're on the ship somewhere!

I'll try to be more timely in sharing our adventures from this beautiful planet we call home...

ITINERARY:
WED 05JAN11 Sail from Fort Lauderdale, 5:00pm Florida, US

THU 06JAN11 Sea Day

FRI 07JAN11 Georgetown, Cayman Islands1 8:00am 5:00pm

SAT 08JAN11 Sea Day

SUN 09JAN11 Puerto Limon, Costa Rica 6:00am 5:00pm

MON 10JAN11 Enter Panama Canal Cristobal 5:00am

MON 10JAN11 Exit Panama Canal Balboa 7:00pm 7:00pm

TUE 11JAN11 Sea Day

WED 12JAN11 Manta, Ecuador 5:00am 5:00pm

THU 13JAN11 Sea Day

FRI 14JAN11 Callao (Lima), Peru 10:00am

SAT 15JAN11 Callao (Lima), Peru 10:00pm

SUN 16JAN11 Sea Day

MON 17JAN11 Sea Day

TUE 18JAN11 Sea Day

WED 19JAN11 Sea Day

THU 20JAN11 Easter Island, Chile 8:00am 5:00pm

FRI 21JAN11 Sea Day

SAT 22JAN11 Sea Day

SUN 23JAN11 Sea Day

MON 24JAN11 Sea Day

TUE 25JAN11 Sea Day

WED 26JAN11 Papeete, French Polynesia 7:00am 6:00pm

THU 27JAN11 Bora Bora, French Polynesia 7:00am

FRI 28JAN11 Bora Bora, French Polynesia 3:00pm

SAT 29JAN11 Sea Day

SUN 30JAN11 Rarotonga, Cook Islands 8:00am 5:00pm

MON 31JAN11 Sea Day

TUE 01FEB11 Alofi, Niue NUALF 7:00am 2:00pm

WED 02FEB11 Sea Day

THU 03FEB11 Nuku' Alofa, Tonga 9:00am 5:00pm

THU 03FEB11 Cross International Dateline

FRI 04FEB11 Sea Day

SAT 05FEB11 Sea Day

SUN 06FEB11 Auckland, New Zealand 8:00am

MON 07FEB11 Auckland, New Zealand 5:00pm

TUE 08FEB11 Tauranga (Rotorua) New Zealand 7:00am 7:00pm

WED 09FEB11 Napier, New Zealand 12:00n 6:00pm

THU 10FEB11 Wellington, New Zealand 8:00am 6:00pm

FRI 11FEB11 Lyttelton (Christchurch), NZ 7:00am 7:00pm

SAT 12FEB11 Port Chalmers (Dunedin), NZ 8:00am 5:00pm

SUN 13FEB11 Oban (Halfmoon Bay), NewZealand 8:00am 4:00pm

MON 14FEB11 Fiordland Natl Park Eastbound 8:00am 4:00pm

TUE 15FEB11 Sea Day

WED 16FEB11 Sea Day

THU 17FEB11 Hobart, Australia 7:00am 11:59pm

FRI 18FEB11 Port Arthur, Australia 7:00am 6:00pm

SAT 19FEB11 Sea Day

SUN 20FEB11 Sydney, Australia 8:00am

MON 21FEB11 Sydney, Australia 2:00pm

TUE 22FEB11 Sea Day

WED 23FEB11 Sea Day

THU 24FEB11 Cairns, Australia 7:00am

FRI 25FEB11 Cairns, Australia 3:00am

SAT 26FEB11 Sea Day

SUN 27FEB11 Madang, Papua New Guinea 12:00n 8:00pm

MON 28FEB11 Crossing the Equator

TUE 01MAR11 Sea Day

WED 02MAR11 Koror, Palau 8:00am 4:00pm

THU 03MAR11 Sea Day

FRI 04MAR11 Sea Day

SAT 05MAR11 Manila, Philippines 8:00am 6:00pm

SUN 06MAR11 Sea Day

MON 07MAR11 Hong Kong, China 7:00am

TUE 08MAR11 Hong Kong, China 10:00pm

WED 09MAR11 Sea Day

THU 10MAR11 Sea Day

FRI 11MAR11 Phu My, Vietnam 6:00am 6:00pm

SAT 12MAR11 Sea Day

SUN 13MAR11 Singapore 7:00am

MON 14MAR11 Singapore 3:00pm

TUE 15MAR11 Sea Day

WED 16MAR11 Sea Day

THU 17MAR11 Sea Day

FRI 18MAR11 Cochin, India 10:00am 8:00pm

SAT 19MAR11 Sea Day

SUN 20MAR11 Mumbai (Bombay), India 6:00am

MON 21MAR11 Mumbai (Bombay), India 5:00pm

TUE 22MAR11 Sea Day

WED 23MAR11 Sea Day

THU 24MAR11 Dubai, United Arab Emirates 8:00am

FRI 25MAR11 Dubai, United Arab Emirates 1:00pm

SAT 26MAR11 Muscat, Oman 9:00am 11:00pm

SUN 27MAR11 Sea Day

MON 28MAR11 Sea Day

TUE 29MAR11 Sea Day

WED 30MAR11 Sea Day

THU 31MAR11 Sea Day

FRI 01APR11 Safaga, Egypt 7:00am 11:59pm

SAT 02APR11 Sharm el Sheik, Egypt 6:00am 5:00pm

SUN 03APR11 Aqaba (for Petra), Jordan 6:00am 11:00pm

MON 04APR11 Sea Day

TUE 05APR11 Enter Suez Canal at Suez 6:00am

TUE 05APR11 Exit Suez Canal at Port Said 6:00pm 6:00pm

WED 06APR11 Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt 7:00am 10:00pm

THU 07APR11 Sea Day

FRI 08APR11 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 8:00am

SAT 09APR11 Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey 5:00pm

SUN 10APR11 Piraeus (Athens), Greece 7:00am 5:00pm

MON 11APR11 Sea Day

TUE 12APR11 Naples, Italy 8:00am

WED 13APR11 Naples, Italy 5:00pm

THU 14APR11 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy 7:00am 8:00pm

FRI 15APR11 Sea Day

SAT 16APR11 Cartagena, Spain 8:00am 3:00pm

SUN 17APR11 Cadiz (Seville), Spain 10:00am 11:00pm

MON 18APR11 Sea Day

TUE 19APR11 Funchal (Madeira), Portugal 5:30am 3:00pm

WED 20APR11 Sea Day

THU 21APR11 Sea Day

FRI 22APR11 Sea Day

SAT 23APR11 Sea Day

SUN 24APR11 Sea Day

MON 25APR11 Sea Day

TUE 26APR11 Debark Ship Fort Lauderdale, 7:00am

Oct 18 - homeward bound from Bucharest




Up at 4AM, it really did not matter the weather. We were on our way to the airport; checked in with British Air and a Romanian woman attached herself to us so she could find the flight to London. Off we flew at 8:30 for the 3.5 hour flight to London. We had a four hour wait there and boarded American Air to Dallas. L O N G flight, especially when you know you are going past your destination! Ate, movies, ate, slept, read…the cycle continues.


What an interesting river cruise and corner of the world. I now understand more clearly the history of the region and feel I know more about my grandparents, who both died before I was 8 years old. It is a beautiful region and I hope to return to explore more on land and to include Montenegro and the Croatian coast.

