After nearly a full 24 hours of travel after delays we finally MADE IT! Via Tampa-Frankfurt and Frankfurt-Budapest we arrived at the boat with last group just in time for a three course dinner, now brace yourselves because if this cruise line keeps this up I won’t be able to stop complimenting them. Viking has been amazing and I know we are only one day in thus far but it is incredible how well they have everything planed out, then again it is the very thing they do, and they seem to be doing it very well.
We arrived at the airport with plenty of time, time to wait it would seem. Our flight kept getting pushed further and further back. Still, it wasn’t that bad as we were able to get airborne and make up some of the lost time. The flight was long and filled with an odd assortment of smells, at times we thought maybe they have cracked open some European cheeses but when the cheese never came we realized it was recirculated air laced with farts. The airplane itself was, while cramped, very nice. They have made many improvements since the last time I took a flight across the pond. They had little TVs the size of a tablet in the back of the headrest in front of us and at least 50 if not more movies you could choose from to watch at your leisure amongst tv shows and live TV and other options.
Our transfer in Frankfurt brought with it an new set of unwanted adventures as due to the delay we missed our connection but again we have been very lucky with the companies we’ve been dealing with and they had already rebooked us on a new flight that was only a few hours later. A few hours was not that bad as we arrive nearly three hours later than intended. This new flight as well proved tardy and we ended up arriving in Budapest later with the last group but luckily the people from viking were still at the airport and had sent for another car.
our transfer bus that took us out to a field to get on the plane…
The room is very nice and actually a little larger than we thought it was going to be, not large but larger than we were expecting. The food is proving to be so good on the boat Im not sure how many opportunities we will have to try local fares!, lol. The boat as a whole is amazing, its cute and small while providing more than adequate space for all the people. It has a lounge where they play live music each night a full dining room and a glass atrium like area in the back of the boat where you can eat as well. The whole top of the boat has lounge chairs and a walking path and putting greens and they grow herbs that they use in the meals.
At the end of the evening after dinner we went to the top deck and the boat went for a cruise up and back through Budapest. While we were eating it started up north out of the city and and turned around up past Margaret island. On the way back the land had become cloaked with night and the city was lit up like and an antique from a memory in a vintage Christmas. We cruised back through the city and were treated to a local liquor much like peppermint snaps while we took in the sight which I believe were enhanced by the liquid. We turned around again and made our way back into the city where we docked across the river on the pest side beneath the oldest bridge in Budapest the chain bridge, looking up at the old palace.
Erroll & Alex's European Honeymoon Trip! 