Hmmmm. 🧐 The food on Amawaterways, our tour operator, was excellent, as was the “chef’s table” seven-course tasting menu on the ship. A special event! But our best meal, which you’ll read about in the next post, was at a rooftop restaurant hard by the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul. The food was as special as the view.
Gosh, I learned so much, Peter. A great post; its dark grit tempered with Moorean insights. 'The grey Danube', gosh, those three words carry such weight in this piece.
I shared this cruise with Peter and Claire (part of the joy of cruising is meeting delightful new friends) and our trip took a different path at the end of the cruise. We journeyed to Bucharest and Brasov in Romania and both were eye opening for us. Brasov is really the capitol of Transylvania and is located in the Carpathian Mountains, a region very similar to the Adirondacks in geography. But more important Brasov is the jumping off point for a trip to Dracula's Castle, the home of Vlad, The Impaler. To echo Peter's comments you would not have wanted to be a Turk in the 1400's attacking Vlad! Our local guide was very graphic in his description. But two things to say about this same voyage. 1. We saw many deserted factories (actually in ruin) in many Eastern European cities and when we questioned our guide his response was "those are factories left over from communism. When communism was overthrown in the late 80's the factories couldn't compete with the capitalist west and closed." 2. We talked to an elderly couple from Singapore on our same voyage. To echo Peter's comment when I asked if they were enjoying the trip their answer was non committal. She replied that all they ever did in this region of the world was fight with each other. This was something they were not used to in Singapore. (Their view, not mine-Singapore, after all is in S.E. Asia.) To conclude-following our trip extension we travelled to Paris for a week living in an apartment on the Ile Saint Louis. Oh that every city in the world could be Paris! But then again.....
Hey James. Great to hear your side of the story, as well. Not that different than mine, actually. But then, there's more to see in the world than the Champs Elysees. It's part of the reason we said: Eastern Europe? Bring it! And...it did.
So was this supposed to be a fun trip? I'm really sorry that the beginning and end points are separated by so much heavy sorrow. Maybe you and your wife can take another vacation to recover from this cruise?
There were wonderful times all along the route. But I felt like an act of penance was due, because the people whose towns we crashed in on had been through hell, and I could see it in their faces. Lovely trip with important lessons to be learned at every bend in the Danube.
He is very well known in UK and the Commonwealth. Courageous soldier in WW2. Abducted a German general. In later life lived in Greece. His life is very well documented. I am sure you have found out about him by now. I am an Australian, take care over there.
Thanks, you two. There's a massive amount of turmoil for me, and for many people, not understanding what just happened. One of my favorite political lawn signs declared: VOTE KAMALA HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT, OBVIOUSLY. I guess it wasn't so obvious to half of my fellow Americans. Soul searching commences. And continues.
Hmmmm. 🧐 The food on Amawaterways, our tour operator, was excellent, as was the “chef’s table” seven-course tasting menu on the ship. A special event! But our best meal, which you’ll read about in the next post, was at a rooftop restaurant hard by the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul. The food was as special as the view.
Gosh, I learned so much, Peter. A great post; its dark grit tempered with Moorean insights. 'The grey Danube', gosh, those three words carry such weight in this piece.
Finally I have achieved adjectival status! Thank you. Living the dream.
You’ve earned it!
I shared this cruise with Peter and Claire (part of the joy of cruising is meeting delightful new friends) and our trip took a different path at the end of the cruise. We journeyed to Bucharest and Brasov in Romania and both were eye opening for us. Brasov is really the capitol of Transylvania and is located in the Carpathian Mountains, a region very similar to the Adirondacks in geography. But more important Brasov is the jumping off point for a trip to Dracula's Castle, the home of Vlad, The Impaler. To echo Peter's comments you would not have wanted to be a Turk in the 1400's attacking Vlad! Our local guide was very graphic in his description. But two things to say about this same voyage. 1. We saw many deserted factories (actually in ruin) in many Eastern European cities and when we questioned our guide his response was "those are factories left over from communism. When communism was overthrown in the late 80's the factories couldn't compete with the capitalist west and closed." 2. We talked to an elderly couple from Singapore on our same voyage. To echo Peter's comment when I asked if they were enjoying the trip their answer was non committal. She replied that all they ever did in this region of the world was fight with each other. This was something they were not used to in Singapore. (Their view, not mine-Singapore, after all is in S.E. Asia.) To conclude-following our trip extension we travelled to Paris for a week living in an apartment on the Ile Saint Louis. Oh that every city in the world could be Paris! But then again.....
Hey James. Great to hear your side of the story, as well. Not that different than mine, actually. But then, there's more to see in the world than the Champs Elysees. It's part of the reason we said: Eastern Europe? Bring it! And...it did.
Wow... so sad. I often forget how lucky we are on the States.
I know: This isn’t my usual kind of post. But this wasn’t my usual vacation, either.
So was this supposed to be a fun trip? I'm really sorry that the beginning and end points are separated by so much heavy sorrow. Maybe you and your wife can take another vacation to recover from this cruise?
There were wonderful times all along the route. But I felt like an act of penance was due, because the people whose towns we crashed in on had been through hell, and I could see it in their faces. Lovely trip with important lessons to be learned at every bend in the Danube.
Patrick Leigh Fermor an interesting life.
Tell me more. All I know about him I read in Between the Woods and the Water.
He is very well known in UK and the Commonwealth. Courageous soldier in WW2. Abducted a German general. In later life lived in Greece. His life is very well documented. I am sure you have found out about him by now. I am an Australian, take care over there.
Thanks, you two. There's a massive amount of turmoil for me, and for many people, not understanding what just happened. One of my favorite political lawn signs declared: VOTE KAMALA HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT, OBVIOUSLY. I guess it wasn't so obvious to half of my fellow Americans. Soul searching commences. And continues.
This is a different take on your trip compared to Claire's photos.
I look forward to the rest of the story...
She said the same thing! The art of column writing is to give a specific take, not a general one. So I went with the dark side. It really affected me!
And your fave food on the trip? 🤠