Giurgiu and Bucharest, Romania




It was misty as we drove the hour in to Bucharest, through the flat farmlands. The soil looked very rich and the land was tilled and ready to be planted. Could that be correct? Tudor did not explain as much as the others and he and the driver apparently had some misunderstandings. PLUS there was a marathon in town so most of the streets in the area we wanted to tour were blocked off. We viewed most of the sites from afar. On the way to the Novotel, we had a slight fender bender when a car backed in to us. No damage on either car but a slight scare.

Their language is Latin based so I found I could understand more than I thought. The country was united in the 1600s under Michael the Brae. It got its name in 1859 at the end of the Russian/Turkish war when they elected a Prince as their ruler. In 1977-78, they had their War of Independence from the Ottoman (Turkish) empire. In 1918, some of the Austrian Hapsburg family members came to be the King/royal family for Romania.

There are 2M residents in Bucharest – approx. 10% of the population. 7% of the population are Hungarian living in the Transylvania region. Bucharest is called “Little Paris”. Several of the streets were patterned after Paris with wide avenues (8 lanes across!) and a structure similar to the Arch of Triumph.

Hitler wanted Romania’s oil. In 1947, after WWII, the country suffered a brain drain where there were no opportunities in the country. King Michael was forced to abdicate and the Russians were in control. Most of the apartment blocks and building reflect a Soviet influence – solid block of gray with no imagination or decoration. These are mostly in the suburbs approaching the city as the historical buildings in the city center were very decorative and ornate.

There is one statue representing their new found freedom – a triangular spike with a brain on the upper half stuck on the spike (quite strange, really). The guide said it nicely when he said, “It reminds us of a world where we were forced to live and a world where we want to live.” Time after time, on this trip, we, as Americans have been told how much our country has been looked up and envied. How they want to emulate our freedom and capitalism

We went first to the National Academy of Art. It is very large and they have a distinguished section of European and Romanian art. Across the street was an open air market with all kinds of fresh cheeses (some in a barrel so it looked like a tree stalk!), fresh sausages and meats, grape juice, vegetables and nougats, chocolates and the best – a string of fresh dough wound around a spindle about 12 inches long. Then it is rolled and placed over an open flame. After it is cooked, they roll the hot dough in sugar, cinnamon and walnuts!! You get it smoking hot and it was delicious! We wandered through the streets and found an Excalibur restaurant set in the medieval times, several other open air markets, and met some nice people as we kept getting lost.

The dictator Nicolae Ceausescu ruled for 25 years – nearly ruining the city’s splendor by replacing historic neighborhoods, grand boulevards and Ottoman ruins with concrete blocks and communist monuments. Thought he city is no longer the “Little Paris” it once was, life here is fascinating, frustrating and anything but boring.

There was a marathon benefiting hospice in the city. It began at the Parliamentary Palace – Palatul Parlamentului, the 2nd largest building in the world. It has 16 levels and 1100 rooms. Only the Pentagon in Washington, DC is larger. Buit in 1984, 20,000 laborers and 700 architects struggled to construct the so-called House of the People. It was completed in 1989, just in time for Ceausescu’s execution, the communist dictator. It now houses Romania’s Parliament. The street leading up the Palace was intentionally built three feet wider than Paris’ Champs Elysees as Ceausescu dreamed of recreating Bucharest in the image of a perfect socialist capital. To do so, he demolished over 9000 19th century houses and displaced more than 40,000 Romanians. We passed the University Library, the National Art Museum, the Senate Building (former Communist Party Headquarters where Ceausescu delivered his final speech) and the Architecture Institute. We walked through Cismigiu Gardens which had a small lake, a huge playground and free bike rentals. There were markets along the way and we had our own personal guides to lead us to the National Opera House. One man did several jobs – one was being a security officer to an 8-year old girl. He drove her to school every day and picked her up from school to take her to her swimming or sports lessons.

At the Opera House, we found we could not use a credit card and we did not have the RON currency needed. After asking several people, we met a nice recently married couple – she was born in VA and they had met at Chapel Hill. He is Romanian and they recently moved back to Romania so he could work and she is getting her doctorate degree in neurological biology. They bought our tickets for us and we paid hem in dollars - $2.50 each!! We had balcony seats and they were great. The whole theatre probably sat less than a 1000 people so it was not very steep. We had a wonderful view of the orchestra as they danced GISELLE, a wonderful ballet.

Russe, Bulgaria






Oct 16 - Rousse/Russe is the largest and most important river port in Bulgaria, set in gorgeous rolling countryside brilliant with sunflowers in summer and golden wheat fields in autumn. The city, with docks, shipyards, and textile factories was once the garrison of the Roman Danube fleets and has a history dating to Roman times with an ancient town center. It is the gateway to Romania’s fabled Transylvania region.

After breakfast, we met our Bulgarian guide Mira and driver Andre for a city tour in Russe. The name translates to “port of 60 ships”. It is textile/clothing and shoe center of the country. With all their city parks, the city has the nickname of “Little Vienna”. There are blocks of flats from the communist time and you have to insert a coin in order to use them! The Pantheon of Russe has a golden dome and there are over 300 heroes buried there. After tearing down a church, they built the Pantheon. When the city had much back luck, they re-erected the church in a different spot. The joke in the city is “The Russians came to liberate us and stayed forever”. Russe was too close a city to Romania so Sofia was chosen as the capital. There are 22 embassies and it is the 5th largest city.

They were the first city to protest the Russians’ work with a chemical plant. Chlorine was coming downstream in the wind. As a town, they got together and wrote a letter to the USA about the situation and wanted to become the 51st State! The letter never reached the USA since it was intercepted by the Russian secret service. But it did give the people the courage to stand up for themselves.
1990-2001 the Mafia appeared in the area. Police did not enforce the rules. There is a gypsy quarter with about 20,000 gypsies. Texaco motor oil is made here and exported. The country is about the size of Tennessee.

The highway had a long strip of unpaved road. Mira said the money was given to the town to fix the road but the bid went to the lowest bidder, who happened to be the son or nephew of an official and the work was not done properly so they all suffer.

They grow grapes (for wine), tomatoes, watermelons, sunflowers. They export their red wines to the UK and Germany. They make oil and perfumes from their roses – they are the world’s largest producer of rose oil. In May and June they have a yearly festival at harvest time. 3000 red rose petals make 1 liter of rose oil. 5000 white rose petals make 1 liter of rose oil. Donkeys, horses, sheep…we even saw little wagons being pulled by donkeys with 4 wheels on them. This highway to Veliko Tarnovo is the same road one takes to go to Istanbul.

