Explore More UK Winter 2020-2021

RIVERS
Budapest and Belgrade, have grown
from Roman strongholds.
By the middle Ages, the Danube
was a vital transport artery for trade
between Europe, Greece and India.
The river was also a route used by
the Crusaders, while the Ottomans
advanced along its banks on their
march into Central Europe.
Navigating the waterway was,
however, difficult and in the early
days, boats had no means of sailing
upstream. Wooden vessels would
carry goods downstream and once
they had reached their destination
and discharged their cargo, would
be broken up. Later, wares were
hauled upstream by horses. Steam
power arrived in the early 19th
century and the first scheduled
service for passengers began in
1830, operating between Vienna
and Budapest. The company
in charge of those early boats,
the Donau-Dampfschiffahrts-
Geselleschaft (DDSG) rapidly
became the world’s most powerful
inland navigation company,
owning more than 200 steamships
and some 750 barges.
Parts of the Danube were closed
to navigation as Europe descended
into conflict in the early 20th
century. Following the Second
World War, as the continent
was divided into East and West,
passenger shipping ended abruptly
at Vienna, the frontier of the then
free world. The river remained open
to commercial shipping throughout
the Cold War but it was only since
the breakup of the Soviet Union
that river tourism into the former
Eastern Bloc really developed. This
was further hindered by the Balkans
conflict in 1999, when bridges
across the river were damaged.
In 2002, however, the Danube
was declared open for navigation
and since then has become one of
Europe’s most popular cruising
routes. Pleasure cruising really took
off in the 1970s, the old paddle
wheelers steadily being replaced
by more sophisticated ships which
offered service levels similar to
those of oceangoing ships.
River tourism had already
been growing for a decade since
More than just a transport route,
the Danube has created a dividing line
between empires across history
the opening of the Main-Danube
Canal in 1992, a magnificent feat
of engineering that connected the
Rhine, the Main and the Danube
via a 170km waterway that meant
ships could cross Europe from the
North Sea to the Black Sea.
There’s more to the Danube than
Strauss waltzes. Cruises typically
begin at Passau, a beautiful city
boasting the distinctive feature of
Europe’s largest pipe organ in
St. Stephan’s Cathedral.
The Wachau Valley, the winegrowing
district of Lower Austria,
is one of the Danube’s most
beautiful stretches, vineyards lining
the banks and riverside villages
guarded by ruined castles. At
Melk, the majestic ochre-coloured
Benedictine Abbey is perched on
a wooded hillside.
Close by, the riverside village
of Dürnstein is one of the most
picturesque in the area; the
craggy remains of a castle in
which Richard the Lionheart was
imprisoned in the 12th century
gaze down on a petty hamlet
dominated by a blue, Baroque
church tower, perched on the
riverbank like a giant pepperpot.
Vienna is, of course, a highlight
of any Danube voyage. Although
it’s the home of Strauss waltzes,
grand coffee houses, world-class
opera, dancing Lipizzaner horses
and some of the world’s finest
baroque palaces, Vienna is also
making a name for itself as an
emerging fashion and gastronomic
centre. The city has a lively
cultural scene, with many fine
museums clustered together in the
contemporary MuseumsQuartier,
close to the centre. Vienna is as
beautiful and romantic in winter,
when the scent of cinnamon and
mulled wine wafts through the
snow-covered Advent markets, as it
is in summer, when locals bask in
the sunshine sipping Aperol Spritz
and adopting an almost southern
European approach to life.
Bratislava, the capital of
Slovakia, is dominated by a squat,
16th century castle, the leafy
squares and backstreets below lined
with stunning Baroque palaces.
Budapest, meanwhile, is one
of the most beautifully situated
riverside capitals, as the Danube
flows right through the city centre,
dividing Buda from Pest. Graceful
buildings line the Pest bank, not
least the fairytale, neo-gothic
Parliament Building, while the
old ramparts and the turreted
Fishermen’s Bastion gaze down
from a steep hill on the Buda side
of the river. At night, the bridges
are festooned with lights, creating
a magical atmosphere.
Many cruises end here but a
voyage further east is almost like
stepping back into the Middle
Ages in places. Beyond Budapest,
near Kalocsa, the fields are scarlet
with peppers which are grown here
to create the famous Hungarian
paprika. Here, working riders
from the Puszta region perform
whip-cracking displays of daring
horsemanship.
The river flows on through
Belgrade, capital of Serbia, where
an imposing orthodox cathedral is
set in the grounds of the spectacular
Kalmegdan Fortress, a cluster of
Turkish baths, Muslim tombs and
today, museums, all surrounded
by 19th century parkland. Beyond
here, the Danube forces it way
through the Iron Gates Gorge, an
awe-inspiring sight, sheer-sided
limestone cliffs towering over
the river as it winds its way.
Making its way east, Romania
on one bank and Bulgaria on
the other, the river flows on
through rolling scenes of bucolic
countryside, the fields brilliant
with yellow sunflowers in summer
and golden wheat in autumn,
tiny farming hamlets seemingly
untouched by the 21st century,
a fascinating insight into another
world entirely.
Clockwise,
from top left: A
panoramic view
of Budapest in
the summer; the
vineyards of the
Wachau valley
which produce
a spectacular
annual grape
harvest; a view
of the Iron Gates,
forming part of
the boundary
between Serbia
and Romania
72 VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK | WINTER 2020/21
WINTER 2020/21 | VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK 73