Amadeus Riva: Day 1! After an interesting trip so far, the main event of this whole journey was scheduled to take place in the afternoon. Despite the looming excitement, I slept until 0630! After getting out of bed, I got packed, read and got ready. By 0745, I had put my bags in the hall to be picked up by the porters and proceeded to the AHI Dining Room for another nice breakfast (this time, alone). With cooler weather in the early hours, I decided to take another stroll in Sofia before our bus left the city. At 0815, I left the hotel and went for a walk nearby. First, I visited Ste. Nedelya and recorded some of the chanting of Mass). The building itself was quite pretty inside and, when I continued walking away from it, I found several little chapels scattered around among the nearby blocks. I had time to explore the Serdica ruins, which were mostly in the area where the subway station was located and under the roads. Highlight: I found a mini-church apse preserved there. Next, I checked out the area near the Mineral Springs. Overall, I felt good to be able to revisit some pretty spots and also find several quiet corners and courtyards. Each of these places was within two blocks of my hotel so we definitely got prime digs. There is no doubt that Sofia is a really nice city but, after the last couple of days, I felt ready to head to the next stop on the tour - onward! Returning to the hotel (0900), I confirmed my bags (had to tell our hosts so they could tag them as ready for loading) in the lobby. After that, I spent about 45 minutes reading, doing Duolingo and blogging. At 0950, I headed downstairs to join Group #1 for our bus ride to Vidin. Happily, we had beautiful weather again (sunny and cooler in the AM) as we departed the Sofia Balkan Palace (1015) and proceeded north. Our bus (#1 of 3) was being driven by Vladimir, joined our host (Nani) and local guide (Maggie). Along the way, we got lots of details about history, culture, agriculture and cuisine. After leaving the city limits (on Route 81), farm fields gave way to the foothills of the Vrachanski Balkan Mountains. Temps soon started to soar… At 1110, we stopped at Hotel Balach, a “rest area” of sorts for about 30 minutes. Most people bought drinks there but I just explored - there was an inviting pool in back of the hotel and I wished I could submerge myself in it! By 1145, we were on our way again. The bus's AC was not able to keep up with the heat and the passenger complaints began… Meanwhile, we climbed higher (with lots of dramatic switchbacks) into the mountains. Maggie gave more color commentary but I spent more time looking at the views than listening. After summiting the pass, we had a similar drive (more switchbacks) back down into the Danube Valley. There were times when our bus and big trucks seemed destined to collide. In the end, we passed through safely. During this time, we encountered three other buses that were apparently coming from the ship in Vidin - I guess the logistics of this cruise scheme involves a complex series of movements so the ship and hotel are never empty… Our next stop was in the town of Montana (founded by the Romans) - we arrived at our restaurant (Hotel Jitomer) at 1315. Being the first bus meant being first in line for food - nice! The light meal was buffet style, with meats, cheeses, veggies and a tasty soup. We were allowed to choose our drink and I tried a Bulgarian white wine. During this meal, I sat at the table with the rest of my Bus #1 comrades and got to know some of the Iowa State and Wash-U folks. Afterwards, I went outside in the sweltering heat and walked for a bit in a nearly plaza. There was an inviting fountain there and I wished I could enter it. By 1415, I was on the bus in time (along with everyone else) but then our bus got blocked in by the other two. Vladimir had to work hard to find a way out. Eventually, we were on our way north towards Vidin. The scenery got much flatter after leaving Montana and the sun had switched sides in the meantime. As a result, I closed the curtain and read one of my books. At about 1545, we started to get views of the Danube River (right side of the bus). Entering town, however, we lost sight of our target as Vladimir skillfully navigated a series of streets with low hanging trees, one way roads and narrow passage ways until we arrived at the Bada Vida Fortress (1600). The present castle, located about the Danube in a strategic location, was built on a Celt/Thracian foundation, augmented by Roman engineering, improved by the Byzantines and subsumed by the Turks. This meant that the architecture was very interesting and our group (still led by Maggie) navigated slippery steps and steep stone walkways to reach a high overlook of the Danube and surrounding countryside (including the town of Calafat on the Romanian side). The temps were unbearably hot (approaching 100 degrees) so my enthusiasm for being outside started to wane. While at the fortress, I saw a group of kayakers who had finished their paddling “regatta” for the day and were setting up camp - wished I was with them… Instead, we reboarded the bus and drove to nearby St. Panteylemon (located next to St. Nikolai), an example of 17th Century church building and beautiful frescos. Maggie gave us much more context on Bulgarian and Orthodox Christian life under the Ottomans. We also learned about Vidin’s mosque and synagogues - even though these are religious minorities in the area, the government has supported renovations of their aging buildings. Also worth noting: Vidin used to have a population of 80K residents but now only has 30K - there were a LOT of deserted buildings. Once we’d returned to the bus for the last time, Vladimir drove us back through town until we reached the port (1715). Tied up along the pier was my new home away from home for the next nine days: MS Amadeus Riva! Transferring from the bus to the ship this afternoon was a snap and I was in my room by about 1730. We had a mandatory brief that was scheduled within the hour but I managed to squeeze in some time for photos of the HUGE riverboat - from the pier and onboard - before I had to attend. The ship is new (2023) and had most of the same amenities as the Viking cruise ship I used in February. But the capacity was far smaller (~150) and we only had around 80 passengers for this cruise. During our safety briefing and “Port Brief” for the next day, we were treated to complimentary drinks and I grabbed one of the only beers, a Bitburger (which I know well). By 1900, I was able to get away for a shower and to unpack but then attended a spectacular “Welcome Aboard” dinner with four delicious courses (we could choose from a list of options). I sat with some folks from the ND group (Ron and Sandy, along with a few others) but I liked the fact that there weren’t assigned seats. The food was very good and I paired it with a nice red wine (Weinbau Mörwald Classic Blauer Zweigelt). We wrapped up at 2100 and I relaxed in my room (blogging, read the Daily Program for the next day and read more of my book) until we got underway an hour later. Since my room was located near the waterline, I could clearly hear the river waves splashing near by window after we got underway. With these smooth sounds, I ended up going to bed the earliest I had on the entire trip (2300). Now sailing upstream on the “Beautiful Blue Danube!”
