Again blogger is becoming harder to use over time I see that my photos are in reverse order that I took them. We are back after 9 days away. Overall a very good trip with good weather, not 5 days of rain as forecasted. It sprinkled on us once.
We were tested for Covid every day, had to wear masks of varying grades everywhere. Viking took care of all the considerable paperwork with different requirements for 5 different countries. It would have been impossible to do this on our own. The ship was half full and we never felt crowded. The dining room was nearly empty most of the time and served very good food. They also served us unlimited amount of wine and beer. There was a cappuccino machine with varying degrees of fancy coffee strengths and sparkling and still mineral water plus a variety of snacks we had access to 24 hours/day.
Our room was small and below deck so not much view. But they had fancy linens, toiletries, and even a heated floor. We had internet most of the time except sometimes when we were moving and in Linz for some reason. I wake up early so I would go up to the lounge watching the world go by, sip my cappuccino and load photos which I took lots of Steve would join me after an hour and we would have a really nice breakfast We had one excursion a day, more if we paid extra, but plenty of time to go out on our own. If we were moving during the day, they would have special events such as wine tasting, strudel making, history lessons, high tea, music. If I didn't get enough exercise on our walks, I could walk on a small track which I did once. There were usually paved paths along the river which I could have used more than the one time I did if I ran out of interesting things to see.
We took Lufthansa to Frankfort to Budapest leaving Detroit from a terminal in which this is the only international flight. It used to be considered a luxury airline but it was very much not and we got off starving. Air France, which we took from Munich to Paris to Detroit, was much nicer though not as nice as it had been before covid. Viking reps met as immediately upon clearing customs which consisted of us walking through an unmanned gate. No one around to show our considerable paperwork we were told was mandatory to enter the country. We had to wait for this silly couple who was on our flight but waited on the wrong side of the gate until it occured to them to come to us. They must not have travelled much as they thought keeping a passport in their suitcase was a good idea. We met a nice couple while waiting that we would hang around for part of the cruise.
Although Buda, old hilly section, and Pest flat newer section are beautiful Hungary is becoming a dictatorship that Trump and his asshat followers admire. No dissent allowed, very anti immigrant, anti anyone not Christian, voting controlled, no gays or anything antifamily. We had a guide who told us amazing things: no fish in the Danube(the cormorants will be disappointed with that) Hungarians were victims of the Nazis, not collaborators, they invented the word Hello which sounds like can you hear me in Hungarian, invented do-Re-Mi, have no Covid so no one need wear a mask, highest vaccination rate in Europe, and have the 2nd oldest subway system in Europe. Only the last thing she said was true. I initially was pissed at her but then she was forced to say what she did. Telling the truth isn't allowed. Only in Austria did they owe up to the responsibility of serving Hitler. It was not discussed in Germany. The Slovaks and Hungarians insist that they hated Nazis but the truth is they didn't do badly under them especially compared to being under the Soviets for45 years did.
We were in Budapest two whole days and then sailing away at night under a full moon drinking too much pear schnapps
3 comments:
I too have problems with putting photos--and other things--on Blogger. I also have a problem with spacing paragraphs evenly.
I enjoyed the text and photos. Did you have any qualms about going to some of the places you visited? I'll never travel overseas, but I have traveled extensively--and frequently--in this country. Now, though, I wouldn't go to states like Florida or
Texas because I wouldn't want to financially support states that are determined to deny the vote to Democrats and abortions to poor people. I would also be fearful of catching Covid in states that refuse to protect people. I suppose you're eligible for your third vaccine by now. I had no side effects from the first two, but this one left me extremely fatigued and too nauseous to swallow water except in small sips. Of course, I had the flu vaccine at the same time, so it's possible that it was that one that did me in, or even the two vaccines in combination.
Yes blogger is a pain. Aside from not being able to caption my photos, I hit some setting that makes everything three times bigger and no hint how to return to normal.
I did have my third vaccine a month before I went. Steve had to wait until we got back as he had Moderna Except for Hungary people were much better at masking up than here and no flimsy cotton masks were allowed. In Austria you had to wear n-95 masks and people complied. In european airports, they announced fines for non compliance
I had made these arrangements 2 years ago so I had no idea how evil Orban was I don't know if the people support him, they dare not say anything Slovakia has a woman prime minister who is progressive.
I do hate Texas and Florida and won't support their economy in any way as those states, especially Texas represent the will of most of the people who are despicable
Sue, thanks for your response. Because of the vaccines, I'm willing to go to stores (something that I hadn't done at all for many months), and I've been glad to note that mask compliance has become ingrained in the Willamette Valley. No doubt nasty scenes occur, but I haven't seen them. The worst thing that I do see is people who use bandanas for masks or face shields as a substitute for masks. Perhaps, some such people are ignorant of the fact that these measures don't work, and I suppose it's possible that some of the shield wearers have conditions that make wearing a mask difficult. Masks are really quite unpleasant for me, so I have rushed through my shopping or even removed my mask for a minute or less if I'm alone on an aisle, but I am committed to them and very, very glad that Oregon requires them.
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