Cruising through the heart of Europe
BUDAPEST, Hungary -- A short, little man in a knee-length overcoat, with tufts of silver hair beneath a greenish fedora, played "Hungarian Dances" on his fiddle, a smile on his face and charm in his heart.
He was the real thing, even as the violin segued into "Roll Out the Barrel." The sun beamed down upon him as dozens of tourists stood in a lighthearted mood on a palisade of parapets and towers and witnessed the dazzling view of the Danube 600 feet below.
The fiddler was a noticeable contrast to another we encountered just an hour before on Heroes' Square. An unsmiling grump who could not fiddle well, he refused to give his name and spat on my coin before putting it into his pocket.
Heroes' Square in Budapest measures about the size of Soldier Field in Chicago, except what would be the playing field and spectator stands has been paved flat with tiles. Through the years, tens of thousands have gathered at one time in the square to celebrate all kinds of Hungarian events, from victories of Magyar kings whose statues adorn a tall colonnade, to Communist-inspired rallies that thankfully came to an end in 1989, the year of the Velvet Revolution.
To me, the two fiddlers personified two inspirations of "Budapescht," as the Hungarians pronounce it. The city has a stunning collection of Gothic and Romanesque architecture (the movie "Evita" was filmed here); however, by day it is smeared with the grime of pollution, literally in smog and figuratively in its history of oppressive politics.
The Soviets left, so now when night arrives in Budapest and darkness creeps in, the lights go on.
Floodlit architecture in Europe is a tourist's seduction these days, but perhaps more so in Budapest. From the decks of the River Explorer, our cruise ship on the Danube, we were stunned by the sight of the neo-Gothic Parliament Building, strung out over a half-mile on the Pest side. Turning the other direction, toward Buda, we saw the Royal Castle shining golden atop Castle Hill. We glided silently under the Chain Bridge, held up by two stone Arc d'Triomphe-looking towers, and cables that resembled necklaces of fiery light across the darkened river.
This was my second visit in 10 years to Budapest, which I declare is one of the most beautiful cities in all of Europe. And we hadn't even reached Vienna yet, or Nuremberg or Heidelberg or Cologne, or seen the fabled castles along the Rhine.
Our voyage led through the heart of Europe, which 15 years ago was impossible to take. That is when the construction of the Main-Danube canal was completed, securing a dream that first began with Charlemagne in the year 793. Other kings and emperors, such as Ludwig I, continued and failed until the mid-1800s when the canal was completed, but with a cumbersome set of locks that made it obsolete when the newest means of travel and moving freight came along: the railroad.
Construction began on a new and efficient 106-mile-long canal in the 1960s, connecting the westward-flowing Rhine with the eastward-flowing Danube, creating at last a watery highway across all of Europe, from Amsterdam to Budapest and beyond to the Black Sea.
Overnight voyages aboard slimmed-down cruise ships began within the past 10 years, opening up excursions on ships with cabins and fancy dining rooms, bars, libraries and fitness centers. On topside decks passengers recline and watch scenes, such as the fabulous castles of the Rhine, slip by on their rocky perches.
As the ship cruised upriver with the memories of a glittering Budapest now in the past, we could only wonder what attractions we would find in Vienna. The city itself fits well with the neo-Gothic and Romanesque romantic picture of European cities, but Vienna is mostly a state of mind. We visited at the height of the 250th celebration of the birthday of Mozart, who, like Beethoven and Schubert, thrust the Austrian city into a classical music prominence that continued into the 19th century with the Strauss waltz kings.
When strolling through Mozart's third-floor apartment at Domgasse 5, where he wrote "The Marriage of Figaro," we heard of the composer's poverty, his difficulty paying bills. Then we stepped outside into a veritable Mozart Mardi Gras. Posters and flags adorned book and music stores. Concert halls hailed his achievements, cashing in on the 21st-century windfall left by its famous son.
That night we attended a concert of mostly Strauss waltzes in Vienna Kursalon, an elegant 19th-century "ballroom of Vienna." The program also included Mozart's "A Little Night Music" and "Divertimento in F."
The overall impression of Vienna is of a bustling city that energetically embraces its history as the cultural capital of central Europe. The streets were thronged with people, many of them young families strolling and pushing baby carriages.
On a chilly, gray Sunday, after touring the 150-year-old Vienna State Opera House, we visited a cafe near Albertina Square and sampled Viennese coffee and the city's sumptuous pastry. We heard tales of royal gossip that seemed as alive as it must have been in the Emperor Franz Joseph's tenure (the reign of the Hapsburgs outlived 17 U.S. presidents). We were told of Empress Elizabeth's floor-length hair, that her nickname was "Sissi" and that she was a physical fitness nut who practiced gymnastics.
It is not possible to see all the palaces, museums and concert halls of Vienna in two days, but we squeezed in visits to the Hapsburgs' Schonbrunn Palace and traveled the Ringstrasse, the former Roman wall marking the old city boundary. It is graced by several wooded parks with huge sycamore trees adorned with Christmas bulbs.
Leaving Austria and entering Germany finds a rural countryside with evidence why the Romans decided to settle here. Miles and miles of vineyards still flank the steep hills on each side of the river. Here the castles begin to show themselves, about two dozen of them, only a few miles apart, standing in various states of ruin. Some are preserved enough to house hotels, restaurants, hostels and corporate retreats.
