Just Back From Our Absolutely AMAzing Romantic Danube Cruise on the AmaWaterways AmaVerde 9/26-10/3/21

[Sleep7]

😊Thanks Bake apple!  Your compliments are SO very sweet. I'm super glad that you are enjoying my blog.. I'm rather sorry it's coming to an end soon.  I still have Budapest to go.. will begin on that shortly.

[jpalbny]

Love Budapest! Looking forward to hearing about your time there. We were there at the beginning of our Danube trip, so we were a bit jetlagged. But there is a lot to do, and we made a dent in it.

[Sleep7]

Hi jpalbny!  It's funny.. I thought of you this morning as I was slightly more on East Coast time. 

I remember you said it took almost 2 weeks to get back to normal.

I'm the same way too.. takes me a while!

"They" always say the rule of thumb is that it takes one day to recover from each hour of  time difference..  Sometimes more.. sometimes less I suppose.😊

[Sleep7]

So Saturday morning dawned in Bratislava and I was up early finishing my packing as we were taking all our luggage with us on the tour bus to Budapest.  There were 34 passengers and it seemed as if there were about 34 different travel plans. There were some who were booked on the second week of the cruise to the lower Danube who opted not to drive back and forth to the ship twice and made their own Budapest arrangements to stay and board the new ship that was picking them up in Budapest on Sunday for the second half of the journey.  Since the lock was still closed the people heading west had to switch ships with the people heading east.

There were some who were getting off in Budapest and spending a few days there post cruise and decided to stay in Budapest a day early to avoid the bus rides.  There were a few who had late in the day flights who were going back to Budapest the next morning with the tour bus to catch their flights home on Sunday afternoon.  Ahh.. how I would have loved to have the leisure to spend another week sailing the Danube with AMA!

8:15am promptly the "sailors" as Pau called them came and picked up our bags to load them under the bus.

It was about a 3 hour ride into Budapest as there was a lot of road construction along the way.

Another nod to NYC besides the Slovakian bagels.

First stop was the hilly Buda side of the city.

I spotted an old Soviet made Lada car.. it almost looked like a spy movie prop.

[Sleep7]

Our guide chatted about the history of the Fisherman's Bastion as we admired the glorious views over Pest below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

The scenery and the weather were perfection!

 

 

This last picture was particularly daring as I was holding my brand new only 6 day old phone out over the side of the railing with one hand to take the shot.

Whew.. no phones were harmed in the taking of this picture.😁

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

One more!

[Sleep7]

And now onto the highlight of the Buda side.. the strudel!!

A friend had gone to Budapest a few years ago and said that we MUST go to Ruszwurm Cukraszda  and taste the strudel! Just googled that "cukraszda" means "confectionery" in Hungarian.

Oh did she steer us right!

A slice of apple, a slice of cheese and a slice of sour cherry? Yes please!👋

My mouth is watering just thinking back on it.. 😋

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

A glamour shot showcasing all of their buttery goodness!

 

 

We only had about 45 minutes for lunch so we picked up some sliced cheese, bread and 2 beers at the small supermarket on the corner opposite the Fisherman's Bastion. We picnicked in the park right across from there.. the crowning glory was the strudel for dessert.😊

[Daisi]

Mmmmmm cheese strudle!  So glad to see this, I'm not an apple lover and was trying to think of a way for my DH to get strudle with me not caring for it.  That looks so good.

 

Thanks for the write up, it's really making me eager to plan for our trip.  I hope our weather is as good as yours, we were worried about the fall in that area, but it looks great.

[Sleep7]

Pest was next!  We boarded our bus again and drove over the Danube to the Pest side.  The Chain Bridge was under construction so we used the bridge nearest to Margaret Island.  Stopped at St Stephen's Basilica and walked down from there to admire the facade of the Four Seasons Gresham Palace hotel.  Built in 1906 it was formerly the headquarters of the Gresham Life Assurance Company.

It's a beauty! I'll put that on my list for someday but for tonight..  the Marriott Budapest awaits us!🤩

 

St Stephen's Basilica.

 

 

[Sleep7]

A genuine pay telephone booth too!

 

[Sleep7]

We relaxed on the bus and drove by more of the Pest sights except Heroes Square which was closed for the National Gallup; a horse racing event that transformed the square into a racetrack.

And then it was time to say goodbye.. or rather so long.

The bus parked by the Marriott and we got off with our bags to begin the last phase of our Danube adventure.  Saying goodbye to people who have become such dear friends in such a short period of time is always hard.  You always hope that when you say we shall cross paths again that you really do.

So like minded and fun.. we shall miss them.

Everything Pau promised had been done.. our room was ready for us and we were even offered dinner by the sweet AMA rep at the hotel who was tending to the just arriving Budapest passengers for next weeks cruise.

We dropped off our bags and set out to make the most of our last evening away in beautiful Budapest.

We walked over to the Dohany Synagogue which seating for 3000 makes it the largest Synagogue in Europe.

 

 

 

FROM WIKIPEDIA

It was built in a residential area between 1854-1859 by the Jewish community of Pest according to the plans of Ludwig Förster.

