A Day in Budapest

Dianne and I opted NOT to do the pre-tour in Budapest, so we will literally only have a day there. And what should I find today but this: One Day in Budapest on a Viking Cruise! What a delight - but wait, there's more! How about "5 Best Authentic Souvenirs from Budapest"? Included here is a link to "Inside Budapest's Great Market Hall". Back on the first page is a link to their photos, including the Gellert Baths and scenes from Budapest. My my my - I can't wait!!

Budapest to Bucharest

Years ago, in 2013 to be precise, sisters Jan and Judy took a cruise with Viking from Budapest to Bucahrest. This inspired me to create an entirely new blog, titled "Travel with Friends". It was quite exciting to be able to travel along with them, using the Viking brochure and the photos they posted in Facebook as our guide. And now - we can reshare that experience! This time we'll re-visit their stay in Budapest, because that's where we'll start Cruise 2023. But just in case you'd also like to re-vist the earlier cruise, here is the first page of Budapest to Bucharest. By the way, they're about to sail with Viking again, this time to search for the Northern Lights! I can't wait to see what they find!!

Invitation to Friends

Are you interested in the countries we're going to be traveling to and through? Have you traveled there yourself? Do you have stories to tell, or are there books or videos you want to recommend? What about recipes to share? This is an open invitation to treasured friends - join us on this excursion! Add your two cents!! Become a blog writer!!! Send us a request, and/or we'll send you an invitation. Use this space to share with us what you know, and what you think we should know. Does this sound like more than you want to do? You can always just comment on individual posts. But it will be so much more fun, for both you and us, if you join as a blog writer and sail with us on the Danube, Main and Rhine on Cruise 2023! 

4/15/23 UPDATE: I forgot to set the access for our blog to "Public"! We still will not be indexed by the bots, which hopefully will not invite lurkers - BUT, now we are free to share this blog with our cherished others. If you have information to share with us, please do! OR, if you just want to travel along with us - Welcome aboard!! ❤️

Habsburg Genealogy

I've almost finished reading my first foray into a study of the Habsburg Empire. The book is The Habsburgs-To Rule the World, by Martyn Rady. The book has an excellent condensation of The Habsburg Family Tree. Here are screenshots from the paperback edition:

Viking Cruise Part 3 - Rhine to Amsterdam

Viking Cruise Part 2 - Germany

Let's continue with Barbara Werren's travelogue from 2017. Germany is next!

Viking Cruise Part 1 - Budapest to Vienna

Here's a 2017 video of Budapest, the first in a series by Barbara Werenski on the Viking Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. This should be a good introduction for us - to whet our appetite! Let us know what you think. Anything you want to see or do? Comment below to join in the fun!