14 | Eastern Europe Destination Guide
BUDA PEST, HUNG A RY
"Several parts of the Delta look like the
Amazon," says guide Cosmin, as our small boat
whips down a narrow tributary of the Danube
River. We're about 10,000 kilometres from the
South American rainforest and the thicket of
green crowding the water looks nothing like
the Romania I expected. The trees fall away
and we're zooming across a broad lake under
cartoon clouds. "Look to the right!" shouts
Cosmin over the engine and all 10 of us do.
"Glossy ibis flying! Squacco heron flying! A king
cormorant on the dry branches of that tree!"
It's day four of Viking's Cruises' Capitals of
Eastern Europe itinerary and I get a crick in my
neck spotting pelicans, swans, terns and coots. I
blink and miss the azure kingfisher that darts in
front of the boat. We've detoured from
our route sailing from Bucharest, Romania,
to Vienna, Austria, to spend a few hours
touring the Danube Delta, about 5800 square
kilometres of UNESCO-protected biosphere
reserve. Cosmin, who's from Transylvania,
cracks Dracula jokes ("The real vampires of
Romania? Mosquitoes") as Ric, a guest all the
way from Iowa, makes notes and peers through
binoculars. "I'm about 120 away from seeing
5000 bird species worldwide," he tells me later.
"When I signed up for the cruise, this trip was
the clincher." For Ric and his wife, Betty, it's all
about the birds; for couples I meet from Palm
Springs, Louisiana and Melbourne, and families
travelling from Sydney, Northern California and
Nashville, the voyage is a chance to check out
places they've never been. Over 17 days aboard
the 190-guest longship Viking Rinda, we'll visit
Words by Faith Campbell
Explore the Capitals of
EASTERN EUROPE
Explore: Budapest