They even built a 2-cylinder car!! It was German and you had to mix oil with the gas. After Russia/communism were forced out of the country, they had a negative birth rate but since joining the EU, they are now having a baby boom. They have a grandparents program: grandparents on a small pension can babysit other’s children to earn extra money. There were no religious ceremonies allowed (no wedding or baptisms) during the communist reign; just civil ceremonies. Christmas and Easter were erased from the calendar. Mexican bands and their music became popular during the communist reign.
It took about 1.5 hours to arrive in Veliko Tarnovo; the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empires (1186-XXX). It’s a lovely town situated on a gorge with two high promontories and houses that seem to be stacked atop each other as they climb up the hills. The town’s Archeological Museum contains Roman and Medieval figures and the oldest pieces of gold in the world from the Neolithic period. There are two kinds of houses: Fortress and open balconies. In the 1600s, they had indoor toilets! We went to the Arbanassi Palace hotel high on the outskirts of town for a wonderful view of Veliko Tarnovo. It used to be a summer home of a Russian official (with helicopter pad and all) and is now a hotel.
The Nativity Church is nearby . One needed permission from the Sultan to build a church so they made it look like a barn. It is the most decorated church; they call is the Sistine Chapel of the Balkans. There are over 2000 frescoes. It was covered black soot from the candles and has been recently renovated and cleaned. Services are no longer held there and it is a museum – an incredible one – dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The Orthodox New Year is September 1 (1596 was the first one celebrated). They do not have palm trees in Bulgaria so they call that day Flower Day. The door of the altar is closed to hide the biggest miracle – the Birth of Christ. The icons were expressionless, just the eyes were alive as they are the mirrors of the soul. Women stand to the left in the church as they are closer to the devil/evil; men stand to the right as they are closer to heaven. Our guide was Maya Kasheva and she knew where Delaware is! She has a friend working at the University of Delaware who had worked on the church and with the Bulgarian National Bank and University of Sofia.

We enjoyed a delicious meal at the Mexapa restaurant and were fortunate to eat outside! It was a beautiful day with sunshine and a nice breeze. Main dish was chicken, mushrooms, onions, garlic, oregano and paprika all cooked together in a stew and then we had baklava for dessert. Very nice meal with a Bulgarian beer!
We drove to the large fortress built between 1196 and 1393. It used to have a moat around it and the church was high on a hill; “God is above the people”.
The town of Veliko Tarnovo reminded me of a Williamsburg area – the cobblestone streets were lined with shops from the medieval times: a coppersmith, a knife maker, an icon maker, the pastry shop, antiques…nice area to wander around.

Enjoyed the ride back to Russe and we were dropped off near town to explore the walking street. A Latin group of men were playing their flutes and selling CDs. We could have been on a street in NYC! We wandered in to a casino and were amazed at the small space with mirrors on every wall and corner. Virtual roulette and virtual Texas Hold’em. We were greeted by two blondes with long hair in tight pants who smiled at us and followed us around. We went through each small room – all with mirrors on the walls and ceilings. In the “lobby” area, three men were sitting – The Godfather? Sure felt like it. They were smoking and talking and paid no attention to us. It was an atmosphere charged with gambling, sex and questionable ethics. Need I write more?!

The Friendship Bridge connects Russe, Bulgaria with Giurgiu Romania. In 1866, the first railway of the Ottoman Empire was inaugurated here. At 7295 feet long and completed in 1954, this bridge is the longest bridge over the Danube and the only connection between Bulgaria and Romania. There are two levels – one for vehicles and one for rail.

Our wonderful crew: Nikola, Milena, Alina, Christian, Kostel, John, Tatiana, Dushan, Nicu, Gordana and the many others provided a very nice cruise experience. The ports of call were the most interesting part of the trip. The crew and staff could not have been friendlier and when they are so willing to go out of their way to make your trip special, that means more than anything. Nikola said it nicely, “Out of all the ‘isms’ like socialism, facism, communism…I like tourism the best.”

Orjahovo and Sofia, Bulgaria



Oct 15, 2010 -
Arrived in the port of Orjahovo, Km 678, Bulgaria! Another country with a new currency. We have needed to exchange money just about every day; reminds me of my days backpacking around Europe when each country had a different currency. Dollars are accepted in some places; the euro is more widely accepted. Does that tell you anything??

Left the ship at 8:30 in our little van for the English-speaking group. We are very fortunate in that aspect, that we have a smaller vehicle with less waiting time to get the group assembled and less time at restroom stops – or Shakespeare stops, as Nicola says – To Pee or Not to Pee?! Today we messed up and we stopped at the exact same time as the French group so we have 50+ people trying to quickly use two restrooms – one for each sex. On we drove to Sofia (pronounced SO fe a with the accent on the first syllable). Jordana was our guide and Joncho was our driver. They had driven 3 hours from Sofia to collect us, 3 hours back to Sofia to tour with us, 3 hours back to the ship and then again 3 hours back to their homes in Sofia.

The Balkan mountains divide the country; they are 700 km long and the area is called the Danubian Plain, where agricultural products – grains and sunflowers thrive 1.5 million residents live in Sofia. Plovdiv has 400,000 residents. 10% of the population are Turks; 4% are Romas/gypsies and 83% are Orthodox Bulgarians. They were liberated in 1848 by the Russians (from the Turks). They use ONLY the Cyrillic alphabet in school. Latin letters (which we use) are only taught with foreign languages. In 2007, they became a member of the European Union. The city of Varna is from the 4th century BC and jewelry was found from 5000BC. In 3000BC, the Thracian people came to the area from Asia. Two historical figures you know were Thracian: Sparticus, the first person to organize an uprising against slavery and Orpheus, a Greek king. Their currency is the LEV, dating from the 1880s. It has been tied to the German Mark and then the euro for valuation since 1996 when they experienced 300% inflation. There are ice cave in the Balkan mountains. At 18 you can get your drivers license. You pay a road tax for driving outside of your town. If you do a one-day trip, you need to buy a vignette to show on your dashboard. It is approx. $50 a year.

The country was socialist between 1949-1989. Cars were imported from Russia during this time and people waited 5-6 years to get a car – no choice of type of car, color or size or cost. Now there are not enough parking spaces in the city of Sofia, as more and more families have multiple cars. (Serbia produced the Yugo car for over 30 years and it was a popular vehicle in this area.)
The Chinese are building a car factory in northern Bulgaria set to open in 2011-12.

On September 8, 1908, Bulgaria declared their independence as a constitutional monarchy. The Ottomans (Turks) had dominated for over 500 years. March 3 is their Liberation Day – the end of the Russian-Turkish war. They had a monarch and parliament. Their first King was a foreigner – a German/Russian, a grandson of England’s Queen Victoria. King Battenburg – he left after 8 years. He was kidnapped and taken to the Danube River and told he would either be killed or he could leave immediately. Which would you choose??

From 1886 – 1918, a Saxon king ruled – until WWI and then his son ruled. Russia forced their families to move to Egypt and then to Spain. The ex-King ended up being their prime minister many years later! He came back in 2001 and gained popularity and a strong coalition to form his own party and was put in control. He got back the lands and royal residences his family had lost during the years of Russian rule. Called the “National movement of Simeon II”. A party needs to have more than 4% of the popular vote to be represented in Parliament and Simeon II’s party did not have this after 8 years.

In 2004, they had 16% unemployment; it is down to 10% now. We had a very informative discussion while we crossed several tunnels and went through the farmlands and small villages.

The normal work week is 40 hours – from either 8:30-10AM start time to 6PM. They earn approx. $500 a month and the minimum wage is $160 a month. There are old yellow/gold trams on the city streets (I remember them from Hungary and Russia in the 1980s); lots of casinos; more than 100 universities; 96% of the people own their apartment or house; there is one house in their Parliament and the President is the Head of the Army. He has the option to veto a bill two times or it becomes law.

