Capitals of Eastern Europe - Day 9 - Novi Sad

Day 9 – Monday 30 June 2025 - Novi Sad

Viking Kadlin at Novi Sad

When we woke we were moored starboard side to bank at Novi Sad, Serbia and we took the included excursion The Town of Novi Sad.

The walking tour included a concert by Trio Maya in a synagogue. The female trio consisted of a singer, viola player and violinist. They performed Schindler’s List theme, ‘If I were a rich man’ and three traditional Jewish songs, finishing with a rousing Hava Nagila which everyone joined in clapping along.

Fish & Chips for lunch with a glass of crisp white wine

Dinner on the prow

View from prow

Kadlin left for Belgrade after dinner.

 

Novi Sad mooring https://what3words.com/pastels.clasps.squad

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Capitals of Eastern Europe - Day 8 - Vukovar & Ilok

 Day 8 – Sunday 29 June 2025 -Vukovar & Ilok

Kadlin was late arriving at Vukovar, Croatia, which pushed back the departure of the included excursion Osijek Citadel & Vukovar’s Eltz Manor Museum.

Eltz Manor (above) was damaged during the recent war with Serbia, but has been fully restored. The building, an old palace, is impressive but our tour was not. The guide steadily walked on talking into the microphone while the group was strung behind, and a third of the group were stuck in corridors unable to get in rooms probably because other members of the group blocked the entrance. We gave up and explored on our own, but were not entranced by a display of different ethnic costume that took up the largest room, and spent time in the garden overlooking the Danube.

Ruins of Vukovar Railway Station have been left as a reminder of the war

Then we coached on to Osijek where there was a low key show in the community hall with a female singer who delivered western songs in a piercing voice. A couple of stalls at the back of the hall sold bottles of homemade plum brandy and other goods.

Then we walked through the central cobbled streets of Osijek Citadel lined with barracks and officers houses, but I’d have preferred to see the fortifications.

During lunch Kadlin cast off heading for Ilok, and arrived there a couple of hours later. We stopped there for an optional excursion and during dinner we cast off again to sail to Novi Sad.

I was pleased to see the dinner starter of red pepper tartlet. This has appeared on previous cruises, and interpreted by the ship’s chef. Again this had such intense flavour, it was delicious.

We moored Port side to bank in both Vukovar and Ilok and weren’t rafted.

Vukovar mooring https://what3words.com/panels.mondays.rides

Ilok mooring https://what3words.com/horn.renew.grouping

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Capitals of Eastern Europe - Day 7 - Mohacs

 Day 7 – Saturday 28 June 2025 - Mohács

The steepness of the ramp caused by low water was not helped by the ramp being bowed, so it was very steep upwards leaving the boat and very steep coming down towards the boat. Several crew were stationed to give assistance, and without their help I couldn’t have left the boat and taken the included excursion to Pécs.

Pécs is an attractive well-maintained clean city, about an hour’s drive from the boat. University students at the end of their studies fixed their locker padlocks to the supplied railing.

ABC, but the Cathedral of Peter & Paul was richly decorated.

During 45 minutes free-time we had a coffee at the café on the corner of the yellow building. Service was so laid back we needed all that time.

Kadlin was supposed to leave Mohács at 19:00 but it was over two hours later that it cast off for Vukovar.

Mohács mooring https://what3words.com/mandates.valve.sunroof

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Capitals of Eastern Europe - Day 6 - Budapest

 

Day 6 – Friday 27 June 2025 - Budapest

Several optional excursions during the day, but we relaxed.

We took an afternoon stroll along the river bank to the Shoes on Danube Bank memorial. The line of metal shoes commemorate the 3,500 people shot by Hungarian Fascist Militia during WWII. They were lined up on the river side, forced to take off their shoes, which could be resold, and shot so their bodies fell in the water and were swept down river.

Pre-dinner Champagne

At 22:15, when it was dark, Kadlin cast off from Budapest and took the opportunity to view its illuminated buildings.

Budapest mooring https://what3words.com/cycled.roofed.punch

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Capitals of Eastern Europe - Day 5 - Budapest

Day 5 – Thursday 26 June 2025 - Budapest

Chain Bridge seen from our cabin

When we woke we were moored by Budapest's Chain Bridge with the port side facing the river. Kadlin was rafted starboard to Viking Gymyr, but while we breakfasted Viking Tor rafted next to us so we were the filling in a sandwich.

 

At 08:45 was the included Panoramic Budapest excursion, but we’d previously taken that at least twice so preferred Kindle company. In the afternoon the temperature was 38C and there was no wind. But the air-conditioning in the lounge and especially the Aquavit Lounge was so cold we couldn’t use them.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich

At 18:00 the boats performed an intricate dance as Gymyr left, Tor took its place and we were on the outside with our cabin facing the river. But not for long, as another boat later came and sandwiched us.

Dining on the prow in Budapest

(not) Spicy Bean Chilli

Budapest mooring https://what3words.com/cycled.roofed.punch

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Capitals of Eastern Europe - Day 4 - Bratislava

 

Day 4 – Wednesday 25 June 2025 - Bratislava

 

At the reasonable time of 09:00, fortified by Viking’s buffet, we followed our guide for an amble through Bratislava. During the cruise we’d hear a lot about the Austro-Hungarian Empire and its ruler for 40 years Maria Theresa. (Maria Theresa bore 16 babies; all the females were named Maria something. Her 15th child, Maria Antonia, married the King of France, became Marie Antoinette and was guillotined in 1793)

 

Bratislava Boulevard where Danube flowed

Maria Theresa had the course of the Danube moved to its current position in order to make a wide boulevard. A long narrow fountain crossed by a footbridge is a reminder that once the mighty Danube flowed here.