The synagogue was bombed by the Hungarian pro-*** Arrow Cross Party on 3 February 1939.Used as a base for German Radio and also as a stable during World War II, the building suffered some severe damage from aerial raids during the *** Occupation but especially during the Siege of Budapest. During the Communist era, the damaged structure became again a prayer house for the much-diminished Jewish community. Its restoration and renovation started in 1991, financed by the state and by private donations, and was completed in 1998

[Sleep7]

We walked around and picked up some gifts for family and friends and then headed back to the Marriott for a delicious dinner featuring new twists on old Hungarian favorites. I had the Goulash.. Sam had the chicken and dumpling soup with fried potatoes. We ended our meal with a crunchy pastry tube filled with chocolate pudding and whipped cream.  YUM.

We had been to Budapest twice before but I forgot what an amazing city it was.. we shall return.

Beautiful view of the Elisabeth Bridge from our room.

 

[Sleep7]

Oh! And here is the daily planner, for those who are keeping track, of the last day of the cruise.

I used screen shots from the AMA app all week that was incredibly useful and easy to use.

It's the wave of the future and I'm trying to keep up with it!

 

 

[2inSETexas]

1 hour ago, Sleep7 said:

And now onto the highlight of the Buda side.. the strudel!!

A friend had gone to Budapest a few years ago and said that we MUST go to Ruszwurm Cukraszda  and taste the strudel! Just googled that "cukraszda" means "confectionery" in Hungarian.

The strudel sounds wonderful! We plan to be in Vienna and Budapest in the not too distant future with AMA, and am looking forward to seeing what you have described and pictured. 

 

The strudel story reminds me of a trip we made with several friends to Bavaria. We spent a morning and lunch in Berchtesgaden and as we were boarding our bus, my wife and stepped into a local bakery for a snack for the road. I selected a piece of strudel, and after one taste consumed it all as the other friends were getting back on the bus.  When they saw the pastry and heard my glowing description (it was the best I have ever had anywhere), they all rushed off the bus to the bakery. A few moments later, they reboarded, empty handed. It seems I had bought the last piece in this little local shop. Had I known, I might have waited and shared…. 😉😋

Edited October 5, 2021 by 2inSETexas
Addition

[Sleep7]

Up at 3am.. picked up at 4 just as promised and we were on our way to BUD for the first of our 2 flights back home.

First order of business after checking in was to get a customs stamp for my VAT refund form.

At BUD the customs office is outside of security between the A gates and the B gates.

I waited on line but was told that since I was hand carrying the item with me and it wasn't going to be flying in my checked baggage I had to get the stamp in Amsterdam since it was my last point of departure from the EU.  If I had gone to the customs office before checking in and then packed the item in my suitcase and then checked it I could have gotten the stamp at BUD.

Each time we have applied for a VAT refund the procedure is always slightly different.. just gotta roll with the punches and hope for the best.

[Sleep7]

I slept every second from wheels up to wheels down of the KLM flight from Budapest to Amsterdam so it went pretty fast!😴

We located the customs office in Schiphol and had no problem getting the stamp.. just a little problem figuring out which mailbox to put it in.  Was it mailbox number one? Number two? Number three?

It was like "Lets Make a Deal"

I'm hoping that I chose the correct one.. will know in a few weeks if I did.

Our flight to JFK was delayed an hour so we had plenty of time to enjoy one of the many KLM lounges.  It was absolutely the LARGEST one I have ever seen.. almost the size of a football field!!

 

Delta flight 47 now leaving at 11:45am.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

 

 

 

 

7.5 hours flying time and those passed pretty quickly and pleasantly too.

Arrived home in our house by 4pm or so and spent the rest of the day doing laundry and putting things away. 

As I said the in beginning of the blog that I was up Monday morning at 2am and enjoyed the quiet darkness to begin this happy tale and now it has come to an end.  Thank you for coming along with me.

Can't wait until our next trip.. planning starts in 3.. 2..1..

Arrivederci!  Adios!  Au Revoir!  Auf Wiedersehen!  Goodbye for now.😍

Edited October 5, 2021 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Hi Daisi!  Oh yum.. the cheese strudel was amazing!!  I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Hope you get good weather when you do go.. we really lucked out.

Thankfully all those hoods and hats and travel umbrellas never left the cabin closet.

 

Hi 2inSETexas!

Love your strudel story!!😁

 

 

[jpalbny]

Sorry your trip has ended!

 

Definitely stay at the Four Seasons in Budapest if you have the chance. That was our base for 3 nights when we were there. Beautiful hotel.

 

Good luck planning the next trip. We usually plan out more than a year in advance but with covid we have been using a much shorter time horizon. 

[Sleep7]

Thanks jpalbny! I'm sorry that our trip has ended as well.

I agree that planning far ahead is rough now.. you just kind of have to see whats doing currently and then run with it if times are good.

 

[acwmom]

What a fabulous trip review. Thank you so much! You've inspired me to see which cruises are still available for the Health Care Heroes recognition, since I have a certificate as well.

Robin

[NavyCruiser]

Thanks again for extremely detailed trip report & stunning pictures.

Easily the best post of the year.

We picked up a lot of tips for our upcoming river cruise next month.

Good to know that we can get our last covid test onboard, before flying out, spend 2 days in England, & still be good for the US' 3 day testing requirement.

Hope our weather stays just as nice...

[gubby]

Thanks for the great review. It inspired my spouse and I to finally book a river cruise we have been talking about.

Also  even more thanks for the work you have been providing during this crisis. I found it heartwarming to hear that you and your spouse were able to use such a great program to partially pay back your sacrifices.