We went in to the Aleksandur Nevski cathedral, the capital’s prime ecclesiastical monument – a magnificent neo-Byzantine confection intended to symbolize Bulgarian-Russian friendship. A church service is 30-45 minutes long and a special service may be 3-4 hours long. The iconostatis divides the nave from the altar; it hides the altar from the people. This church had two thrones – one for the King and one for the Patriarch. Both priests and choir sing. Priests must be married; archbishops must not be married (how does that work?). It was erected from 1904-12 in memory of the 200,000 Russians who died in the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War.
Saw the Cathedral of St. Nedelya, a reconstruction of the 14th century original which was destroyed by a bomb in an attempted assassination of King Boris III in 1925. Walked by the St. Nicholas Russian Church, named for the patron saint of marriage, fish and sailors, this 1913 church was built to appease a Russian diplomat unwilling to worship in a Bulgarian church.

Saw the Monument of the Unknown Soldier. Italy, Germany and Bulgaria were aligned together in WWII. Sofia and other areas in Bulgaria were bombed by the UK and USA – four times; 2000 people died.

There is a story questioning the death of their King – he died three days after meeting with Hitler. Hitler was upset with him as Bulgaria would not send their Jews to Germany or Poland.

13 countries still use the Cyrillic alphabet. One letter makes one sound – there is no combining of sounds. They had six nuclear power plants in the country and when they were accepted in the EU, they were told they had to close them. Only two are still open and should be closed by 2012.

Belene is a concentration camp, which was closed in 1989.
Parents pay for their children to attend kindergarten but school is free from 1st grade through University. 50% of the people have a university degree. They are trying recycling but the bins look new and empty.
We shopped briefly at the Center of Bulgarian Folk Arts and Crafts at 4 Paris Str, Sofia 1000.
www.craftshop-bg.com

Lunch was delicious! Again. Bulgarian Restaurant – Pri Yafata on Solunska Str. We had a salad of tomatoes and cheese and salad, cooked potatoes and grilled chicken with tasty spices and a peach cake soaked in a sauce.

We toured the Rotonda Sveti Georgi, whose ancient remains are billed as the oldest public building. The Rotunda is from the 4th century and was a Roman Temple. It was destroyed by the Huns, rebuilt by Justinian and turned into a mosque by the Turks before being restored back to a church. There are frescoes layered on frescoes.

There are cultural buildings, government buildings and churches upon churches in the center of town. We saw the changing of the guards at the President’s office, the National Palace of Culture, the National Museum of Archeology, the synagogue and National History Museum. A nice compact downtown area if you had time to walk around and enjoy it.

Iron Gates Gorge and winery





We had set the alarm for 5:30 and up I ran to the Captain’s bridge and he said we were almost there! Ran down to get Mom and we talked to the Captain and watched the radar as we neared the gorge. We entered the Iron Gates Gorge (the gateway to Transylvania) at the Upper Kazan (2300 feet cliffs and 496 feet across the entire river) and then proceeded to the Lower Kazan and the Mouth of the Mraconia where you could normally see the head of the Dacian chief, Decebalus carved into the rock (like our Mt. Rushmore). But it was still too dark – ½ hour later and we may have been able to make it out. We did see the Tabula Traiana plaque, a carved altar in the wall of the rock only visible from the sea. This is a monument from Roman times that was laid to commemorate the construction fo the Roman military road to the colony of Dacia. Trajan led two campaigns in AD 101-2 and 105-6 to conquer Dacia. The stone plaque marks the place where he began to construct his 25-mile road around the treacherous cliffs of the Danube and a few miles upstream from where they began the construction of the first bridge across the Danube. The ship’s searchlights were powerful and we were so close to the gorge on both sides that we could see how high it was and the vegetation most of the way up the gorge. In the 1970s, the gorge was filled with 100 feet of water so at one time it must have been massively high, when looking up from sea level. In 45 minutes, we were through the gorge and we were back in bed; it used to take four days to sail through the gorge. From now on out, we have Romania on our left side (port) and other countries on our right (starboard). At the moment, it is Serbia on our right. The “true” Iron Gates is a single narrow gorge, which boats enter at Km 949 and ends at Km 1049. Parts of the river here are among the world’s deepest, with depths up to 196 feet.

We slept for an hour and opened our windows to see us enter the enormous Djerdap Hydro-electric power station and double lock complex. The two power stations belong to Serbia and to Romania and there is a supporting railway and road bridge. The whole project involved the reconstruction of 13 river harbors and the relocation of 8400 Serbians and 14500 Romanians. It raised the Danube water level and removed the treacherous currents and whirlpools but has greatly diminished the grandeur o the landscape and obliterated a number of historical towns and villages and the river’s diminished flow is no longer sufficient to flush pollution –chemical toxins and other waste –downriver and out to sea.

Eating breakfast while going through the two locks and seeing the hydro-electric plant, we were soon docking at Kladovo, Km 934, not a normal stop along the Danube. This is a shipyard and area for fishing with a population of 11,000. The Serbian side was where the Roman Empire lived and the Romanian side had wild tribes. The first bridge across the Danube was built near here in the 1st century AD because the Romans wanted the gold mines from Transvylania (Romania). The French group have arranged to meet a French wine grower in a nearby village and have lunch and see his vineyards and enjoy a lunch, of course sampling some of the wine of the region. Before boarding the bus, we were surprised to see a Cash and Carry grocery store across the street so we ran in to browse around. The bus left shortly thereafter, winding its way through the narrow roads and village centers as we made our way to the village of Negotin, about 1.25 hours away. The distance is probably not great but neither are the roads and weather today.

Years ago, a bug invaded the grapes in France and they came to Serbia for their grapes. The Soviets said you could not provide grapes to France but after 1990, on this particular farm, a French couple bought the farmland and are working it to create cabernet sauvignon, Riesling, white and rose wines. They exported 22,000 bottles to France last year. “Cheers” in Serbian is “ZIVELI, pronounced SHEE-VA-LEE.

We saw the grapes in the vats, watched as they used the thermometer to measure the sugar contact, saw the underground vats and bottle process and labeling machine. On to a feast, with five different wines and fresh tomatoes, hard provolone cheese, Feta cheese, a pizza dough-shaped “Pogaca” bread that was cooked in a wood oven, pliable and ripped into pieces/not cut…and then SARMA, a sour cabbage leaf with rice and minced meat and fresh light colored peppers and garlic, fresh pork with crackling (!!) and cabbage/salad AND a “Prince’s donut” (cream puff pastry) with two vanilla cookies with jam between them. Yum! We sat in a cozy room off the working area of the bottling section on wooden benches and drank and ate the afternoon away. Who cared if it was raining? Podrum Sorko is where we ate. Owned by Vasiljevic Zoran in the city of Rogljevo. Served us Burgundac, Sovinjon Blank, Kaberne sovinjon with phone numbers 019 542 976.

The toilet – another adventure. We had the choice of the regular western toilet but with approx. 30 other women taking turns and nature calling, we opted for the “eastern” style one – a triangular-shaped hole in the ground in a brick shed without a door - - in the rain – in the mud. They did supply a newspaper, in case you did not have paper!

On the way back to the ship, we visited Nicola’s grandfather’s village of Kobinisca, which has very grand homes. These people worked abroad and brought their money back to Serbia to build either a summer home or a grand home for the extended family; not a typical village.

The cemeteries were very large and had the couples buried next to each other. The tombstone had their photos or engraving, names, dates and then a long dark slab of marble over the bodies. Very elegant.