 

We saw some quirky statues. The Watcher, showing a grinning man poking out of a inspection hole is on a corner. It seems so many cars didn’t see him that they had to erect a ‘Man at Work’ sign on a tall pole next to him. Why is he grinning? Maybe because he’s getting a different angle on passing women. It’s considered lucky to touch him which is why his top is shiny.

 

Napoleon’s army passed through Bratislava in 1805. A French soldier named Hubert fell in love with a local girl and stayed in the city. He made sparkling wine and today Hubert is the brand name of Slovakia’s most popular fizz. A statue of Hubert leaning on a bench has been placed in a square outside the French embassy.

At 17:00 was the Viking Explorer Society Cocktail Party but we didn’t go, we don’t want cocktails or the sweet German Sekt they pour, preferring our usual pre-dinner glass of Jacquart.

 

Braised Lamb Shoulder

Bratislava mooring https://what3words.com/airports.hotspot.premises

Around 18:00 Kadlin cast-off for Budapest.

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Capitals of Eastern Europe - Day 3 - Vienna

  Day  3 – Tuesday 24 June 2025 - Vienna

Wiener Schnitzel 

Leisurely day today, optional tours morning, afternoon and evening but not for us. Lunch on prow, moored in Wien (Vienna) and I had Wiener Schnitzel, but with steak fries instead of traditional boiled potatoes, accompanied by a crisp Grüner Veltliner from Domaine Wachau. 

About midnight we cast off and headed down river to Bratislava, Slovakia. 

Vienna mooring  https://what3words.com/skip.dwarves.probe

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Capitals of Eastern Europe - Day 2

 

Day  2 – Monday 23 June 2025 - Vienna

Coaches picked us up by the boat for the included Panoramic Vienna excursion and drove us to the city centre where we followed our guide on foot to various sights, including the Lippizaner stud where we saw one of the famous white stallions.

 

We finished in a pedestrian shopping street with a public toilet. Included tours always point out public toilets, exchange bureaus and ATMs, and find shade in the summer for talks, and they conclude with ‘free time’. As we didn’t want to shop we retired to a street café for a coffee and to watch the world go by, then met at the said time/place to go to the coaches and back to the boat for lunch.

 

Tablecloths were on tables on the prow and that’s where we lunched. As well as the items on the menu there’s a daily lunch from the barbecue, detailed by the waiter.

 

There were optional excursions in the afternoon, and one could take the metro back to the centre but we stayed on the boat enjoying the heat while reading.

By the afternoon Kadlin was sandwiched between two other Viking boats.

Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Hash Browns & Cauliflower

Vienna mooring https://what3words.com/skip.dwarves.probe

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Capitals of Eastern Europe - Day 1

 

Introduction

Capitals of Eastern Europe was our 19th river cruise and the 15th with Viking. We’d been on Passage to Eastern Europe from Budapest to Bucharest in 2019 and I was most excited about cruising past where that stopped at Giurgiu for Bucharest and continuing down the Danube to Constanta on the Black Sea.

It wasn’t to be. After being lucky 18 times, with our 19th cruise we joined the community whose cruises have been affected by water issues, and we didn’t cruise to Constanta because of low water.

 

The Danube was very low which meant steep ramps to exit the boat at every stop. At  a few stops the ramps were so steep that crew members were stationed to help guests.

 

We had a port side cabin at the rear of the upper deck on the longship Viking Kadlin.

The cruise visits seven counties- Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, with visits to five Capitals – Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade and Bucharest with only the last not being on the river.

There were 180 passengers. The boat’s capacity is 190, so there were 10 people fewer than there could have been thus the boat was 94.7% full. Most of the passengers were from the USA, but there was a greater number than usual from the UK, also guests from Australia, Canada and New Zealand

 

Viking’s fare included on-board gratuities, Silver Spirit Drinks package and economy flights. Flights from London were with BA. We paid a supplement to upgrade to business class.

 

Day  1 – Sunday 22 June 2025

Folkestone Harbour

Our flight was scheduled to arrive at Vienna at 16:00. We were met, as usual, by a Viking welcoming team dressed in bright red and swiftly transported to the boat.

We were moored close to a bridge carrying a road to the city centre and close to an entrance to the metro that runs below the street that we’ve used before to get to/from the city centre. Our cabin on the port (left) side faced the bank but the boat wasn’t rafted. There was a pair of other Viking longships behind us, one carrying Chinese guests.

 

As  we had the drinks package we had a pre-dinner glass of Jacquart Champagne, a red with dinner and I sometime had a post-dinner tawny Port. We took turns choosing wines; white at lunch, red with dinner.

 

 

Smoked Beef Brisket

 

Walnut Cake

Vienna mooring  https://what3words.com/skip.dwarves.probe

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Finley

 To Aylesbury to see Finley before our river cruise.

Tilbury Fort

 To Tilbury Fort

The name gives no indication of how immense this place is. Remodelled many times since first constructed in the late 1600s as a gun platform to cover the Thames, it is protected from a landward attack by a series of moats and ramparts. It was used in anger in WWII to house ack-ack guns, and it was given-up by the MoD in 1950.

Main Entrance completed 1682

Covering the Thames

Parade Ground and Officers Accommodation

Bridge to Outer Defences

Guide Book