Nova Scotia Rotarians travelling: May 2010

Monday, May 31, 2010

Off to new adventures

It is now time to close the entries on this blog but the content will remain for quite some time.
Dale and I are off on a new adventure later this week and can be followed at:
http://g-d-hankin.blogspot.com ( note slight change in address )
If/when I finally get my own server up and running again, I will publish the new address there.
Happy Trails !

Friday, May 28, 2010

Home again

Well, we are now home and working on getting our biological clocks back in the right time zone.
It was a wonderful tour and the folks at Scenic Cruises have earned top marks from Dale and me.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Budapest May 23-24

Sunday was a wonderful day. "Cruising up the River on a Sunday afternoon". Maybe I should write a song....
Being the last day on board, we were all in a solemn mood until we began an evening approach to Budapest. The scene was nothing short of spectacular. The photos do not do it justice. The word "beautiful" does not do it justice. The panorama of the city lit up with the churches and citadel in full brilliance was breathtaking.
The following morning we said our goodbyes to all our new friends. Many are continuing on to Amsterdam. ( another trip for another time). After 8 days of close quarters in buses and on board the boat, made for some wonderful friendships .
On the bus again and just a short drive to the Marriott where we will spend the last 2 nights of our trip. The last photo on this post below is the view from our room. Not too shabby.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, we are off in the morning for a city tour and then a relaxing afternoon to get ready for an early departure for home on Wednesday.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Sunday May 22

Sunday sunrise on the Danube. Our last day of sailing.
We awoke to a boat full of police as they checked out our arrival in Hungary. For reasons only known to them they wanted to face check all the crew. This was at 4:30 am.
Then away we sailed to the town of Baja where we border buses and drove through the countryside to a museum of peppers or aka paprika. Note, stay away from chili pepper vodka.
Then on to a ranch where we had a show of horsemanship. Fantastic horses and horsemanship.
We are now back on board going to our last stop in Budapest where we will leave all our Australian friends as they stay on to Amsterdam.
I must say that Scenic Cruises have done a spectacular job and all of the crew were wonderful, helpful and friendly.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

After a stop and wonderful walk through Novi Sad, we departed for Vukovar in Croatia. A sad story of a town that as recently as 1991 was 85% destroyed by war. We had a brief walk through town and saw the rebuilding alongside the bombed out buildings.
We then departed for an overnight sail into Hungary.
One of the most frustrating parts of this whole journey is the changing of currency. Every country has their own currency and to be prepared, you should have some of the one you are in. But if you don't spend it, it is useless in the next one. So we will eventually put the Bank of Nova Scotia through it's paces to convert all these small amounts back to Canadian dollars.
It is now 6.30 am and we are sailing through bright sunlight in Hungary. Time for more coffee.

Saturday May 22 morning

Saturday morning and we arrived in Novi Sad. The bus tours took off and Dale and I decided to go for a stroll through the streets. We very soon arrived at the Danube Park and a wonderful meander through the park was just waht we wanted. Then on a little to the main pedistrian street with its little allies on both sides where more stores were hidden. A large loop and we arrived at the the Saturday open market. Fresh veggies and fruit everywhere. The smell of apples and dill was everywhere. We spend half an hour just wandering about the stalls before returning to the ship. Soon we depart for Vukovar and another headache for the ship as they handle the border of Serbia and enter Croatia.