Belgrade and Topola Serbia






Oct 13, 2010 -
First we toured the fortress, a huge compound overlooking the Danube and Sava Rivers. It is connected to the Kalemegdan Park and we saw people playing tennis and there were also basketball counts in the park, along with a zoo and Military museum. There were approx. 20 tanks and weapons in the fortress. In the moats, they once had sharp sticks and contained wild beasts as the fortress was too high to get water into the moats. There are two bricks used in its building: Red colored from the Austrian time of rule and white from the Turkish time of rule. The doors are metal plated wood. There are four gates and all royalty lived within its walls. There were once 16 mosques in Belgrade and there is only one now.

The people pay 18% VAT (tax). Children lean English in 1st grade and begin their second language in 3rd grade. There are four types of high schools: Technical, medical or classical – all for four years. University used to be free but they pay to attend now - about $2200 per year. The annual salary is $450 per month. The Serbian language is written in Cyrillic and Latin letters and they learn both in school. There was a concentration camp in Belgrade or the Jews were taken to Germany.

We passed the bombed out Department of Defense, bombed by NATO in 1999. It has taken the city over 35 years to build the train station and it is still not finished.

We drove to the other side of the city to the 25th of May Museum – the final resting place of Josip Broz TITO. He was born in Slovenia (?) 1892 and died in 1980. Born a peasant, he finished high school and was a locksmith. He was drafted into the Austrian Army in WWI and fought against Serbia with Austria, was captured and sent to jail in Russia. While there, he learned about communism and came back to spread communism through Yugoslavia. He organized troops and was elected President in 1945. He real name is not Tito; that is a nickname. Tito means, “YOU, do that.” He was a diabetic and built his House of Flowers in 1975. Until 1991, there were guards at his tombstone who changed guard every ½ hour.

He received relay batons from the citizens and his admirers and had over 20,000 batons. Richly decorated, they were on display in the House of Flowers. On his birthday, May 25th, he turned the day into a National day of Youth. May 25, 1892. There were lavish event performances in large stadiums.

There are rumors about Tito. It is said he cut off his left finger before he went to Russia. When he returned from Russia, he had all his fingers. When he returned from Russia, he spoke many languages, smoked cigars, never went back to where he was from or contacted his friends from his youth and never went to confessional, except on his deathbed. There is no communist star on his tomb nor a catholic cross and he spoke with a funny accent, like he did not learn the Serbian language at birth. There are not written documents that he lost his finger but many wonder if it was the same person who returned from Russia as the one who was sent there??

We toured the Cathedral of St. Sava. Similar to Barcelona’s La Sagrada Familia church, this church is being built for over 100+ years and there are many years yet to go. They just added the roof in 1990! It is a white marble and three services a day are held in the church next door, a much smaller church. There will be four bell towers, two are in use now. They will hold 49 different bells ranging from 60 kilos to 7 tons. Half of the walls will be covered in frescoes and half in mosaics. One eye of Christ, in the dome above the church, will be 3 feet wide. There will be there areas for the choirs – an 800 person choir! Money is only being raised through donations – so imagine how long it will take to finish this masterpiece.

Mom and I tried to go to the War Museum but the police were blocking the paths in all directions. They had a marathon in the city but we never saw any runners! We could not get passed them to get to the museum so we headed to the Mansion of Princess Ljubica. As a rare preserved example of architecture from the time of Prince Milos Obrenovic, Princess Ljubica lived there with their sons Milan and Mihailo. It was a beautiful Balkan museum home with a large center meeting area and four rooms in each corner - on each floor. Each room had furniture from different periods showing the development of the modern Serbian state and Belgrade’s transformation from an Oriental city to a modern European town – Asian, Turkish, Biedermier and neo-Baroque – all coming from wealthy families from the city. Beautiful portraits of the various family members and wooden floors. They also had a Turkish bath in the house on the main floor and after she died, they had a hamam Turkish bath in the basement, which now houses the antiquities from 5500 BC found near the Neolithic site Vinca. Very nice museum and it was only $0.75 to enter. It was started in 1829 and completed in 1831. They no longer have a ruling family in Serbia.

We also went to see the Saborna Crkva, the Orthodox Cathedral, the head of the Serbian Orthodox faith built from 1837 – 1840. The iconostasis was honed by master goldsmiths and is highlighted by a backdrop of rich, charcoal-colored marble. Rich in detail with magnificent icons.

We are headed now on the bus to Topola Serbia, about 1.25 hours away from Belgrade. The traffic is heavy and the countryside is green and hilly. We drove through several villages and bounced along on roads which had been patched several times.

The church was built in 1920-30s and is the jewel of churches, built in white marble. Karageorge (Black George) was the leader of the Serbs vs. the Turks. No churches and schools were allowed – Four Turks opposed the Serbs and the Serbs were killed. Karageorge Petrovic became Jorvanovic and there was an uprising in 1804-13. Jorvanovic had a house in Topola and started to write the 1st constitution there. In 1813, the Turks attached again and Jorvanovic went to Austria. Milos Obrenovic Dynasty began but Milos assassinated Jorvanovic so Milos came to power. He forced the Turks to sign a peace treaty and they were semi-independent. His son Michael was assassinated. His other son Alexander had no children and in 1903 the military killed he and his wife in the Town Hall. The grandson of Jorvanovic came to power, Petar I Jorvanovic. His son, Alex I Jorvanovic, came to power in WWI and the royal family and military supporters moved to the Greek island of Corfu and the Thessalonniki area. 120,000 Serbian soldiers were with them.

The countries became independent and the grandson wanted to build a memorial to his grandfather, Karadorde Petrovic Jorvanovic. Artists were sent to all the churches in the country to copy the most famous frescoes - 1913. The king was assassinated in 1934 in Marseille, France. A peace treaty was signed in 1941 with Hitler and Belgrade was bombed. King Petar II fled to the UK, where he lived for many years. King Alex II was born in the Claridges Hotel, London, with a mound of dirt from Serbia put under his mother’s bed, thus claiming he was “born on Serbian soil”. He, their current king, was not raised in Serbia and he and the family do not speak proper Serbian.

Mausoleum of the Karadjordjevic Royal Dynasty - In the beautiful mosaic mausoleum under the church’s main floor, there are 22 burial plots for the royal family. One member is currently buried in Libertyville, IL, USA and they hope to move the body back to the family grave. There are over 15,000 shades of mosaics in the church and many with 14K gold.

Karadorde Petrovic Jorvanovic liberated the Serbs from 400 years of Turkish rule. We visited his home, saw the first iron cast cannon (they used cherry trees before) and the crown of the new King was made from the handle of the 1st cannon used. They had a gusle instrument on display – similar to a mandolin.

Novi Sad Serbia in the morning and Belgrade Serbia






October 12, 2010 -
Bright and sunny and we docked very early. Our view from our large window was looking up under the walkway! This is the 2nd largest city in Serbia and they have the 2nd largest Serbian fortress with 16 km of underground passages and over 400 cannons and once housed 50,000 soldiers. The city is surrounded by flat plains.

In 1999 NATO bombed the city for 78 days. There are three bridges: Pontoon (no longer exists), Blue (which is too low at certain times when the river rises and ships have to wait until the water level decreases) and Rainbow and Liberty bridges. We walked through a nice green park dedicated to Empress Sissy of Austria with swans - Dunavaska Park. Toured the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. George and the catholic church. The synagogue from 1909 was built by architect Lipold Baumhorn. It is now a concert hall and offers Jewish services on holidays only. There are not enough Jews in the city for regular services. Thousands were deported during WWII and sent to concentration camps; it is said they were pushed into the Danube River. The town has a population of 10,000. The code to use the toilet at MacDonald’s is 0217#, if you are ever in the area! The Zmaj Jovina walking street was quaint and full of cafes and small specialty shops. They are known for their “kibbitz-fenster” – a window which extends into the street by about 2 feet so you have a better view of who is passing beneath you on the street – makes for better gossip when you can view those around you. There may be four windows on the 2nd floor but one window will jut out further into the street than the other windows. Jovan Jovanovic Zmaj wrote poetry and newspaper for youth. We saw the Serbian National Theater.

