Cruising the Danube. Discoveries

Transcription

1 Budapes s specacular lighshow a he sar of an advenure Cruising he Danube A river cruise covering four coninenal capials highlighed he delighs bu also he dark side of modern Europe. Norman Wrigh was on board 32 33

2 Clockwise from main picure: The beauiful Danube from he rampars of Fisherman s Basion; The wonderful iled roof of Mahias Church; Two ypical villages in Ausria s Wachau Valley; One of many river cruisers ha ply he Danube; Braislava s old ciy; Fisherman s Basion overlooking he Danube; Casle Hill in Budapes TWILIGHT CREPT up on he domes and roofs of Budapes and, as he clear blue sky darkened o sar-sudded midnigh blue, housands of lighs on he bridges and classic buildings along he banks of he River Danube flickered on. The boas ha passed in boh direcions were also exensively li by his ime, and i was a romanic and exoic momen as our river cruiser slipped away from is mooring in he cenre of he Hungarian capial and headed upsream bound for Amserdam. Everyone on board was on he open deck as he capain seamed slowly, showing us he classic view from he guidebooks and hose river cruise TV ads. Nohing beas being on deck for real, hough, armed wih a glass of champagne, feeling a genle breeze as he evening cooled and hearing he sof slap of waer on he bows. Gradually, as our boa lef he hear of Budapes in is wake, people began o head down o he bar where a Hungarian rio was sriking up a sirring gypsy violin une. We sayed on under he sars jus enjoying seeing he now-dark banks slipping pas and savouring he moion of he boa and he exciing smell of waer and cooling counryside. I really did feel like he sar of an advenure. Afer spending he firs nigh aboard in Budapes we had he whole day o explore before our dramaic dusk deparure. A morning coach our mean we saw all of he highlighs of he newer ciy of Pes on he easern side of he river and he medieval Buda on he wesern bank. From he heighs of Casle Hill in Buda you ge a grea view of he ciy and he river. From he coach drop-off poin he visa is across he ciy. Afer a shor walk up he cobbled sree lined wih souvenir shops (aseful) you ge o Mahias Church wih is iled roof of many colours. I is worh geing a icke o walk along he rampars of Fisherman s Basion overlooking he church, as from here you ge a fanasic view of he Danube as i curves under he Chain bridge and pas he domed Parliamen building. Furher along Casle Hill is he Royal Palace, now he Hungarian naional gallery and Budapes Hisory Museum. From he basion you can also see Gellér Hill wih he enormous Libery Monumen. For all hose imposing domes and magnificence, he mos moving sigh along he Danube promenade are 60 pairs of shoes on he river s edge. Cas in iron, hey are shoes from children, men and women from all walks of life and a memorial o vicims of Second World War fascism. The Arrow Cross pary in Hungary were supporers of Hiler s Nazi Germany, collaboraing in sending housands of Jews and poliical opponens o he deah camps. They also forced ciizens, mainly Jews hey had rounded up, o remove heir shoes and srip naked facing he river when hey were sho in he back so hey would fall in and heir bodies be washed away. I is an arociy ha mos of us probably wouldn have comprehended before he recen round of execuions in he Middle Eas. This simple memorial on he Pes 34 35

3 Clockwise from above: An impressive gallery in Vienna s Opera House; Melk Abbey; Passau s own hall; The Wachau Valley; A cloisered corridor a Melk Abbey; The wonderful pained celing a Melk Abbey; Waiing for he organ recial in S Seven s Cahedral, Passau; Evocaive ar in Vienna Opera House; Durnsein ow wih is ruined casle above; The couryard and façade of Melk Abbey bank near he Parliamen Building gives you a jol of horror ha his sor of brualiy could happen and is sill coninuing. There were furher reminders laer on. Our firs morning of cruising was hrough genle counryside wih Hungary on our lef and Slovakia on he righ. Jus afer lunch we came alongside a Braislava, he cobblesoned capial of Slovakia. A every sop here was a our included in our cruise price. Normally i was a walking our as he boa was usually ied up righ in he middle of each own. There were several coach ours. All of hem were led by a local guide wih commenary via your personal headse. There were some opional ours during he rip which cos exra; we only ook a couple a musical evening in Vienna and a Second World War our of Nuremberg as he inclusive ours were excellen. River cruising ook a similar forma o ocean cruising. There was pleny of excellen food, house wine included, a cruise direcor kep everyone well briefed on he nex day s iinerary before dinner, and afer dinner here was a variey of enerainmen. The dress code was informal and relaxed, and because here were far fewer guess you go more ime o enjoy heir company. The op deck was he place o wach he counryside drif by bu i wasn always available. As we approached a low bridge, we all had o go below as he wheelhouse lowered iself and he boa cleared he bridge. A one sage he deck was closed for a couple of days. This is dicaed by waer levels and changes from rip o rip. Our nex capial ciy was Vienna afer an overnigh hop from Braislava. We ook he inclusive coach our of he ciy s main sighs hen sayed in he cenre o do our own hing, including a our of he magnificen opera house and a coffee and slice of he famous rich chocolae Sacherore on he pavemen ables of he Café Landmann opposie. Afer dinner on he boa we were whisked off for an evening of Mozar and Srauss music on an opional our. The evening was no oo highbrow, an essenial par of a visi o Vienna. The nex morning he boa seemed far away from he previous hree days and hree capial ciies. For he firs ime we were sailing hrough a seeper-sided valley doed wih ruined casles wih erraced vineyards sreching up above lile medieval owns. The Wachau Valley is one of he mos picuresque on he Danube. Melk is one of hose lile owns and we sopped here for a our of Melk Abbey wih is owering views down o he river and back along he valley. During he nigh we crossed anoher border and woke up in Germany, in he cobbled own of Passau. Our walking our included he huge baroque cahedral of S Sephen s and a performance on he world s bigges church organ in which he organis seemed o use every one of he 17,974 pipes and all four carillons. Furher on up he Danube is he river s oldes own, Regensburg. We were really enjoying he relaxed walking ours in hese ancien Bavarian owns. Regensburg is almos 2000 years old and is Old Sone Bridge was one of he main crossing poins of he Danube for 800 years. In fac, he 36 37

