Danube River Cruise: 

From Vienna to the Black Sea

Whoa there!!   Sit down, take a load off and welcome to a cruise down the Danube River from Vienna, Austria to the Black sea.  On these pages we take you to the countries of Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria.    

Taking a cruise down the Danube isn't just taking a relaxing jaunt down one of the world's great rivers, it's a lesson in Western Civilization 101.   Every twist and turn of this fabled river has a story waiting to tell.  After all, much of the soul of European history lies along the Danube.  First, it was the Celts that settled along the Danube in literally prehistoric times.  After that came the Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Magyars, Crusaders, Huns, Franks, and the Turks, to name a few.  Their intentions ranged all the way from expanding empires, pillaging cities, ravaging citizenry, and of course, slaughtering infidels.  Depending on whom you were talking to, the infidels were the Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Magyars, Crusaders, Huns, Franks, and the Turks, to name a few. 

Then in this century it was the Germans that blitzkrieged their way   down the Danube all the way to the Black Sea only to high-tail it back just ahead of the Russian Army going upstream.   But the Soviet influence lasted only a whiff by historic standards and was last seen beating a hasty retreat back down the river after the fall of Communism.   Nowadays, the ships that ply the tranquil (alas, brown) waters of the Danube are not Ottoman caiques or Roman galleys, but are sleek river boats filled with Americans enjoying the scenery and seeing firsthand the myriad of feudal castles, Baroque cathedrals, and other remnants of Western Civilization(and Western Uncivilization). 

Recently, Susan (my wife) and I took a 14-day Danube riverboat cruise from Vienna to the Black Sea on Viking River Cruises riverboat, the Viking Europe, stopping at towns and cities in Austria, Slovakia, Hungry, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria.  Here are a few photos we took along the way. 

(bend of the Danube at Estergom, Hungary)

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