During WWII, citizens were not allowed to come to the Serbian Orthodox church; religion was suppressed. It was a beautiful baroque church with ornate paintings. There are no pews or chairs on the church. Women/children stand on one side of the church and the men on the other. On special occasions, the men are allowed to go near the altar. The Catholic and Orthodox way to cross yourself is reversed – Orthodox first touch their right shoulder, left and then middle and Catholics do the opposite. The city claims to have over 16 minorities living together.

We visited the 1895 Neo-Gothic Katedrala (Catholic cathedral), City Hall constructed in 1896, the tourist office and walked over the bridge to Petrovaradin Fortress. It dates back to Roman times built between 1692 and 1780 by the Austrian army. The fortress is on the ruins of a 13th century Roman forts which also served as the center of power during Ottoman rule (1526 – 1686). We walked among the barracks, found a newly restored 5* Hotel Leonardo built into the barracks and enjoyed the many views of the city and art galleries and Danube River below. The Novi Sad City Museum and Underground Military Galleries are also here but we did not have time plus they were not offering the underground paths, tunnels and walled gates without a group of ten – supposed to be over 10 miles of them.

It was quite a steep walk up many steps to get there.
Back over the bridge, we went to the Vojvodina Museum – the best museum in town. It has four permanent exhibits of archaeology, history, ethnology and modern history. The central treasure are two 4th century golden Roman helmets, supposedly in better condition than those in the Louvre in Paris. It was huge! An entire floor of the museum showed how the country was won, lost, items found from the Bronze Age and then on to their furniture, costumes, descriptions of their customs, jewelry, hats….lots of interesting items. Well worth the $1.50 to get in!

The city market was just around the street so we ran over there. Fruits, vegetables, underwear, long underwear, shirts, sweats, flea market items, kitchen items…you name it - was fun to walk around. Back to the ship for sailaway at 1:30 and we had a nice lunch - smoked trout today and it was delicious. Plus the soup and salad buffet and a dessert. Plenty of food onboard!!!

We had a private tour of the engine room and captain’s area, which is a 6x6’ room on a hydraulic lift so they can lower it when the river is too high and the ship cannot pass under bridges. The engine room is not very large but very loud. They use two engines – one for when sailing and one for when we are docked.

I rested on the upper deck wrapped in a blanket. We passed bucolic country scenery with cows, pigs and horses on the farmland by the Danube. Nice bluffs on the one side and flat farm land on the other. In for tea at 5PM (first time we’ve had that) and then we arrived in Belgrade, Serbia, their largest city.

Belgrade is located in south eastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. The Sava and Danube rivers embrace the city on three sides and that is why the city has from the ancient times been the guardian of the waterways. It is also called the Gate of the Balkans and the Door of Middle Europe. In its long and turbulent history, Belgrade has frequently changed its names and masters. Its Slavic name “Belgrade” has lasted for the longest time, means white city. It is the city that most battles were fought for and the city with the highest number of symbolic names as well.

We docked on the Sava River, under the white-stoned fortress. Big War Island is an island in between the Sava and Danube rivers, which is now swamp and marshlands. We took the bus up to the walking street and headed into the Kalemegdan park. We found vendors selling their old money – 50,000,000,000 notes!!!! 50 billion notes. Can you imagine!? There was an exposition from Epson showing digital prints of the masterpieces in the art world – Picasso, Monet, Gauguin…they looked like the exact paintings! And the view of the city from above was very nice. We continued down the Knez Mihailova walking street, explored a modern art gallery with a video, people-watched as all ages walked and ate their roasted chestnuts and popcorn and came upon the Republic Square (Trg Republike) where they have the National Museum and National Theatre.

We had some difficulty crossing the streets to get back to the ship as Secretary of State Clinton was in town and apparently she was on the same time schedule we were. We never saw the motorcade but there were masses of policeman standing around the entire city enjoying their free time on taxpayer’s money. The French group hosted the Swiss Ambassador for a meeting and dinner.

After dinner we really enjoyed a folklore show of Talija: a 4-man band of two clarinets, and accordion and piano players and four dancers in traditional Serbian dress (vest is called a Jelek). They presented five regional dances in the various costumes of the region. They had on Opanci footwear, leather “genie” shoes with the rounded up front of the sandal. You can tell the region that peasant is from by the type of opanak-shoe they wore. When they were changing, we had a fashion show of Sirogojno sweater jackets – the wool is from Iceland and the designs are Serbian. Approx $250 for a sweater.

Ajvar – a delicious Serbian specialty – contains red pepper prepared in a traditional way. Ajvar is a kind of salad that may be used as a side dish and is prepared in open pots on wood stoves.

Slatko – traditional specialty and every welcoming ceremony begins with it. Hand-made and contains whole fruits that are easily recognizable in the thick syrup. It is served in a small dish with a glass of fresh water.

Rakija – traditional spirit that is mainly made of plums but other fruits and even vegetables may also be used. The Serbs use brandy for many purposes and it has a very important role in everyday life and in religious life as well. It refreshes and strengthens the body and is considered to be a medicine for a number of ailments.

Osijek and Vukovar Croatia (Hrvatska)




Up earlier than normal for a bus ride from Vukovar (where we docked) to Osijek –about ½ hour away. Marina was our guide; a strong-willed, opinionated young woman who wants to become a lawyer, judge and mayor. She explained how difficult it was for the older generation to accept Serbs and Croats living together. The younger generation is more accepting. The Croats have lived there since the 7th century.
Croatia has 20 counties and the capital is Zagreb. Total population is 4 million. 95% are Roman Catholic.

Tito opened the borders in the ‘60s. He gave women the right to vote and women were given the same opportunities as men for employment. They make brandy out of the many fruits in their fertile region. There are still mines in many fields and it will take at least another ten years to clear the areas. The children grow up learning not to run out in fields. They pay 23% VAT. Children go to school in shifts - -a morning shift from 8-1 and then from 1:30-7. They pay for their books and public bus pass to get to school. Fewer and fewer children are being born as the cost to raise them is too high. Books cost approx. $150-300 a year. Average salary is $1000/month. They are known to enjoy life (and nightlife) and there are many night clubs and cafes.

Osijek is in the far north-eastern corner of Croatia on the Drava River. We walked by the Tvrdja fortress, on the Drava River, and then had a drink (I tried the Croatian beer) by the river at a new Hotel Osijek. Mom and I walked to the Urania movie theatre that had a façade like a whale’s tusks. The Turks were here in the Middle Ages and built one of the wonders of the world – the longest wooden bridge – which was approx. 5 miles long over the river and marsh lands around the 1500s. We toured the neo-Gothic Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. Osijek also suffered during the 9 month bombardment of the Yugoslav war and there are scars around the city with caved in roofs and dilapidated buildings. Under the main square, they had a shopping mall and we walked quickly through the shops. Women seem to be wearing boots – high and short heels and very decorative. We’ll see if they come to the USA.

