Monday, October 20^th: Our first night aboard the Amabella on an eight-day trip on the Danube from Giurgiu, Romania, to Budapest, Hungary. Our first evening our group had a dinner in a private dining room – a beer versus wine dinner where participants voted on the better match by dropping either a cork or a bottle cap into a bag.

The wines:

• Pfaffl Grüner Veltliner 2021
• Liliac Sauvignon Blanc N/V
• Magura Misket & Riesling 2022
• Gramma Feteasca Neagra 2019
• Taylor Tawny Port 15-year-old

The beers:

• Delta Blonde Ale
• Mad Workaholic West Coast style IPA
• Crowd Control New England style IPA
• Amber Guerre Red Ale
• Black Hole Porter
• I Scream, You Scream Imperial Stout

After a lot of trash talk between me and Steve Gill, who organized the taste-off, wine won. (I think it was my parting shot that secured the wine: “Nobody’s ever heard of a wine belly!”) Wine won convincingly.

Tuesday, October 21^st: Our first stop is Rousse in Bulgaria. We visited the Leventa Winery, where we tasted three wines.

Every evening the bar prepared a cocktail of the day. This evening, a Margarita.

Wednesday, October 22^nd: This morning I conducted a wine tasting in the lounge for passengers who were willing to drink wine at 11 am. We tasted Magura Misket and Riesling and Petro Vaseleo Melgis (Feteasca Neagra).

A walking tour of Vidin to the Baba Vida fortress followed by a tasting at the Dos Alamos winery.

Thursday, October 23^rd: Today we sailed through the Iron Gates, a gorge on the river Danube that forms part of the boundary between Serbia to the south and Romania to the north – it encompasses a route of 134 km through massive locks.

Sailed past a monumental stone monument to Decebalus, the last king of Dacia (87–106 AD) – his face carved into the mountainside! Trump would approve.

In the evening, I conducted my second tasting for the passengers: Kutjevo De Gotho Graševina (Riesling Italico) and St. Andrea Áldás Egri Bikavér (Kekfrankos).

For dinner, I selected a couple of wines that were paired to the menu for the passengers: Sauska Furmint 2024 and Terra Tanga Rubin 2019 (Rubin is a cross of Nebbiolo and Syrah).

Sailed by the Golubac Fortress, a medieval fortified town on the south side of the Danube. A beautiful sight, all lit up at night.

A delicious meal tonight, with lots of wine followed by Las Vegas-worthy entertainment by a pair of opera singers.

Friday, October 24^th: In Belgrade. Visited the Nikola Tesla Museum.

And the magnificent Serbian Orthodox Temple of St. Sava.

Evening dinner in the main dining room…celebrating Chaine des Rotisseurs
(La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is an international gastronomic society founded in Paris in 1950. It is one of the oldest gastronomic societies in the world. AmaWaterways is the only river cruise designated by La Chaine.) Since Steve Gill and I are members, we were asked to wear our regalia.

A group of local Bulgarian dancers and singers performed for us after dinner.

Saturday, October 25^th: Arrived in Croatia. Toured the Ilok City Museum before a wine tasting at the Kast Winery, named after the owners – a sister and brother, Katarina and Stjepan. A new winery opened in 2023 promoting historical methods of wine production.

Sunday, October 26^th: We arrived in Mohács, Hungary, so the lunch menu was dedicated to Hungarian cuisine.

Monday, October 27^th: Budapest today, our destination.

Checked into the Mercure hotel in the city centre. Walked to the market, a magnificent building that sells everything, particularly paprikas and Tokajis including the most expensive, Essencia.

In a department store next to our hotel I found this mat – perfect for Thomas Bachelder’s Bat Cave tasting room. I schlepped it home.

Budapest has a surprising number of shoe stores and Thai massage parlours! Along the Danube are playful bronze sculptures. One place not to miss is the New York Cafe, which bills itself as “The most beautiful cafe in the world” – and it is!

Tuesday, October 28^th: Visited Dohany Street Synagogue – the largest synagogue in Europe – and the remembrance garden for Hungarian Jews killed by the Nazis. Each silver leaf bears the name of a victim. Another sobering experience is to see the shoes cast in bronze of children and parents lined up on the river’s edge. All were shot by Hungarian Nazis during WWII.