The Danube.
The Blue Danube.
Actually, the murky brown Blue Danube.
But beautiful nonetheless.
It is Europe’s second longest river, originating at the confluence of the Brigach and Breg rivers deep in the heart of Germany’s Black Forest. From there the river winds its way through ten countries, passing by four capital cities on a twisting 1,800 mile journey to the Black Sea. As early as the 7th century B.C.E. Greek sailors navigated the Danube. During the Roman period the river was used to transport goods from town to town. Some of Europe’s most ancient trading routes follow the river. The Danube is a seemingly magical body of water inspiring the souls of generation after generation of sailors, traders, artists, composers, monastics, townspeople, and – most recently – us.
By “us” I mean my wife Sandy and I.
Our friends Herb and Lorraine phoned us one day to see if we might be interested in joining them on a European river cruise. Being avid travelers in our relatively new life in retirement we said, “Sure!” Herb and Lorraine sent us some information about Viking River Cruise’s “Romantic Danube” voyage and, after looking over the brochures, Sandy and I were sold on the idea. Contacting a travel agent, we all signed up for an 8-day cruise that would take us from Budapest, Hungary to Nuremberg, Germany. Along the way we’d have stops in Vienna, Krems, Passau, and Regensburg. We let Viking arrange air transportation for us from Boston to Budapest, packed our bags, and waited for departure day to arrive.
June 18, 2016.
We left Boston a little after 7 that Saturday evening. Touching down 7 hours later in Amsterdam and clearing Passport Control, we navigated that huge airport until we found our connecting gate. Then we waited for the flight to Budapest. Everything ran pretty much on time.
By mid-afternoon local time, we were on the ship – the Viking Jarl.
The Jarl is one of Viking’s new Longship category of vessels. Built in 2013, the 190 passenger 4 deck Jarl is some 500 feet long and boasts many modern eco-friendly features including solar panels that provide some power to the ship. It is a state-of-the-art vessel with satellite television and wi-fi. It also has a hydraulically powered wheelhouse that can be lowered for safe passage beneath Europe’s many low bridges. Cabins on the top and mid-decks of the Jarl have wide balconies that provide wonderful viewing as the ship sails along through the lush hills of the Wachau Valley with its many castles. It is a ship built for sightseeing with glass everywhere. Whether on the upper sundeck, the Aqavit Terrace on the bow, the dining room, or your cabin, there are panoramic views galore.
I guess we were expecting something more like an oversized houseboat. But we were wrong!
But a ship is a ship is a ship – steel, glass, plastic, etc. The heart and soul of the Jarl is it’s friendly international crew. We were so impressed by their attention to detail, desire to be helpful, and good humor. Two of our dining room servers, Victor and Sarah, told us they are from Manila. I replied that I, too, am from the Philippines – from Vanilla just outside of Manila. For the rest of the week whenever I saw Victor and Sarah they greeted me as “Mr. Vanilla from Manila.” And they brought me wine. Lots of it!
I should point out here that Viking serves complimentary beer and wine at lunch and dinner. I was expecting a half-glass of something cheap like Barefoot White Zin or Natty Light Beer. No siree! The wine and beer served were top quality, usually from local wineries and breweries. And our servers poured as much of it as you could handle. The dining experience aboard the Jarl was magnificent, infinitely better than the oceangoing cruise ships we’ve been on. One night there was a Bavarian themed meal with all manner of 
wursts and other German delicacies. Male crew members were dressed in Lederhosen and the women wore colorful Bavarian dirndl dresses. Happy Oktoberfest music was played by two musicians wandering from table to table playing accordion and guitar. The whole dining room joined in singing Ein Prosit, the famous German drinking song. It was a fabulous night!
Local tour guides in each of the places we visited brought the richness of Hungary, Austria and Germany alive and the whole experience made me feel like I want to find a good book on European history. And there were some insights I gained along the way that I want to share with you in subsequent posts. One of them is about the harmful role religion sometimes plays in the life of people and nations and why many folks in Europe (and elsewhere) are abandoning the Church. It has to do with chestnut trees and beer gardens, so stay tuned!
If you are considering a European River Cruise we highly recommend the experience. We can’t say enough good things about Viking and the amazing crew members who made our Romantic Danube cruise a fabulous adventure!
The Freitag’s and Singley’s on the Viking Jarl
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