We woke up this morning to water rushing by outside our windows. It was us moving and it seemed like we were going 'at a rate of knots' because we were going against a quite quick current.
Sooz was awake when we went through our first lock of the trip. I was disappointed that I had slept through it (pun intended), but according to our crew director, there will be plenty more - 66 have been mentioned.
I was awake and out on the deck for the second lock of the day (and trip), approaching Vienna. What a feature of engineering. We entered on the 'lower' level and then rose to the top with the water. The gate behind us swung shut from both sides, while the one in front of us, when it finally did open, lowered into the lock. It took a while but when you think about the amount of water that's shifted in the process, it's totally understandable.
I wasn't the only one interested in the working of the lock - lots of the other passengers were up on the sunroof or the Aquavit Terrace watching the proceedings. And a few of the others were as surprised as I when a second boat (not as big as ours) shimmied in beside us. This is our longest stretch of sailing for the entire cruise, 25 hours from Budapest to Vienna. We passed some very pretty countryside and towns. And we ate a lot.
The food on board the Viking Vidar is wonderful. For breakfast there is a selection of cereals, cold cuts, toasts, pastries and hot dishes (How do you like your omelet?). There are two coffee machines on board but, alas, one is out of order and quite a line forms at times for the one that is working. We are told they can only fix it in Vienna, so we are all looking forward to that. And it's going to happen even though it is a National Holiday there tomorrow - celebrating the 1956 revolution or was it? I've also read/heard that it related to 1955 when the Iron Curtain divided Europe and it was, surprisingly, built around Austria rather than through it - on the condition that they committed to peace and neutrality. Dinner on the boat usually features, as an option, regional dishes for starter, mains (or entrees as Americans refer to it as) and dessert. I really am going to have to start writing them down because we've had so many meals on board now (or so it seems), that I'm losing track of them. It is quite restful being on the river, although whoever came up with the suggestion that the Danube is 'blue' must have been in a different time. Hmmmm, or maybe it was that 'Brown Danube' didn't sound nearly as romantic.
We docked late afternoon in Vienna, taking our place near many, many other long boats. Given we are currently in shoulder season, it must get very busy here in the Summer months. We have a full day in Vienna tomorrow, starting with (breakfast and) the Panoramic Vienna tour where we will be bussed in to the town centre and then be taken around the town. And so we are prepared, we had a session this afternoon on coffee houses and how to order coffee - I have included Kleiner Brauner and Grosser Brauner in my notes - depending on how thirsty I am, and, of course, the local Sacher Torte is on the list as well.
