Basse Buller, one of the Thomas Dambo trolls that was at a 2025 exhibit at the Memphis Botanic Gardens
Travel Tuesday Photo: Basse Buller, a Thomas Dambo Troll
Categories: Picture of the Week, Tennessee, United States
Tags: Memphis, Picture of the Week, Tennessee, Thomas Dambo, Travel Tuesday Photo, Troll
Leave a comment
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD
We had a rainy day in Belgrade but fortunately the rain either stopped completely or let up quite a bit during most portions of our city tour.
Kalemegdan Park
Our first stop was Kalemegdan Park. It’s the largest park in the city and was once the town field within Belgrade Fortress. It’s situated on a cliff that overlooks the confluence of the Danube and Sava Rivers. As we made our way to and through the fortress we came across this statue call the Monument to the Gratitude of France. It celebrates the cooperation of Serbia and France at the end of World War I and in its aftermath.
Continue reading
Categories: Cruises, Europe, River Cruise, Serbia, Tours, Trip Report, Viking
Tags: Belgrade, City Tour, Fortress, Nemcek, River Cruise, Serbia, Tour, Viking, Viking Ullur, Violin
Leave a comment
Activate 3rd Quarter Bonus Categories
It’s time to activate bonus categories for card that have quarterly bonuses for next quarter. All of these cards offer bonus points or cash back on up to $1500 in purchases during the quarter.
US Bank Cash+
If you’re not already getting 5x Ultimate Rewards points by using a Chase Ink card (and even if you are!) you may want to switch the card you’re using for payment for TV/Internet/Streaming Services and Cell Phones. You must register your card before September 15th to get the bonus cash-back in the categories you select. As a reminder, you choose two 5% categories and one 2% category. I’ll stick with Home Utilities and Gyms for this quarter. I’ll pick Grocery Stores for the 2% category just to pick something because I get a better rate from my Amex Gold Card.
Discover Card
Discover’s Q3 categories are Gas Stations, Transportation and Drug Stores. This is the first time ever Discover has offered 5% back for Transportation and the good news is that airfare is included in the Transportation category! This is fantastic timing for me as we’ll start looking at airfare for ski trips soon (I’ve got some flights on hold with miles but if the price comes down will switch to cash). Register by September 15th to activate your bonuses.
To activate the bonus, simply log into your Discover account and click on the Activate Now button or look for the email where you can register in one click.
Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex
The Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex card categories are Gas Stations/Public Transit/EV Charging, Select Live Entertainment, and donations to the United Way.
Activate these changes by visiting the Chase registration site by September 14.
In the end
Always register for the bonus categories even if you don’t think you’re going to use them. You’ll never know when they might come in handy!
Categories: Cash Plus, Chase, Credit Cards, Discover, Freedom, US Bank
Tags: Chase Freedom, Credit Card Promos, Discover Card, US Bank Cash Plus
Leave a comment
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD
While we’d been to Croatia before, it was always on the country’s west coast. Twice we’d visited Dubrovnik and the surrounding area and on our last Mediterranean cruise we’d had an unscheduled stop in Zadar. Our port on this date was Vukovar (VOO-koh-var) which is in the far eastern part of the country. We’d also visit Osijek (OH-see-yeck) which was not terribly far away on the Drava River. Our included morning tour saw our boat’s passengers divided into four groups. Two groups visited local residents first while the other two groups visited a local church and then the groups swapped activities.
Continue reading
Categories: Croatia, Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, River Cruise, Tours, Trip Report, Viking
Tags: Croatia, Europe, Homeland War, Osijek, River Cruise, Tours, Trip Report, Viking, Viking Ullur, Vukovar, Yugoslavian War
Leave a comment
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD
After our first night aboard the Viking Ullr we docked in Kalocsa, Hungary which is only about 1.5 hours south of Budapest by car but of course we were floating leisurely down the Danube. We boarded a motorcoach and for about 20 minutes we wound our way through farmland and the town of Kalocsa, which has a population of about 16,000 people. We then turned by this sign for the Bakodpuszta Horse Farm.
Continue reading
Categories: Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, Hungary, River Cruise, Tours, Viking
Tags: Cathedral, Cowboys, Csikos, Europe, Horses, Hungary, Kalocsa, River Cruise, Tour, Tours, Viking
Leave a comment
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD
Since we’d visited Budapest before by staying over for a couple of days after our 2016 Danube cruise, we weren’t in any hurry to try to see a lot of things. So after arriving at the Corinthia, we threw our dirty clothes in a bag and headed for the closest laundromat. Not very exciting, but quite practical.
The next day a city tour was included with our tour package. We decided to go along just in case it covered something we hadn’t seen before, but of course it did not. But that was fine. At least we didn’t have to pay for a taxi or Uber to take us up to Buda.
Heroes’ Square
We drove around a bit on the Pest side first, pausing at Heroes’ Square for in-bus photos. But the Archangel Gabriel, normally found on top of the column in the square, had been taken down for cleaning (or something) so while the photo below is decent enough for being inside the bus, I much prefer the photo I took in 2016 when we visited the square on foot. Visit the referenced post if you want to see it.
