A mosaic uncovered in one of the peristyle Terrace Houses built into the hillside in Ephesus, Türkiye. You can read about our 2014 trip to Ephesus and the surrounding area here.
Posts Tagged With: Europe
Travel Tuesday Photo: Colorful Produce in Stockholm
Colorful late-summer produce for sale in Stockholm, Sweden. You can read about our time in Stockholm here.
Categories: Europe, Picture of the Week, Sweden
Tags: Europe, Picture of the Week, Stockholm, Sweden, Travel Tuesday Photo
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Travel Tuesday Photo: Figures on the Charles Bridge in Prague
Detail of figures on one of the towers of the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czechia. You can read more about our time in Prague here.
Travel Tuesday Photo: Wawel Castle
Wawel Castle in Krakow, Poland. My friend and I visited on our own before boarding our Passage to Eastern Europe cruise on the eastern Danube. You can read about our time in Krakow here.
Categories: Europe, Picture of the Week, Poland
Tags: Europe, Krakow, Picture of the Week, Poland, Travel Tuesday Photo, Wawel Castle
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Travel Tuesday Photo: The Cathedral of the Salvation of the Romanian People
The church, in Bucharest, was consecrated in 2018 for Romania’s centennial celebrations though construction remains on-going. It looks close to completion, however.
Categories: Europe, Picture of the Week, Romania
Tags: Bucharest, Cathedral, Europe, Picture of the Week, Romania, Travel Tuesday Photo
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Lodging Review: JW Marriott Bucharest Grand 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
This will not be a very detailed hotel review simply because we were not there very long and I needed to prioritize sleep over taking photos. Our tour of Bucharest ended after 3 PM and we were taken to the JW Marriott. It’s a massive building and is also a conference center. But it’s gorgeous, the staff were uniformly wonderful, and it was a shame we couldn’t spend more time there.
The hotel opened in 1999, though the building was part of the urbanization plan that saw several other very large buildings being built around the same time. It has 402 rooms and a great location that’s within walking distance of the Old Town and is across the street from the National Cathedral, the Cathedral of the People’s Salvation. Continue reading
Categories: Cruises, Europe, Hotel, JW Marriott, Lodging Review, Marriott, River Cruise, Romania, Trip Report, Viking
Tags: Bucaresti, Bucharest, Europe, Hotel, Hotel Review, JW Marriott, Lodging Review, Marriott, River Cruise, Romania, Trip Report, Viking
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Our Time in Bucharest, Romania
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
With Bulgaria and Romania being separated by the Danube, our ship didn’t have far to reposition during our last evening on board. We simply crossed the river and docked at the town of Giurgiu, Romania. The following morning we packed up our suitcases and the Viking crew took care of all of our bags while we boarded motor coaches for the drive inland to Bucharest, our final stop. Depending on traffic, it’s roughly a 70 to 90-minute drive to the country’s capital.
Romanian National Opera House
Our first stop was the home of both the Romanian National Opera and Ballet companies. The Romanian National Opera was founded in 1877 and in 1953 this building was created as their permanent home. The first opera to be performed was Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. On the next night, the first ballet performance of the company, Coppélia, took place at the same theater.
Photo credit: opera-online.com
Categories: Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, River Cruise, Romania, Tours, Trip Report, Viking
Tags: Bucaresti, Bucharest, City Tour, Europe, Historical Site, River Cruise, Romania, Tours, Trip Report, Viking
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Our Time in Ruse, Bulgaria
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 the ship docked in Ruse, Bulgaria (pronounced like ROO-say by our Bulgarian tour director), we did not spend any time in the immediate area. Instead we boarded motor coaches and, after a rest stop, our first real cultural site was the Konstantsalieva house in the town of Arbanasi (ar-bahn-AH-see). After that we stopped by the amazing Church of the Nativity, followed by a lunch stop and ended our tour at the Tsarevets Fortress.
Arbansi was considered a “privileged settlement” during the Ottoman rule that began in 1396. That meant it had certain tax exemptions and bit of autonomy because its residents provided certain military-related services. This status attracted wealthy merchants, craftsmen, and clergy and they, in turn, built fortified homes and ornate churches.
Konstantsalieva House
This house dates to the late 1600s, right in the middle of the Ottoman rule which lasted for five centuries. It’s a home typical of a wealthy Christian: the thick stone walls and small windows provide a defensive front, it has an inner courtyard for privacy, it’s fairly unassuming from the street view, yet inside it’s rather lavishly decorated with a Turkish flair.
Photo: museumvt.com
Categories: Bulgaria, Europe, Historical Site, River Cruise, Tours, Trip Report
Tags: Bulgaria, Europe, Historical Site, River Cruise, Tour, Trip Report
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Our Time in Vidin, Bulgaria
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 awoke to another beautiful day docked in the town of Vidin, Bulgaria. Our excursions on this day would lead us to a couple of fortresses, the Belogradchik Rocks & Fortress in the morning and the Baba Vida Fortress in the afternoon. The second half of the afternoon tour was a wine tasting that my friend enjoyed but, since I don’t drink alcohol, did nothing for me. I don’t have photos of that because we basically just sat in a large room where the other trip participants sampled the wine.
Belogradchik Rocks and Fortress
As you can see, this reconstructed fortress is truly imposing. The earliest version of a fort here was during the Roman empire when it was used primarily for surveillance. The designers incorporated much of the huge rocks into the design so that fortified walls only had to be constructed in a few places. There are three separate yards, each connected by gates, inside the walls.
Categories: Bulgaria, Cruises, Europe, Historical Site, Tours, Trip Report, Viking
Tags: Baba Vida, Belogradchik, Bulgaria, Europe, Fortress, River Cruise, Tour, Trip Report, Vidin, Viking
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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.
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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
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