One of the first we saw before leaving Austria was the 12th-century Durnstein Castle, looming out of an early morning fog. Richard the Lionhearted was kept prisoner here by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI in 1193. The castle is one of many imposing steep-sided stone fortresses, most of which were built by barons to protect their land. They also imposed tariffs for river travelers, becoming the first to earn the sobriquet "robber barons."
The old castles, most of them high above the Rhine against backdrops of cliffs and woodland, photograph well with a long-distance lens. Viewing castles, however, is nowhere near the fun of prowling the crooked cobblestone streets beside half-timbered houses in the fabled towns of Bavaria.
One, Nuremberg, whose reputation as the site of the famous Nazi war crimes trials overshadows its Renaissance charm, was rebuilt as it was in the 1500s after being reduced to rubble by Allied bombing. Standing in the Imperial Castle high on a hill overlooking the town proper, we found it difficult to realize that 70 percent of the castle has been destroyed by bombing in a single day, April 20, 1945, Hitler's birthday. Ten days later, Der Fuhrer killed himself.
We visited a huge cave dug into the granite 80 feet beneath the castle where priceless paintings were hidden during the war, and only a block away toured the home of the famous painter Albrecht Durer.
Heidelburg surprised us, too. Its famous university, of course, has drawn students from around the world since 1386. After touring the mostly intact Heidelberg Castle overlooking the city, we spent most of our time visiting the quaint shops and old restaurants lining the pedestrian-only Hauptstrasse, which stretches about a half-mile long.
Several small towns flank the Rhine, which except for the tourism provided by the river cruises, would be off Germany's tourist track. One of my favorites, Bamberg, was preparing for its outdoor Christmas Market in Gruner Market Square where St. Martin's church is located. The church has a stunning baroque interior of red marble, polished brass and ornately carved oak pews.
Bamberg has 30 churches and 11 breweries. For 20 euros, you can tour the beer joints, one of which features a popular kind of smoked beer made with burnt beech wood. You can hoist a toast to one of Bamberg's most famous sons, Levi Strauss, the jeans maker.
On one bitingly chilly day we rode a ski lift 700 feet up a mountainside shrouded in fog so thick one could barely make out the acres of vineyards below us. We visited the Niederwald Monument, a massive stone and bronze statue that was barely visible from its base because of the fog. Worse, we missed the as-advertised "spectacular" view of the Rhine below.
But on this trip the setbacks, the minuses, quickly reversed. Once down the mountainside, we retreated -- damp, cold and disappointed -- to a most colorful shop where we warmed our hands, stomachs and psyches over Rudesheimer coffee, a blend of sugar cubes, Asbach brandy, coffee, whipped cream, vanilla and grated dark chocolate.
The coffee was one of the smaller rewards of a newly discovered passage across the heart of Europe that introduced us, as Americans, to a chiefly unfamiliar history of kings and castles, massive cathedrals, profound music, picturesque towns and mostly friendly people, all very far removed from the turmoil of the present and the dictators of the past.
If you go
Cruising the Rhine and Danube
Go: If you wish an inclusive one-shot cross-continent experience through the heart of Europe
No: If history, from medieval to World War II, doesn't excite you
Getting there: Start your cruise in either Amsterdam in the Netherlands or Budapest in Hungary. From O'Hare, United and KLM have nonstop flights to Amsterdam. Flights to Budapest require a connection in a European city.
Picking a cruise: At least a dozen companies sell and sponsor river trips from Amsterdam to Budapest and vice versa.
One of the best ways to shop these trips is through the Web site www.europeanrivercruises.com, which details the excursions according to company, the number of days, prices and itineraries. Prices generally run from $2,295 with Grand Circle, to $4,790 with Tauck, including airfare from an East Coast city.
Another Web site, www.VacationsToGo.com, categorizes the costs of trips: budget, $45 to $130 per person, per day; first class, $80 to $275; deluxe, $100 to $400; luxury, $400 to $600. Airfare is not included.
The voyages generally last 15 or 16 days, with stopovers each day at interesting cities and attractions along the way. Many of the towns are accessible by walking directly from the ship; others are reached by brief motor-coach rides.
Dress codes: On a river trip a few years ago with Peter Deilmann Cruises, whose passengers were mostly Germans, I was embarrassed to be the only man wearing a sports jacket and not a dark suit and tie or tuxedo at dinner. Conversely, on the recent trip with Vantage DeLuxe Travel, many guests wore jeans and sports clothes to dinner. Ask the touring company for advice.
Most popular times to travel: Summer, fall and before Christmas, usually Dec. 1 when the many outdoor Christmas markets are held. The Christmas Market tours are very popular, with itineraries from Amsterdam to Vienna, or vice versa, so you should book early.
Guidebooks: "The Rhine Guide From Mainz to Cologne," available at www.Amazon.com, is a handy, full-color book that identifies the castles along the route, with mileage markers, towns, histories and descriptions. It has a convenient pullout map.
Other guidebook recommendations are Lonely Planet's "Germany" and Frommer's "Budapest and Best of Hungary" and "Vienna and the Danube Valley."
-- John Hilferty