Day 1 – Budapest and All Aboard the AmaViola!!
When I arrived for my pre-day in Budapest, I had received a letter in my room at the Marriott, explaining the procedures for today. We were to check in with the Adventure Guides between 10am and noon in the Lobby of the Marriott. At noon, there was a transfer going to the ship (along with all our luggage). We could take that transfer, or stay & check out more of Budapest, and be back by 3 pm for a second (and last) shuttle to the ship. Otherwise, you could get yourself to the ship by 5pm.
After we checked in, we talked to one of 2 Adventure Guides (Daniel or, I believe it was, Katerina) to discuss and select our excursions for the week. We were told these were not carved in stone, and we *could* later choose to switch excursions or opt out altogether. I’m assuming they wanted to get a general idea of how they would split up the groups, assign Adventure Guides, etc.
I had slept very well that night (really surprising, as I did not have my memory foam pillow which was in my checked bag – fortunately the pillows were nice and firm and I did OK.) I called down to the Concierge when I woke up, and, miracles of miracles, my suitcase had arrived during the night, and they brought it right up to me! One less thing to worry about! At least I didn’t have to worry about re-packing it! I re-packed my carryon, then went to breakfast (a quite extensive buffet). Then I headed over to check myself and my luggage in.
I saw Hanneke and Zoe down there, who I had had as Guides on my Scotland
ABD. There was much squealing and hugging that ensued. I was really excited to have them again, as they were such a fun, energetic pair! I also met Danny, Birte and Daniel. After I selected my excursions (and was told by Daniel that I really couldn’t walk to where the AmaViola was docked) I got some water and directions and headed out to check out the Dohany Street Great Synagogue of Budapest.
The Dohany Street Great Synagogue of Budapest, in the Jewish Quarter, was built in the 1850’s and is the largest Synagogue in Europe, and one of the largest in the world. I had a couple of mis-starts getting there, so the walk took a bit longer than it should have, but it was a lovely day, and I enjoyed the walk. By the time I got there, there was not enough time to take a tour, but I was able to wander around with a map quite well, and kind of piggy-backed on a group’s presentation in the outside courtyard.
The Synagogue, as you can see, is quite lovely. The outside is in a very interesting Moorish style. The inside is amazingly ornate, and just gorgeous. I was quite glad I’d made the effort to come see it!
There was a memorial garden/cemetery in the central courtyard. It was quite serene out there.
Out in another area of the courtyard was this Holocaust Memorial called The Emmanuel Tree. The branches swayed gently in the breeze. Each “leaf” had the name of a Hungarian Jew who had died in the Holocaust etched on it. It was quite moving.
They also had a Hungarian Jewish Museum on the grounds that had several very old artifacts, like this embroidered Torah Ark Curtain from 1742. It was a really cool Museum.
The exterior of the Synagogue.
I bought a lovely ceramic mezuzah for my new home, and then started back to the Marriott.
Once I had myself oriented, it really wasn’t that difficult or long of a walk to head back (it’s always easier when you have the River as a landmark to head towards!)
I passed this very lovely intersection. I really *loved* the architecture in Budapest. I know I’ll be coming back here.
The Elisabeth Bridge again
The very cool electric train system that ran through Budapest. I *wish* Columbus had public transport like a lot of European cities do!
I got back to the Marriott, and was loaded up on a motorcoach, heading to the port.
Boarding the lovely AmaViola
We were greeted by some of the crew and some of the Adventure Guides. I finally got to meet Jennae, who I’ve heard so much about, and followed on facebook for quite a while. It was like meeting a friend! I also got to meet some of our other Adventure Guides (we had 8 in total).
They had a small Wellcome Onboard buffet set up with a large cake and Mickey-head shaped sandwiches and cookies.
I then headed off to check out my cabin on the 3rd deck, cabin 328. It was a Category C, with a “French Balcony”. It was small, but amazingly well organized and set up. It did not *feel* that small. It was really quite pretty, and after a while, I didn't notice that it was small at all.
This cabin had what they call a French Balcony, which was basically a sliding glass door that slid all the way open. If I sat in the seating area right in front of it, it was every bit as good, if not better, than an actual balcony!
There was a ton of closet space, and lots of shelving. I was able to unpack everything I’d brought, which is what I like to do, especially since I knew I’d be in the same place for 7 nights. I hate living out of a suitcase. The only problem I had with unpacking was that my checked bag would not fit under the bed. It's a structured duffel, and it was just a bit too tall & wide to fit under there. Fortunately, it fit in the space between the bed and the wall to the bathroom, so it was at least out of the way, as I used the other side of the bed to get in & out of it.
