It's very hard to put into words just how amazing this, our first river cruise was ..... and so this is a photo post!
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| First view of Budapest as we arrived at the MS Thomas Hardy |
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5 star floating hotel - superb surroundings with an amazing team of nautical and hotel crew,
our holiday could not have been better! |
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| Matthias Church - Buda side of the Danube with amazing views over Pest |
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| Views of Pest and it's stunning Parliament building |
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| Our Hungarian picnic lunch in our room - delicious selection from the local market |
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| Esztergom Bazilika as we cruised by overnight to Bratislava |
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| Bratislava Castle, Town Gate and Town Square - a beautiful city |
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The Watcher - one rumour says that he's communist era worker who is not bothered
about the work he’s supposed to be doing, another rumour is he’s
looking under the women’s skirts! |
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| Thomas Hardy moored at Bratislava and the Novy Most or UFO Bridge built in 1972 |
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| Stunning Vienna, a city we will be visiting again to enjoy all it's glory |
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| At the top of the bell tower of St Stephen's Cathedral - there was a lift! |
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| St Stephen's Bell Tower, overlooking the Cathedral's intricate roof |
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Our overnight to midday sailing gave us the opportunity for room service breakfast -
it was just perfect sitting at our full length window watching the snowy banks pass by. |
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Snowy scenes as we sailed back to Budapest where the Parliment building looked even more
majestic with it's dusting of snow - first the city has seen in 6 years! |
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| Artwork by the crew of our sister ship MS Emily Bronte |
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| Superb finale dinner - the amazing crew of 42 made our holiday very special |
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| Good fun, great cruising companions, superb holiday |
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High above Budapest, drinking Hot Punch in Vienna, cruising by Parliment Building,
on deck in the snow and our very special floating hotel.
It wouldn't be our holiday without a few selfies! |
A massive thank you to Riveria Travel; Peter and Sarah our tour organisers; our onshore tour guides with their great knowledge delivered with humour; our two Captains for their piloting skills, especially through the locks; third Captain Alina for her great hospitality; and all the crew on MS Thomas Hardy - it was an amazing holiday full of Christmas cheer!
The biggest thank you is of course for my amazing Hubby
- I'm a very very lucky lady!