We’ve been back a while, so there has been time to reflect on our trip through the Balkan countries of Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, and Hungary.

As a reminder, here is the cruise route.

Favorite Things?

Usually, I can pick out one specific thing that stood out about a trip as my “favorite”. However, I think my favorite thing about this trip was the general opportunity to learn more about this part of the world – its history and the different cultures, as well as hearing the personal stories from the locals that we interacted with on our tours.

No aspect of my personal life experience can compare to the difficulties that someone my age in any of the five countries we visited has experienced. One of my thoughts on this trip was recalling Condoleeza Rice’s book Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom from a few years ago and remembering her take on how hard democracy is and how many countries fail to make the transition and if they do then struggle to maintain it.

What went well?

Transportation

We utilized Welcome Pickups for private transfers between the Bucharest airport and our hotel and again in Budapest from our hotel to the airport. Both transfers went very smoothly with good communication from the assigned drivers via both WhatsApp and the Welcome Pickups app. In both cases, the drivers spoke excellent English and shared insights about their countries. I like that I can book them well ahead of time, pre-pay, and then not have to worry about getting a random cab with a non-English-speaking driver and having trouble communicating where we need to go or needing local cash. We also used them on a previous trip and will likely use them again.

Private Tours

We had great success again booking private guides through Tours By Locals in Bucharest and Viator in Budapest. Both are aggregators providing access to chose from many tour companies and/or individual guides. What I really like on Tours By Locals is the ability to read the individual guides’ biographies and find someone that I think will be a good fit for us in terms of their background and interests. Cristi Stan was an excellent guide in Bucharest, taking us on a day trip to Transylvania and then a half-day tour in Bucharest (see Note 67 and Note 68). He also works as a cruise director for Gate 1 and was guiding the next Viking land excursion to Transylvania the day after our tour with him, so we were very fortunate that his schedule accommodated our dates! Susan, our guide in Budapest to Lake Balaton (that tour was operated by Shuttles From Budapest), was equally enlightening with her experiences going back to the days of communism in Hungary (Note 78).  

If We Went Again…

Not that we would specifically do this same cruise again (too many other places we haven’t been), but if I had the opportunity to return to this part of the world, I’d like to spend at least a week in Romania. This is a large country with varying geography from marshy coastlines along the Black Sea to the Carpathian Mountains. I think 3-4 days in Transylvania would be worthwhile to explore Brașov, Sighișoara, and more in depth. We were on a whirlwind day trip, so really just got a taste of what the region has to offer. Then there are the other regions like the Danube Delta, the coast of the Black Sea, the mud volcanoes and salt mines, and the painted monasteries in Moldavia. There is a lot to see in Romania besides Bucharest which needs a couple of days itself if you’ve never been there.

What did I pack that I didn’t need?

I’ve gotten pretty good at not overpacking. I didn’t need my raincoat or hiking poles, but I’m always going to pack those regardless, because you never know! If we’d taken the Belogradchik Rocks and Fortress tour, I probably would have taken my hiking poles there. Whether I would have actually needed them and used them, I can’t really say for sure. But, looking at the pictures from others – I probably would have used them, but I may have been okay without them, too!  

What didn’t I pack that I needed?

A multi-plug extension would have been helpful in the Budapest hotel as the placement of plugs in the room was minimal and most were in use for the room’s lamps and phone. Dave uses a CPAP and only one side of the bed had a reachable plug and even then he had to unplug the lamp that was plugged into that outlet (and it wasn’t easy!). We normally pack one; I’m not sure how it got left off the list this trip!  

Viking Onboard and Hotel Experience

As usual we were pleased with the overall Viking experience on the Longship Ullur and at the Viking-selected hotels in Bucharest and Budapest. We were at the JW Marriott in Bucharest and the Corinthia Hotel in Budapest. If we had not previously been to Budapest, I think I would have preferred a hotel closer to the Danube for easier DIY exploration of the city. However, since we booked an independent tour out of the city, it didn’t really impact us as our guide would pick us up at any hotel. What did impact us somewhat was the limited number of electrical outlets and their location in the hotel room in Budapest as previously mentioned. If both of us had required a CPAP, that would have been a real problem!   

