Grand European River Cruise

Boarding the Skadi

1351

September 26, 2018

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Farewell to Prague. Photo from the Charles Bridge.

No, the boat in the photo above is not the Skadi! That is a farewell to Prague photo, taken from the Charles Bridge just two days ago. Whew!!

Today was all about logistics. We delivered our luggage to a safe place in the lobby of our hotel, so we could check out and enjoy our final fabulous breakfast at the Art Nouveau Palace Hotel in Prague. A band of Viking employees loaded our luggage into our bus and we were on our way to finally begin our cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. We had a wonderful time in Prague and since we barely scratched the surface of this historic city, I would highly recommend at least several more days to delve deeper into its rich past. But today we have to move on!

Several months before our cruise I called Viking to get a feel for what we could expect on the transfer from Prague to Budapest. They said it would be a wonderful six-hour trip thru the Czech countryside and into Hungary. Our driver would be our tour guide and point out places of interest as we passed them by. We would have time to pull over and take photos at scenic overlooks, stop for lunch and it would be a glorious day. As it turned out, it was pretty much a six hour trip down the interstate with potty breaks and a lunch stop.

There was plenty of time for a cat nap (or two) or to play cribbage with a soon-to-be cruise-mate who brought me great luck with the cards I had to work with. I almost felt bad – giving her such a trouncing given the fact that I barely knew her – and we laughed about it when our paths crossed during the cruise. She always threatened a rematch which never happened – thank goodness – since I am never that lucky and the next time she would surely be the one doing the trouncing!

We were finally able to complete our embarkation tasks and get checked into our room and our luggage arrived shortly thereafter. That evening our Viking crew had several things planned to get us acquainted with our ship and the schedules that would bring order to our sometimes crazy days.

Our stateroom was cozy, but adequate with a small veranda for reading or catching a glimpse of a new country as we passed it by. The bathroom was obviously small, but the shower was perfect, the supplied Freyja toiletries were wonderful and the floor was heated, to add a little luxury to the morning. The closet was ample for clothes and shoes, with a safe for extra cash and our passports – which we didn’t need on any of our excursions. There was free bottled water and a small fridge, along with free wifi – although the connection was pretty iffy.

This was the very best part of our cabin. The most comfortable bed on the planet – although I’m not even sure I was awake long enough to feel it after such long days and ample amounts of wine!

By the time we arrived after our long road trip, some of the activities that were scheduled for today had already finished up. We arrived just in time for cocktail hour, where drinks would be charged to our on-board account. We got pretty good at waiting until just before dinner to head down and maybe have one drink before, and finish our evening with the beer or wine that was included with (lunch and) dinner. We loved the local brews and wines that were served for free and the wait staff was generous with their pours, so the drink package available for purchase would not have paid off for us.

We got a warm welcome from the Skadi crew, including Stein, our program director. He really earns his money as he wrangles a couple hundred people to get them to countless excursions every day and yet still keeps his incredible sense of humor. No one was left behind and only a few had medical issues – totally unrelated to the intensity of the excursions!

Dinner was at 7pm every night in the dining room. We eventually settled in on our base group of seven, and on several occasions were joined by another couple or two. The photo below shows our two main servers Bernadino and Marlon. They always added some laughter to the evening and as they got to know us, they “got” our senses of humor and played into them well! It was a wonderful time to unwind, have too much wine and talk about our days. The food was delicious, with many choices for appetizers, main courses and desserts. Rarely do I have three or four course meals, let alone for three weeks in a row, so after a while we just had to learn to say no!

After dinner, we were treated to a scenic evening cruise to see the lights of Budapest – the city we’ll be exploring tomorrow. Since we had no idea this was on the itinerary, it was a wonderful surprise and a chance to see the Viking Skadi in action!