Budapest, Hungary to Vilshofen, Germany … Up The Creek … What Do You Do When The River Is Too Low?

It was a nice flight to Frankfurt, and then in to Budapest.    AMA’s gracious staff met us with the bad? news … The Danube was too low and getting lower and the ship had to leave Budapest to get out before it was stranded.    We had the opposite circumstance last time we were here … it was June … when the ship had to leave because the water was too high and the ships couldn’t get under the bridge.

The Hungarian Legislature ... Across the Danube, from our hotel room.

What’s a traveler to do?   Well AMA didn’t flinch … they checked us in to the Sofitel hotel right across the river from the Hungarian legislature … you know, the photo that is most connected with Hungary … it’s right outside our hotel window!

After a nap to wipe out the overnight flight and the jet lag, we had an excellent dinner and our host introduced Rudy, the president of AMA, who reminded us that this is a “Wine Cruise” and we will be touring vineyards and sampling some of the best wines on the planet.    Rudy then introduced two wine specialists who will be lecturing, guiding and tasting along our way.  One of the topics is a face-off between Austrian and German wines.   Of course the comparison to Napa wines is always in the background.     It’s nice to have a mission and a focus!

Hungarian Folk Serenade

The company was delightful, the Hungarian folk music was romantic and some of our table mates really knew a lot about wine!   The Christmas Markets were closing down as we got there … but Luelle assures me, we’ll have time to check them out tomorrow after the city tour and before we head for Vienna to catch our ship.  We’ll see.

So what to do when the river is too low?   So far, the AMA staff has done a great job of making lemonade from the lemons caused by the previous 6 weeks of no rain.    Stay tuned.

Here are the rest of the photos of Budapest from this trip.   Click on any thumbnail to enlarge it … then use arrows or arrow keys … or you can view them all as a slideshow.     Let me know if you have trouble viewing …  Dave Robinson