Heroes’ Square
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD
Our taxi dropped us off right in front of the Corinthia Budapest Hotel. As the hotel is on one of the major thoroughfares, there’s not much in the way of parking so we were glad we didn’t have to deal with a car. The bellmen took charge of our luggage right away, which was nice because just inside the double sets of front doors is a staircase that leads up to the main level. If you have mobility issues, don’t be concerned. There is an elevator to one side mostly used for luggage transport but it’s available for people too.
(photo courtesy panoramatours.com)
Categories: Europe, Hotel, Hungary, Lodging Review, Other Hotels, Trip Report
Tags: Budapest, Corinthia Budapest Hotel, Hotel Review, Hungary, Lodging Review, Trip Report
Leave a comment
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD
When looking for ways to get us from Krakow to Budapest, I thought that surely there must be a non-stop flight to Budapest, likely on some low-cost carrier. Perhaps there was but I didn’t see anything on Google Flights and the Budapest airport’s entry on Wikipedia does not list any such flights. We looked at flying LOT Polish back through Warsaw and there were other flights routing through other European hubs, all for $100 USD or more. Then we found Flixbus which was only about $25 per person and the 7-hour drive was only a little longer than it would have taken us to fly with a connection. Since we were not in any rush to reach Budapest, we decided that was our best option.
Our route from Krakow straight south to Budapest
Categories: Europe, Ground Transportation, Hungary, Poland, Trip Report
Tags: Budapest, Flixbus, Ground Transportation, Hungary, Krakow, Poland, Trip Report
Leave a comment
Travel Tuesday Photo: Temple of Hadrian in Ephesus, Türkiye
The ancient city of Ephesus is an active archaeological dig site and a fascinating visit to see an entire ancient city. The main street is called Curates Street and this is the entrance to the Temple of Hadrian.
Categories: Europe, Historical Site, Picture of the Week, Turkey
Tags: Ephesus, Europe, Historical Site, Picture of the Week, Türkiye, Travel Tuesday Photo, Turkey
Leave a comment
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Passage to Eastern Europe: Trip Introduction
Flight Review: LOT Polish Airlines 797-9 Business Class, ORD-WAW
Lodging Review: Hampton by Hilton Krakow
Our Time in Krakow, Poland
Flixbus from Krakow to Budapest
Lodging Review: Corinthia Budapest Hotel
Our Time in Budapest, Hungary
Our Time in Kalocsa, Hungary
Our Time in Osijek and Vukovar, Croatia
Our Time in Belgrade, Serbia
Our Time in Golubac, Serbia
Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel
Flight Review: SWISS Airlines 777-300 ZRH-ORD
I feel like I let myself down during our time in Krakow. We did hit some bumps that I couldn’t have foreseen but I definitely could have planned our time better. But here’s an overview of the things we saw and did on our visit.
First, the bumps:
– While our original flights had us landing in Krakow at 4:20 PM, due to the air traffic control issues in Chicago we missed our original connection and didn’t land until just after 5 PM. While that’s not much of a delay, in itself, the sheer fatigue we were feeling after not departing from Chicago until nearly 11 PM really knocked us out.
– My traveling companion had a bit of a sinus bug which left her feeling worn out for about the first week of our trip. Thus we didn’t stay out and experience the city as we otherwise might have. That lead to us dining at the hotel more and experiencing local restaurants less.
– I asked ChatGPT for things to do during our stay. I had it exclude Auschwitz since we’d already visited Dachau a few years ago. Since I don’t drink alcohol I also had it exclude wineries and breweries. While it gave us a good plan, I left it at that and didn’t follow up to see if we needed to buy tickets online ahead of time. That caused us to miss one attraction we’d have like to have seen, Oskar Schindler’s Factory.
We didn’t have great weather in Krakow. It rained off and on our whole first day, a Friday, and eased off on the weekend. But it was overcast almost the whole time and quite humid. In early-to-mid-October the temperature was in the upper-50sF which meant a jacket felt nice.
Wieliczka Salt Mine
Getting There and Back
While this had been on our agenda for a later day, since it was raining we thought this would be a good place to stay dry. While it’s possible to reach the salt mine from the hotel using public transit, it would take quite a long time, so we opted for an Uber. It was only about $11.25 going to the Salt Mine at 9:30 AM on a Friday but it was about $22 on the way back around 1:30 PM. I guess because the salt mine is a tourist attraction? It just seemed odd. I was fortunate that the salt mine has a couple of areas with strong WiFi: the cafe and the gift shop. I was having issues with my data-only eSIM card but was able to use the WiFi to pick up an Uber for the return trip. Continue reading
Categories: Award Travel, Europe, Historical Site, Poland, Trip Report
Tags: Europe, Historical Site, Krakow, Poland, Trip Report
Leave a comment
2B Traveling 
Recent Comments