Budapest day 2

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We came down to breakfast in the restaurant to be faced with a long table full of supposedly edible items, none of which did we associate with the word breakfast. The best of them was a bowl of tinned cherries and some sort of pre-aged semi-industrial bread.



We sat down at a table to make an attempt on the food, when we spotted REAL breakfast (bacon, sausage, egg, toast etc) on a different table far away on the other side of the room.



We looked around surreptitiously to see if anyone was watching, slid our unfortunate earlier mistake across to an empty table beside us, then strolled innocently across to the hot food.



Breakfast done we checked out at reception and discovered why all the staff had such perfect smiles - the place is also a dental hospital! We did actually know somewhere at the back of our minds that Hungary was the place to go to get dental work done cheaply, but the penny hadn't dropped until we saw the dental business cards at reception with the hotel address on them.



Taxi 22 kilometers to the Danube mooring of our ship was only €25. It took us through some fairly dingy outskirts of Pest, then as we got into the city the buildings gradually became more impressive. But nothing prepared me for the jaw-dropping beauty as we came round the final bend to see our long, long ship "Skadi" against the stunning backdrop of the shoreline of Buda on the opposite bank.



The taxi driver unloaded our big suitcases on to the quay, and we busied ourselves collecting our hats and shoulder bags from the interior of the taxi. When we turned to pick up our big suitcases THEY WERE GONE!



Stolen?



Not at all. The Viking staff had whisked them on to the boat for us whilst or backs were turned, and they were ready for us at reception! This is symptomatic of the whole outfit. Everything is stylish, luxurious, swish, and we'll thought out. Automatic doors, and air conditioning everywhere. Our cabin, though a little cramped in terms of floor space, is luxuriously appointed, with 40" TV, shower with heated floor (!), fridge, safe for valuables, floor to ceiling sliding window for the river views, and of course air conditioning. Lots of nice touches like automatic lights that switch on when you open the wardrobe doors.



You cannot believe how long these long-ships are! Yet they are less than 20 metres wide. Have a look at some of the photos.



I can't believe we have all this for 15 days PLUS VIEWS! - and it's already paid for!



Being tired from yesterday's traveling we decided to opt out of the various tours on offer in the afternoon and have a nice rest.



Before dinner, a very jovial and informative exposition of the delights ahead.

Magnificent 5 course dinner in the restaurant, which has a very nice ambiance. Tenderest steak I have EVER tasted.

Carole says she's fine.

Ship Wi-Fi is INCREDIBLY slow - I've had to use my mobile phone to upload this blog post and the photographs!

Photo Gallery

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