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Budapest, Hungary to Amsterdam, Netherlands River Cruise
Linda Fitzgerald and Lynda Hughes
July 2022


     Riverboat cruises have become a popular vacation for many with a choice of destinations around the world.   Lynda Hughes and I took a July river trip with Viking River Cruises where we traveled from Budapest to Amsterdam in 15 days.  Riverboat cruises (longboats) have many advantages in comparison to large ocean cruises in the minds of many travelers.  Our longboat carried 149 passengers while the Viking Ocean ships carry 930.  Other ocean cruise lines like Holland America and Princess carry between 1500 to 2600 while the largest ocean cruise ship, Harmony of the Seas, carries 6680. 
     Smaller numbers and smaller ships allow passengers to travel on rivers, easily disembark at small towns, and have a more personal trip by getting to know other passengers.  There are no children under 18 on any Viking cruises, no casinos, no constant picture taking, no art auctions, no formal nights, and no inside staterooms.  You can dine on regional cuisine, have free Wi-Fi, enjoy wine and beer at lunch and dinner, and take one free excursion at each port.  There are excursions that you could pay for including one that consisted of an air flight to Munich.  Our trip also included 69 locks while we traveled on the Danube to the Main and entered the Rhine.
The ship itself was very comfortable with some rooms having a balcony and some with suites.  The top deck, the sun deck, had a walking path, games (chess, shuffleboard, and mini golf), and an herb garden where we saw the chef picking herbs before dinner.  The ship's bridge was lowered at times to move under bridges that span the rivers.  
     Our trip began in Budapest, a city we both had visited previously.  Lynda was especially impressed that the bus tour driver played the Blue Danube and Hungarian Waltzes as we saw the sights of the city.  Each new port brought more wonderful sights. We had also visited Vienna before so we ventured out after our morning tour to find Demel's to buy their specialty, a sacre torte, have lunch at a local restaurant and find our way back to the ship by using their subway system.
     Our trip continued with many small towns in Austria, Germany, and The Netherlands.  Each one had something special for us to remember.  In most of these towns, we had local guides who had lived through the history of their town and could give us a special insight.  Each town had a  cathedral that was beautifully adorned,  Cologne was the most elaborate.  
     When not visiting a port we loved floating on the rivers and seeing castles, hills of grape vines, swans swimming beside us, locals and vacationers enjoying the river by swimming, boating, and camping.  We also saw many commercial barges and other riverboats.  Lynda had been to Nuremberg in 1972 and we searched for the veal sausages that she loved then.  She didn't find the exact ones but loved all of the ones that she tasted.
     Our last stop was at Kinderdijk where we visited a working windmill.  Families live in some of the windmills and we were able to climb on a very steep ladder to the 3rd floor.  This is a UNESCO World Heritage site that was beautiful to see with all of the working windmills.  
     We loved the idea of being on a river and have now booked another trip for next summer!