Just back!! Our VIKING LOFN-omenal "Passage to Eastern Europe" Cruise. 10/23 to11/2/2023 - Full trip report with tons of pix!

[Sleep7]

A top brass toast and then a very festive and fun "Taste of the Balkans" dinner!

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Loved seeing tomorrow's Viking Daily every evening.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Along with disembarkation information about Bucharest.  I don't know if this week plus went fast or slow or just at the right speed. 🤷‍♀️

I do know it's nice to be away more than a week!😊

 

 

 

 

 

[TayanaLorna]

Enjoying this very much.  Thank you.  I like how you are including the Dailies, menus and photos from the same day/location.  It gives a continuity to the photo journal.  I also like your technique of showing a photo or two along with your comments and posting it as an individual item.  

[Sleep7]

2 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Enjoying this very much.  Thank you.  I like how you are including the Dailies, menus and photos from the same day/location.  It gives a continuity to the photo journal.  I also like your technique of showing a photo or two along with your comments and posting it as an individual item.  

👋Hello my pal from the Viking board TayanaLorna!

Thanks so much for your sweet compliments.

I'm so glad that you are enjoying my cruise report not only for the content but for the way it's organized as well.  I usually only write these for 7 day cruises.. an 11 day one is turning into "War and Peace."😁

I'm super touched by your kind words.. thanks again.😍

[Sleep7]

MONDAY - OCTOBER 30.  Good morning Vidin, Bulgaria!

 

[Sleep7]

This morning we took the included Belogradchick Rocks and Fortress tour.

There was a little confusion on the time in the morning since it changed by an hour overnight.  It was further confused by the fact that Romania, which was on a different time, was just across the river and most people's phones were picking up that time.  Gabriel was smart to make an announcement in the cabins at 7:30am to let everyone know the correct time.✔️

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

The fortress was high on a hill.  The bus driver did an amazing job navigating those narrow roads up and down.👏

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

A few surprises..  the terrain looked like the American southwest.  Rock formations and red tinted dirt very much like Arizona or Utah. 

Also surprising that by the time we were at the top it was close to 80 degrees and we were all overdressed and HOT.

There were 3 levels to climb to.. a flat one with no climbing.. a middle one with a little climbing and the top where you had to hold onto a skinny metal staircase to ascend.

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Back on the bus in time for tasty lunch.

 

[Sleep7]

In the afternoon we took the optional Vidin Home Hosted Cooking Demonstration tour and it was fun!

 

[Sleep7]

We drove to a nearby host's home for the cooking class.

On the way we learned some Bulgarian.

Merci - Thank you.

Ciao - Goodbye.

Dobra Den - Good day.

 

 

On the menu today? A Bulgarian specialty called Banitsa.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Ramona and her Aunt Rosa were our lovely hostesses.

 

 

First they made one for us.. you mix eggs, feta cheese, yogurt, oil, baking soda and of all things a "fizzy drink" that she compared to Mountain Dew!

 

 

 

You then layer in a large baking pan with filo dough.

 

 

 

Dot it with butter and then into the oven!

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Once that was baking the "trainees" all pitched in to make a second one.

 

 

All done!  Martha Stewart would be proud.🧑‍🍳

 

 

[Sleep7]

Everyone got a piece to try and the recipe to take home.  Great success!

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Back in Vidin before we sailed there was a delightful children's dance troupe that performed in the lounge.  So adorable and talented!

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Before dinner there was a disembarkation talk.  This was one big positive about staying in a hotel after  the cruise.. you knew you had another day or two or three to enjoy instead of thinking about flying home the next day.

We also learned that the Danube was too low to sail past Nikopol Bulgaria so we would be missing the port of Ruse.  That would also mean that instead of taking an hour plus bus ride from Ruse to Bucharest we would be taking a longer one from just across the river from Nikopol from the port Turnu Magurele in Romania.  I think that's right.. sounds confusing to me..

We had the option of changing tours the next day from the full day included tour which would be a long bus ride there and back to a new included tour that would be half a day with less time on the bus.  We chose to change to the half day.. I think a lot of people did because we all  knew that we would have a lot of time on the bus the following day to Bucharest.

 

 

And then on to dinner!

 

[Sleep7]

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Last but not least the Viking Daily for tomorrow waiting for us in our cabin along with a thoughtful surprise!🍷

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

TUESDAY - OCTOBER 31.  🧡HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM NIKOPOL, BULGARIA!🧡

We chose the half day "Panoramic Pleven" included tour.

 

[Sleep7]

A short drive to Pleven and a visited the most interesting museum. It houses an enormous 360 degree panorama painting and 3D exhibit about the Battle of Pleven which liberated Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania from 500 years of Ottoman rule.  It was a WOW!!

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

From Wikipedia..

Eleven Russian and two Bulgarian artists painted and constructed the panoramic painting which includes a 115×15-meter main canvas and 12-meter foreground. The goal of Ovetchkin and the artists who created the panorama was to create a feeling of empathy for the battle that was fought on the site as well as a feeling of authenticity of the events that occurred on 11 September 1877. The panorama opened to the public on 10 December 1977, 100 years to the day that Field Marshal Osman Pasha surrendered to Colonel Mihail Cerchez, ending the Pleven Epope.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

It's one of a handful of 360 panorama paintings in the world.  There is one just like it in Gettysburg, PA that we actually just happened to visit in July. 

Also interesting is that the United States manufactured the "best" weapons so many of the guns the soldiers used were made in the USA and shipped to Bulgaria.

 

Remington rifles.

 

 

 

The first machine gun.. it shot 300 rounds in one minutes.

 

 

A lot of period artwork too.

 

 

[Sleep7]

After the museum we had about an hour to walk around the town of Pleven.

 

 

 

These type of signs seem to be very popular.. see next town.😁

 

 

Ghoulish purple roses for sale.. just right for Halloween!