Alarm!!

3 am. 7 short blasts on the Viking Lif alarm system. Warm clothes. Coats. Hats. Shoes. Contact lenses. Inhalers. Life jackets. No time for mascara.

About a quarter of the passengers gathered at the muster station on the top deck. Where were the others? There were no officers to explain what was happening, in spite of one passenger banging on the wheelhouse door asking what was going on.

Eventually, the programme director made an announcement that it was safe to return to state-rooms. No reason was given at the time but the next morning Reception said that a fire alarm had gone off but they did not know why. It is said that all the crew were dressed and ready for action in an impressive 3 minutes.

The adrenaline rush meant that Diva did not sleep for the rest of the night, in spite of drinking a cup of camomile tea.

In which Diva is very Diva-ish

The morning excursion to the centre of Vienna provided a good overview of grand buildings with magnificent architecture. Budapest is grand but Vienna is even more so. Many of the buildings have been cleaned and restored but there are still many in scaffolding, including the Parliament buildings.  The representatives are meeting in temporary accommodation – just like the plans for Westminster.

The afternoon excursion to the market with the chef was less successful. The group of 19 passengers travelled on the metro into town and then walked to the busy market. The market itself was interesting – fresh produce and many nuts and spices. There was even a shop with (presumably) legal cannabis. There were three tasting sessions as they walked around – nibbles such as humous and olives, sauerkraut made traditionally by fermentation and then cheese and wine. All excellent. Well, maybe not the sauerkraut.

But Diva got very hot and tired and the metro was extremely crowded. When they left the metro, the guide ignored the sign that said ‘to the ships’ and headed towards what she called ‘the scenic route’. Diva was by now exhausted. So when a passing tourist, obviously lost, asked her ‘are you going to the ship?’, she replied ‘I have no idea’. Which is, of course, Diva code for ‘I know exactly what is going on and I do not like it’.  When she overheard the tourist telling her friend that ‘that woman over there does not know where she is going’, Diva joined in the conversation, objecting strongly to being described in such terms. As a result of this altercation, which lasted a few minutes, Diva missed the green light for crossing the road and the group had to wait for her. By now, she did not care whether they waited or not – she knew she could find the ship without help. The situation deteriorated when the guide said ‘did you not hear me say that you should cross quickly?’ Diva does not like anybody giving her orders. TSH knows this well and never tries to intervene in such circumstances. A very wise man indeed.

A good dinner – Szechuan-style tenderloin of beef.

The water is said to be 2 – 3 metres higher than normal. And some of the bridges are very low.

A Day on the Danube

The cruise continues to pass by a bewildering array of countries – Hungary, Slovakia and into Austria today. The Viking Lif passed right through the centre of Bratislava, which is a mostly modern city. The surrounding countryside is mostly flat and covered with trees but there have been glimpses of distant mountains.

The entry into Vienna involved locks and a number of extremely low bridges. The Captain arranged for most of the infrastructure on the top deck – including his wheelhouse – to be folded down to pass under them. TSH stayed on the top but made sure he stood on the lowest section. The hope is that the river does not rise further, or there will be real trouble with the voyage.

TSH and Diva have been asked about ‘the royal baby’ by a number of people from the US, who seem far more interested than are most Brits. They were more surprised to be asked about the British experience with crop circles, which may (or may not) be of alien origin. Linked to a question about whether they saw aliens in South America near the Nazca lines.

Rumours

The river is very high. Parts of the upper Danube are already closed to river traffic which cannot pass under the bridges. This would mean taking buses to the ports and/or moving ship to a Viking ship at the other side of the problem.

Hopefully the situation will change soon.

Ready for safety drill

Budapest

This long-awaited city does not disappoint. In spite of heavy WW2 bombing, there are many neo-classical late 19^th century buildings in excellent condition. These are mostly on the Pest side of the Danube. The older, Buda, side has a magnificent cathedral and a good look-out point over Pest. The buildings around the river are all illuminated at night, providing a magnificent spectacle.

The guide seemed to be very supportive of Hungary’s right-wing government. ‘It is a good feeling that there are no immigrants, so we have no crime problems’. ‘The immigrants are all illegal and uneducated so we cannot take them here’. The arabs/turks were not creative people’. etc. etc.

Despite the lack of immigrant crime, there are many armed police, and in the evening there was a fast motorcade with many many blue flashing lights. This is all probably because there is a Chinese delegation in the city.

For the first time on this voyage, the rain started in earnest and TSH and Diva got very wet. Fortunately TSH has his water-proof trousers. Diva took the opportunity of a free afternoon to have her nails done at a Trip Advisor recommended salon – they did an excellent job.

There was also a free day in Budapest. In the morning, TSH and Diva walked along the bank of the Danube to the market Hall, which is a mixture of fresh produce for local people and souvenirs for the many tourists. Lots of paprika – some still on stalks. In the afternoon, they walked to the very grand Parliament building.

Viking has an annoying ritual of playing ‘Good morning, good morning, we’ve slept the whole night through …….’ (Doris Day??) as the first tour of the day departs. It is a sign of how much the plot has been lost that Diva found TSH singing along!!

About half of the passengers disembarked in Budapest and a new group has joined the Viking Lif. There are several Viking ships in the city, so during tours we are more like 1000 tourists rather than the 200 from the Lif.

Dinosaurs?

A dinosaur egg?

Lurking in the trees