We walked with our new guide, Lorena around Vukovar, a once beautiful town. Until 1991 it was a prosperous town with a quaint Baroque center and a successful manufacturing industry of Borovo shoes and vegetables. There are many large grain silos in the flat plains surrounding the city. However, due to its proximity to the Serbian border there was a war between the Croats and Serbs for 90 days that left the city in ruin. 30,000 houses were destroyed. Bullet holes in the doors and building walls and destroyed houses and businesses are still littered throughout the streets. They are slowly rebuilding and renovating but there is at least one building on each street that needs renovation. The unemployment is 32% and many young people have not returned to their city after being educated elsewhere since there are no jobs. We walked to see the ruined Eltz Palace (owned by a land owning family) and the new Hotel Lav, the Franciscan Monastery and the water tower, which will not be renovated and will remain the symbol of what the city has survived. Mr. Lavoslav Ruzicka, won the Nobel prize in 1939 for his work in chemistry, and we passed his residence. We saw the Chapel of St. Roka, where they prayed to survive the plague.

Ruins from 3000BC were found down river, including proof of copper processing. Romans lived here and the area is known for their vineyards. They also sell a “frozen” wine where the berries are picked at -5 degrees Celsius to make a sweeter wine. Some of their wine was served when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned. Croatia became independent in 1991.

Apatin and Sombor, Serbia





Up at 8 and the sun was beautiful. It was a perfectly blue sky and we docked for just about 2 hours at Mohacs, the border town, to get our papers cleared. Here in 1526, Ludwig II King of Hungary and Bohemia was defeated by Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Turks occupied Austria for 150 years. Not until 1687 did Turkish rule over Austria end when Karl von Lothringen and Ludwig von Baden won a decisive victory over the Ottoman troops on Harsany Mountain. We sailed through a very marshy region with side canals and side branches forming islands beautiful beaches.

In 1918, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia were united. In 1927, the area became known as Yugoslavia (meaning South Slavs). On April 6, 1941, Germany invaded Yugoslavia which was ruled by Tito (communist dictator) from WWII – 1980. The USA funded Tito since Russia was being controlled by Stalin and Stalin ordered troops be brought near the border of Russia and Yugoslavia. The USA did not want Russia to control Yugoslavia as they would have closer access to Europe, therefore, $30Billion went from the USA to Tito – one of the only known times we have funded a communist. Yugoslavs were allowed to travel freely among their own region but if a passport was needed, it was $5000. In 1992, the countries decided to separate - Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. The Turks were moving north. Muslins now control Kosovo and it is an autonomous region with a population of 2M. Albania is now pure Muslim. There was a terrible 78-day war of ethnic cleansing of the Croatians, Bosnians and Serbians.

We docked at Apatin Serbia and again had to wait to be cleared by the officials (same country – so why the clearance requirement?). After an hour, we were allowed to walk around in the small town of 15,000 and saw a beautiful church, which is being newly re-painted and restored. We went via bus to Sombor, a town of about 30,000 and toured an art gallery by Milan Konjovic, a Sombor native. We visited their ornate baroque Orthodox church and then toured the public library. They were extremely proud that they were now able to process library books using the bar code on the book for check-in/out. The fee is about $5 for the library card for the year and they have a few computers for internet use.

We saw a priest wearing the long black robe with his wife (yes, they are allowed to marry), in normal dress, and a young woman and a soldier wearing his camouflage uniform. It is compulsory for all young men between 18-29 years old to serve six months in the military or nine months in civil service and you are only given reprieve if you are in school.

Dinner with the entire group – French and English -- at Andric restaurant. We enjoyed a huge cauldron of fish soup with wide egg noodles which had been cooked on an outside hearth and a whole catfish in the bouillon and then a fried catfish steak and potatoes, carrots, corn, broccoli and salad and a sour cherry crepe with ice cream! Delicious!! AND we were serenaded the entire time by four musicians – accordion, two guitars and a bass who all sang and played. www.restoranandric.co.rs Back to the boat around 10 and waited again for the local authorities to clear us for departure.

Budapest



OCT 09 BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
We had a beautiful sail in to Budapest – directly in front of the magnificent Parliament. Mom saw the Intercontinental Hotel where Dad and she stayed for a convention many years ago. After lunch we boarded a bus for the Americans and had a 3 hour guided tour of the city. Heroes Square: wide open space of Heroes Square with an 118 feet high tall monument erected in 1896 to mark the 1000 years of the Magyar date. Square is flanked by the Palace of Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts, Parliament: strongly reminiscent of the Palace of Westminster in London, it is one of the city’s most famous sights. Neo-Gothic style completed in 1902, it extends along the Danube for 292 yards, St. Stephen’s church, Fisherman’s Bastion.

Overlooking the Danube, the fairy-tale spires and turrets afford the classic view of Budapest. Built onto the castle walls in the early 20th century purely for ornamental reasons, the monument’s name is a reference to the fishermen who heroically defended the ramparts here against invaders in the 18th century and St. Matyas Church which is on the Buda hill named after Hungary’s most popular medieval king. Habsburg Emperor Franz Jose I was crowned King of Hungary here in 1867. Has unusual geometric patterns on the roof, stained glass windows and other details date from the 19th century. We were on both the Buda side with mountains and hills, and the Pest side is as flat as it can be.

They dropped 5 of us off at the Gellert thermal baths and we were pleased to hear it was ½ price tonight! They are medicinal baths as well as regular swimming pools, all decorated in an opulent art nouveau style. Unisex indoor pool has a vaulted glass ceiling and Romanesque style carved columns (and cold water!) and the thermal baths feature marble statues, fine mosaics and glazed tiles with water temperatures at 36 and 38 degrees Celsius. So we enjoyed the warm, hot, ice cold and lukewarm baths and steam and sauna rooms. Mom and I walked back to the ship with no trouble and the others got a little lost but they made it!

Nice dinner of pork - - no choices. They print up the menu and you eat. We have a table for the English speakers and the others are all French. We sail now with the city lights on and then head southeast to Serbia.

Vienna - October river cruise to Bucharest


In October, Mom and I took a river cruise from Vienna Austria to Bucharest Romania as the destinations were very close to my grandparent’s homeland (on my Father’s side). I have much more detail written but since it is old news, I will limit it (!!) to the notes below.

Oct 7 Vienna - Found our boat! Der Kleine Prinz and met Nicola, our cruise director. Also toured the Uniworld Beatrice river cruise boat (very ornate and decorated beautifully with guest laundry facilities) and the Viking Pride (free WiFi) and several European river cruise ships which had real balconies! Chairs were out for relaxing as you meander down the Danube….Walked the entire length of the Handelskai area at dusk as we headed back to the hotel. Checked out the fitness center and promptly changed into our bathing suits for the steam room, sauna and three wonderful shower heads with ice cold water, rainfall and normal shower heads. It is on the 8th floor so you had a great view of the Prater ferris wheels (there are two now) and the lights of the city. Lovely. Very tired. Ironed. Re-packed. Bed. Oh yes, had pumpkin soup and the best bread! Delicious.