It also had a surprisingly large bathroom for a cruise cabin, and a *real* shower! With a shower wand *AND* a rainfall shower head. Another thing I really liked is that there was a blue night-light in the bathroom that was on a motion detector, so you could get up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom without having to turn on the very bright bathroom light. A very smart feature!
Really, the only problem I had with the cabin (and it was fixed by bedtime) was the A/C. When I came in, the room was rather on the warm side, but they’d left the doors open to the hallway, so I guess that was to be expected. I ramped the A/C up (YAY for individual controls!). But as I unpacked, I realized the room was only getting hotter and more humid. I checked the thermostat (which had both Celsius and Fahrenheit on it) and the room had, indeed, gotten warmer. I thought maybe it was just one of those “European A/C is not as heavy duty as ours” kind of things, but as I went down the hall to report it to the Reception desk, someone else entered their cabin and commented on it being freezing in their cabin. It took them a couple of visits, but they finally got the A/C working. So that was really not a big problem except on the first day.
The usual ABD welcome duffel, and the first of our “Daily Adventurers”, which told us what was going on for the day and when, introduced our Guides to us, described the daily port, etc.
At 5:30pm, they had a Cocktail party in the Lounge, where the Captain introduced us to some of the crew, Jennae introduced us to our Adventure Guides, and we had the safety briefing. Unlike ocean cruises, where you check in and out of the ship using your room key, they had what they called “Safety Cards” that had your room number on them. You picked them up before leaving the ship, and returned them when you got back onboard. This was how they kept track of who was & wasn’t on the ship when it came time to sail. For the excursions, we were also supposed to pick up a colored card that would indicate which group and which Guides we were going with for that particular excursion.
Our Magnificent Adventure Guides!
Back row: Katerina from the Czech Republic, Zoe from the US, Jetti (Henriette) from Germany, Hanneke (Hanni) from the US, Birte from Germany, Danny from the US & Daniel from Germany. In front, Jennae from the US.
We then had dinner in the Main Restaurant. The first night, they led us in and found us places to sit, but after that, you were free to sit anywhere you pleased (although I’m sure you could have expressed a preference that first night, too!) I don’t really recall what I ate most nights (I don’t take much in the way of food pictures) but I do remember that everything was delicious! Only one night did I have a fish dish that was on the bland side (it supposedly had a dill sauce, but I didn’t taste much dill). But the food was definitely the best I’ve had in a cruise main dining room, and surpassed some I’ve had in cruise specialty restaurants. I can’t eat tomatoes, green peppers or fresh citrus, so the Maître D’ would come to me every breakfast with the lunch and dinner menus for the day, and I would pick what I wanted, so they could be sure & prepare it without those 3 things. It worked quite well except for the couple of times I did a dine & dash for breakfast to get to an excursion, but even then, it all worked out great. I was quite pleased with how it was handled.
After dinner, we were invited back to the Lounge for a Rubik’s Cube demonstration (it was billed as a Magic Show, but there wasn’t any Magic. Just some amazing skill in manipulating those cubes!) The Rubik’s cube was invented in Hungary. These guys were crazy amazing with their Rubik’s Cube speed & skill. After the demonstration, we each received a Rubik’s cube, and an instruction sheet on how to solve it. We’ll see if I can actually learn to do it!
At this point, we were told to be upstairs on the Sun Deck at 9:30pm for the Illuminations Cruise. As I’d seen the night before, the buildings along the riverbank were beautifully lit up (as were the bridges). The AmaViola took us on a breathtaking Illuminations Cruise down the Danube River. It was really a spectacular cruise, and a fabulous way to start our Adventure!
The Parliament Building. SO gorgeous!
The Castle complex and the Chain Bridge
Not sure if it was just a part of the evening or if they were celebrating something in particular, but we caught a fireworks display as we cruised.
This bridge was closed to all but pedestrian traffic during street construction. It was apparently a thing to go out there & watch the multitude of cruise ships go by. There were a TON of people on the bridge, some sitting up on the railings!
An almost full moon shining down on our Illuminations Cruise.
Spectacular!!
There was a performance by the onboard musician afterwards in the Lounge, but I was pretty pooped, and knew there was a relatively early start the next morning, so I headed to bed.
Tomorrow: Touring Budapest with ABD!
Definitely going to be doing the Rhine River Cruise. I wonder if the ship will look similar? I know it is a different ship. After that trip, I think I'd strongly consider the Danube River Cruise for a Holiday Sailing. tink1970, I hope that you give your thoughts on the holiday cruise. I love, love, love Christmas time and I think seeing this part of Europe around that time would be amazing (even if I'm not a fan of cold weather) 
Thanks!