All the onboard ship staff were friendly, helpful, and fun to interact with. There were a couple of execution misses on meals (for example, overcooked fish one night, although perfectly cooked another). However, the soups and desserts were always great! Also, they had Fever Tree Ginger Ale and Ginger Beer which I prefer to Schweppes’s which seems to be the supplier on Viking Ocean.

I’d rate the onboard entertainer (keyboard/singer) as very average. We didn’t go to the lounge after dinner like we did on our Viking Ocean cruises to listen to the onboard entertainers. However, the local dance troupe that Viking brought aboard in Belgrade for the Folklore dances was excellent. Also, the onboard lecturer in Belgrade, Srdjan Ristic, with his “Serbia Today” topic was very enlightening and an excellent presenter.

Our cabin (a Veranda Stateroom, 205 square feet, including the balcony) was comfortable with sufficient storage and plenty of electrical outlets – both US and European style, so if you have multiple adapters, you can pretty much double-up your charging stations! The room is pretty tight though with an extra chair that is squeezed between the bed and the balcony, but other than to sleep and bathe, you don’t typically spend a lot of time in the room – at least we normally don’t! We were only two cabins removed from the Guest Services desk and the main entry/exit to/from the ship. I was concerned about potential noise from everyone passing our cabin all the time going to and from the bulk of the staterooms, but it was surprisingly quiet.

Viking Excursions

We went on these Viking excursions and would rate them as follows.

• Bucharest and the Palace of Parliament – Very Good (See Note 69)
• Baba Vida Fortress & Bulgarian Wine – Very Good (See Note 72)
• Lepenski Vir (& Golubac Fortress) – Excellent (See Note 73)
• Best of Belgrade – Good (See Note 74)
• Croatian Countryside & Wine Tasting – Very Good (See Note 75)
• Kalocsa & Puszta – Very Good (See Note 76)
• Snapshots of Budapest – Good (See Note 77)

Other than the 3 B’s – Bucharest, Belgrade, and Budapest – there aren’t a lot of options for excursions on this cruise. Most of the other ports had only 2 or 3 excursions possibilities, but I think Viking did an excellent job in finding and providing those options in areas with limited availability. So, if you are contemplating this cruise, please be aware of the limited excursion choices and realize that logistically you can’t plan independent excursions except perhaps in the 3 Bs as the ship often moved during the day after letting folks off for the ship’s excursions.

Return Flights

Since I complained about the business class configuration and age of the plane going over (See Note 66), I should report that our flights back on British Airways were fairly uneventful and that the plane from London to Houston has the newer business class 1-2-1 configuration which was much better than we experienced going over. No climbing over anyone to get out! The monitor screens stayed in place properly and all the plugs worked as expected. As we were coming back in the middle of the day, I didn’t try out the lie-flat seats, but I did finish reading the Louise Penny Inspector Gamache book quoted above and watched Wicked! for the first time.

We also found a fellow Baylor Bear in the lounge during our layover at Heathrow, well, he found us as I was wearing a Baylor-logo shirt. Almost everywhere we go, we meet at least one Baylor graduate that way!

Final Thoughts

This trip was eye-opening in so many ways, we learned so much and I’m glad we chose to do this itinerary. I am once again thankful to be able to travel internationally and have these experiences and especially to be able to travel in Viking comfort! But I also recognize that any travel is a luxury. I hope that I never take these opportunities for granted.

Unlike so many people in this world, in my life I have never been without access to clean water, food, or shelter. I have never had to stand in a mile-long line hoping that there is a loaf of bread available at the end to prevent my family from starving that week. I have never had to evacuate from my home due to war or run into a bomb shelter and hope my home survives the shelling. I have never had to flee my home country due to violence or the lack of opportunity to provide basic needs for my family. I have never had to struggle for the right to an education or a good-paying job. I have never had to experience my family torn apart by conflict.

I consider myself lucky, blessed, and yes, I recognize also that I am privileged. And I’ll forever repeat that I hope never to take the opportunities I’ve been given for granted.