4 Clockwise from op: Tranquil scene in Bavaria; Sunse over he Main River from he deck; The iron shoes in Budapes a sobering memorial; Mighy arches of Cologne Cahedral; Wurzburg s Forress Marienberg; The windmills of Kinderdijk; Zeppelin Field a Nuremberg wih Hiler s plaform juing ou knighs of he second and hird Grea Crusades used i on heir way o he Holy Land. Soon afer Regensburg we lef he River Danube as i winds off across souhern Germany o is source in he Black Fores. We enered he canal ha links o he Main River. Unil hen we had been ravelling upsream and rising in he increasingly frequen gian locks. A some poin on he 106-mile canal we crossed he European waershed and sared o descend in he locks and head downsream. The Danube-Main Canal was compleed in 1992 and allows large boas o navigae from he Danube Dela on he Black Sea o he Rhine Dela on he Norh Sea a Roerdam. We joined many boas in he locks or me hem coming he oher way. There were pleny of cruisers like ours, or cargo boas ploughing deerminedly pas. Our nex por of call, Nuremberg, has pleny of medieval hisory bu i was is 20h cenury role in he rise of he Nazi pary ha we concenraed our ime here on. Firs sop on our coach our was he Zeppelin Fields, where a series of rallies in he Thiries aended by housands of Nazi pary members buil up momenum for Germany s evenual disasrous aacks on is neighbouring saes. The main sone sands behind he juing plaform where Hiler s fanaical speeches roused his supporers sill remain, alhough heir op srucures were pulled down by he Allies and he swasika symbols blown up. The original ground is a bi overgrown and he armac area in fron of he plaform is used for all sors of evens, from markes o moor racing. Hiler s We sayed on under he sars jus enjoying seeing he now-dark banks slipping pas and savouring he moion of he boa and he exciing smell of waer and cooling counryside ambiions for his sor of rally knew few boundaries as a visi o he Documenaion Cenre close by reveals. The cenre is in he Congress Building, a huge semi-circular consrucion which was inended o house offices and accommodaion for pary officials, wih a vas cenral couryard ha could hold up o 50,000 people. The Documenaion Cenre reveals plans he Nazis had o creae even bigger parade and rally grounds for hundreds of housands. I illusraes he sory of he rallies and he way Nuremberg was used by Hiler. Money o complee he Congress Building and he planned rally grounds was divered o he war effor in 1939, so i remains a failed projec. Nuremberg was chosen o hos he war crimes rials for is significance as he roo of Nazism. All Nazism s main figures who survived he final days of he war and who could be rounded up were ried in Courroom 600. I is sill used as a cour, and ours of he room and building are available when i is no siing. I is an eerie feeling o si and look over a he dock where hose who swaggered on he rally grounds a few years before me jusice only 70 years ago. Mos of hem also faced he deah penaly in he jail jus behind he cour buildings. I was a 38 39

5 Typical bikes and windmills a Kindersdijk near Roerdam Below righ: Buildings lean in in he narrow srees of Werheim ; Below lef: Beauiful borders a Wurzburg s Residenz Palace Passpor o river cruising fascinaing day in Nuremberg, bu also chilling. We joined he River Main near Bamberg, a really beauiful old own wih narrow srees, crooked buildings and clock owers. We called a Wurzburg, Werheim and Koblenz, passing he casles and wine slopes of Bavaria and he Middle Rhine on he way o our las major sop a Cologne. Again we were able o moor righ in he cenre and walk from he boa o our he old ciy, including he amazing cahedral. There was only one por of call now before Amserdam and he end of our cruise and ha was a Kinderdijk near Roerdam for a walk around he windmill-doed waerways ha keep he fields drained and preven flooding. Our guide explained how he sysem works now and how i worked when he windmills were he only source of pumping power. Our advenure across Europe was almos over. Afer a farewell dinner we woke a he crack of dawn berhed in Amserdam, he Duch capial. The American and Aussie friends we had made on he cruise were saying in Amserdam for a couple of days before aking in Paris and London o complee heir holiday. Mos of hem had visied Prague before joining he cruise a Budapes. We all agreed i had been he mos relaxing way of seeing so much a real Grand Tour. n Several operaors offer he Rhine, Main and Danube cruise we ook. You can ravel in eiher direcion, go he whole way, which akes around 15 days, ake shorer rips, head from Amserdam owards Swizerland or ake a River Moselle cruise n Oher popular rivers in Europe are he Rhone in he Souh of France and he Douro in Porugal n Smaller Ocean Cruise ships also venure up river n Cruise he Danube, and he oher grea rivers of Europe, wih award-winning escored holidays specialis Tian and enjoy free door-odoor home ransfers. Tian exclusively charers he elegan 4* Royal Crown. Choose from a selecion of nine-day and en-day Danube cruises sill available for summer 2015! from 1699 per person. Call free on or visi ianravel.co.uk for more informaion. For he ulimae indulgence, Uniworld river cruises, in parnership wih Tian, offer a six sar service and excepional all-inclusive value. Cruise he Danube in 2016 aboard he luxurious River Bearice from jus 1,699 per person. Call free on or visi ianravel.co.uk for more informaion. 40