Oct 8 Vienna - The ship is red, blue and white; two decks high; nice front lounge but the chairs face inward and the windows are not floor to ceiling. The stateroom has “set” twin beds, two closets, very little lighting, large bathroom with a plastic shower curtain that will get everything wet. Small TV with 3 French and 1 German and 1 English channel. We went off the ship to explore the Prater amusement park. The park was originally hunting grounds for royalty in the late 1700s and then became a park in the late 1860s. The ferris wheel compartments are very roomy and held 8 of us; we had ample room to stand up. Had great views from the top of the entire region. One of the carriages was set up for a private dinner! What a great idea for a special occasion. You can have a birthday parties, meetings and make an event very interesting for any time of day or night. We hurried back to the ship for our “snack” time and our 5:00 welcome onboard talk. There are nine Americans so we have Nicola as our private guide. Dinner was a nice hake appetizer (fish roll) and potato cream soup and chicken cordon bleu and a swan with cream and cheese and crackers.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Bermuda in September -- 2010!





It has been an exciting year and I have not kept up the blog as much as I would have liked. BUT…My friend/owner of Preferred Travel, was married on September 23 in Nassau Bahamas, even though my Father and I signed up to host the trip which was billed as a cruise to Bermuda! Hurricane Igor got in the way and we ended up going south on Holland America’s VEENDAM. Joyce was a beautiful bride and Dad and I had a great time with our group of 29, including some close friends from Newark!
The ship stopped in Charleston and we toured the USS Yorktown battleship where they have a monument dedicated to all veterans wounded in our wars. My Dad is a Purple Heart recipient and is President of the local chapter this year. Then we stopped for a day in Disney and you can see Jeff and Joyce with their Disney wedding ears which they wore for the rehearsal dinner! And after re-routing the pastor, the wedding turned out lovely on the beach at the Sheraton Nassau Beach hotel.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Heading to Home Sweet Home...

Thursday, May 13, 2010 – At Sea – A rocky day for packing!
After a very rocky night, we packed, saw a nice goodbye video from the crew and champagne toast from the cruise director, played our last game for dollars and redeemed them for two sweatshirts and two t-shirts! Great loot!

Many sad goodbyes to our new passenger and crew friends. Dinner with friends and we had a nice crew farewell with Baked Alaska carried through the dining room.
Still up packing now at midnight…as we prepare for a memorable sail into the Hudson River very early tomorrow morning (6AM). We plan to rent a car, drop friends off at Newark Airport and head to Wilmington. Hard to believe 51 days have come and gone so quickly. And I still wonder at how easy it is to sail and visit so many diverse ports of call from one home. It is the best way to tour. Easy. Comfortable. Exciting.

The best joke from the comedian was about the passengers who booked a cruise FROM Ft. Lauderdale TO Ft. Lauderdale…AND it would take them 51 days.

But he does not understand the wonders you will experience during those incredible 51 days….but we do.
It’s been another trip of a lifetime. Thank you, Holland America and Preferred Travel, a member of the Ensemble Travel Group!

Sea day and BERMUDA

Tuesday, May 11, 2010 – Formal day at sea
Rocky seas, meeting with friends, games for dollars, took a nap!, walked two miles.
Another nice pillow gift from Holland America – a beautiful china collector’s plate of the Grand Voyage with the itinerary on a world map.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 – Hamilton, Bermuda!
We had a beautiful ½ hour tender ride in to Hamilton through the clear blue waters, passing the colorful homes and small islands. I had forgotten how beautiful the approach to the island can be.

We will be returning in September for a week’s cruise from NY on the Holland America VEENDAM ship – Sept 19-26. Consider joining us! And also for the special event: Joyce (owner of Preferred Travel) and Jeff will be married on September 23! We did some research for the big day, enjoyed a walking tour of Hamilton to the Sessions House with a private tour, watched the Supreme Court in session, visited the Department of Tourism, Heritage Museum, toured the Cathedral, found the library for free internet!, Perot post office, City Hall and various shops along Front Street. The town is pretty easy for walking, if you don’t mind a few hills. We saw the VEENDAM parked right in downtown Hamilton and thought ahead to our September trip!

Hamilton is the capitol of Bermuda. It is located on the north side of Hamilton Harbor, and is Bermuda's main port. Although there is a parish of the same name, the city of Hamilton is in the parish of Pembroke. The City is named after Sir Henry Hamilton, governor from 1778 to 1794. In spite of being the administrative capital of Bermuda, Hamilton only has a permanent population of approximately 1,800.

As the offshore domicile of many foreign companies, Bermuda has a highly developed international business economy. It is a financial exporter of financial services, primarily insurance, reinsurance, investment funds and special purpose vehicles (SPV). Finance and international business now constitute the largest sector of Bermuda's economy. The city is 185 acres in size, substantially more than when first established but still one of the smallest cities in the world. As a self-governing British colony, Bermuda is comprised of 181 small islands and islets connected by bridges and causeways that resemble a fishhook from the air. 
Bermuda is divided into nine parishes. Each parish is unique. St. George's captures the island's past with structures dating back to the 17th century. The pastel-colored buildings make up the government and shopping Mecca in Hamilton in Pembroke Parish.

Prior to July 31, 1972 Bermuda's currency was tied to the British Pound. Legal tender is now the Bermuda Dollar which is pegged to the US dollar on an equal (1 to 1) basis. This means that US currency is accepted at shops, restaurants and hotels at equal (face) value.

We toured the Anglican Cathedral of The Most Holy Trinity is on Church Street, between Cedar Avenue and Parliament Street. It is considered the most imposing edifice in Bermuda. Built on the site of Trinity Church, destroyed by an arsonist in the 1880s, it is Gothic in style. It was designed by Scottish architect William Hay of Edinburgh and built (work began in 1886) from a mix of Bermuda stone, Caen stone from France, Nova Scotia freestone and Scottish granite.

The Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute is the world's first scientific institute to focus entirely on deep-water exploration and research. The Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute is a pioneer in focusing on everything from marine biology to the technology of underwater exploration and deep-ocean ecology. The 3,000-plus shell collection is the world’s best. You will see the shrunken human heads showing gruesome effects of deep-water pressure. You can also hop aboard the world's first simulated deepwater submersible going down to the 12,500-foot base of the Bermuda Sea Mount. This will be our Ensemble Experience shore excursion for the group in September.

Sessions House is the Georgian-style building on Church Street. Built in 1817 when the City of Hamilton became the Capital of Bermuda, Sessions House is located on Parliament Hill. The Clock Tower was added in 1887 to commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria’s reign. It serves as Bermuda's House of Assembly and Supreme Court, where they still wear the wigs in the courtroom!

Phoenix Clock is a famous city landmark on Reid Street. A Howard Post Clock, it was first imported from Boston, Massachusetts, in 1893 by merchant Duncan Doe, a watchmaker and jeweler. He advertised his craft via the ornate timepiece. It has been owned by the local Phoenix group of pharmacies for decades. For years, it was located on Queen Street before it was relocated to Reid Street. It runs via a pendulum and after not working for sometime, it was repaired in May 2009 by a craftsman from Massachusetts.

Horse drawn carriages are available for hire by visitors. Hamilton Trolley Train is a one hour tour of the City of Hamilton. It will drive past the famous Birdcage, Albouys Point, City Hall, the Bermuda National Gallery, the Anglican Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, and Fort Hamilton. The drive continues to the Botanical Gardens and Camden House, the official residence of the Premier of Bermuda.

Bermuda has more cars and motor vehicles per square mile than anywhere else in the world and too many people drive too fast and dangerously. Each family is allowed one car.

Very nice sailaway with commentary from Bermuda through the various straits.