MS Amadeus Riva: Day 4! After more than a week touring predominantly Orthodox Christian countries, our ship docked in the riverside town of Vukovar, Croatia this morning (0530) and I (re)entered the world of Roman Catholicism. This was significant because we’d arrived in a Holy Day of Obligation (Solemnity of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven), which was also a national holiday in this part of the world. I woke up at 0630 and was surprised to learn that our Cruise Director had moved our excursion, to Vukovar and Osijek (“Ossyek”), to a 0815 departure. With temps again projected to top 100 F, that was fine with me but it did compress my normal, leisurely routine of breakfast and reading. As I was getting my pass to go ashore, I realized I'd forgotten my wallet - fortunately, I had time to retrieve it before everyone else had I left the ship. To get on land, we passed through another cruise ship (from Switzerland) that was moored inside of Amadeus Riva. Outside, we found our buses waiting! As we drove west from the Danube, our local guide, Josef, told us tales of the 1990s Balkan Wars and described the many tragedies that occurred when Serbia (located across the river) tried to prevent Croatia’s independence. Farther out into the countryside, we learned about the many nearby farming communities in the region of the country known as Slavonia. Passing through Osijek, we crossed the Drava River and made our way to a small hamlet called Kopacevo. The purpose of this detour was to do a little agritourusm - arriving at a little farm, we met a man named Nino, who the locals call “The Fisherman”. His fish tales, local anecdotes and family-made products were wonderful. We learned that the local people (of the Baranya region) are closely connected culturally with neighbors across the border in Hungary and often gather in Mohacs on Mardi Gras (Busojaras Carnival) to celebrate an ancient tradition (of wearing “Bigfoot-like” costumes made of sheepskins and sporting terrible masks) of trying to frighten the winter away. I sampled almost all of the offerings (three kinds of Slivovitz/plum-brandy/honey-wine, three kinds of wine and three kinds of kolaches) and, needless to say, was feeling quite good when the visit was over. We returned to Osijek and took a walking tour of a fortress and “old town” building complex. Josef explained many details about education, taxes, local activities and Croatia’s recent entry into the Eurozone. At one point, the already shortened (due to heat) tour deliberately passed a point of interest (“Watergate” of the fortress) and I took my own detour to see the moats, walls and the river. Even after this, I easily caught up to the slow moving group. Once back on the buses, we returned to Vukovar and learned about the nearly 90% devastation within the town that took place in the early 1990s. A visible example of the destruction was the Water Tower (it was covered with bullet holes) and we got to take photos of it. Once at the pier again, I realized I had 45 minutes before “All Aboard” and used that time to explore sights near the pier. I had enough time to sample a local beer at one of the only businesses open on the holiday. Back onboard the ship (I was the last one to arrive), I got a light lunch (custom made pasta bar) and then spent the afternoon watching the coastline of the river (Serbia to the east and Croatia to the west). There were so many types of birds (our tour directors said there were hundreds of species)! There were also many fishermen, jet skiers, swimmers and tiny towns. At 1530, the ND Alumni Club (Father Pat) hosted a Mass and this was followed by an ice cream social. More cruising along the Danube kept my interest even during another one of the enrichment lectures (although I did catch the tail end of Father Pat's lecture on “The Balkans During WWI”). The Port Brief was followed by another wonderful dinner (salad, dumplings, grilled cod and dessert) paired with yet more delicious wine. During this time, I met passengers from Ol’ Miss & ASU but was turned off by hearing much more complaining (from others) and encountering assorted rudeness (e.g., “I don’t want two conversations” after I asked a follow up about the person’s career). For this reason, and because I realized I hadn’t walked nearly as much as I wanted, I went topside after the meal (2000). For nearly an hour, I walked in the present breeze and moonlight of the evening - I had the whole Sun Deck to myself! After we docked in the small town of Mohacs, Hungary (2200), I went up to the entryway to look for one of the Tour Directors, Alan from Galway, who’d suggested I might go ashore. He was there and we got clearance from the crew to leave (after I caught the tail end of the music/dance in the Promenade Lounge). Alan had gotten directions to a pub from one of the crew and we walked over there. Unfortunately, the combination of the sleepy village and the Catholic Holy Day meant the entire place was deserted. Disappointed, we returned to the ship and, after getting some tea, I went to bed an hour later (2230). We'll be exploring Hungary in the morning!
