DAY 155 - DAY 10 MOZART

SCENIC CRUISING BUDAPEST TO VIENNA

Thank you Mary for following our travels and for taking the time to provide comments.  It is very much appreciated.

Thank you Emily.  Keith was glad that he was able to prevent what would have been a tragic accident.  

As mentioned in our previous post,  we took another long walk yesterday morning around Budapest.  We did this in lieu of taking the organized tour of the Parliament Building and the Market.  It was a little overcast until the sun finally came out.  The  temperature was comfortable.

Keith  showed Anne Marie where the Four Seasons Hotel is.  We took a similar route as we did the first day.  When crossing  the first bridge we saw the Parliament Building with its impressive size and architectural beauty.  

We walked along the Danube as we headed in the direction of the ship.  Several people were out walking, jogging and bicycle riding.

We crossed another bridge to get back over to the Pest side and we revisited the Great Market Hall.  We picked up  a few items including Paprika and two hand painted Pepper Mills.  We  ended up looking at a few different shops and bought the Paprika at one shop (they didn't carry the Pepper Mills) and the Pepper Mills at another shop.  We made our decision based on the two very friendly ladies from each of these two shops.   Friendliness is good.  

These are  from the two places we made our purchases.

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Depending on where we are docked sometimes we need this reminder to be careful as we enter and exit Mozart.   On more than one occasion Keith has forgotten about ducking.  On his way off the vessel he said to George one of the two men who do security that he tapped his head once again.  George who is bald says "this is why I have no hair".  LOL.   

Speaking of security some of the river cruise lines do not have security personnel.  Guests swipe their own cards as they arrive and leave the ship.  We appreciate the Crystal River Cruise Vessels have security.  

Returning to Mozart we enjoyed lunch at Waterside and took in the scenery before and after we departed Budapest.   

We made a  stop to The Bistro where Darrell made a Cappuccino Coffee for Anne Marie.  He topped it with a heat.  Very nice.

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Anne Marie attended a talk given by Hotel Director Sonja about The Life and Music of  Wolfgang Amadeus  Mozart.  After the talk there was an Apple Strudel Demonstration given by the Pastry Chef Jozef and this included tasting of Apple Strudel along with coffee.   

Many guests went up  to the sun deck to enjoy the scenery.  Drinks were served from the retractable bar.  The weather was sunny and the temperature warmed  up making this an ideal location to enjoy.

We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Palm Court.  Thank you Mark Farris for playing  a  Beatles song for us.  We loved it.

The views of the Danube and the  surrounding areas including villages and  town was spectacular and this carried over to dinner. ​

This photo is Anne Marie outside of Waterside.  When Mozart was refurbished it was completely redone inside the ship with pretty much every screw and nut along with everything else redone.  Two paintings remain from the original Mozart and Anne Marie is standing next to one of them in the photo.

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These are the dinner menus from Waterside for last evening

Hotel Director Sonja  dined with us this evening for the second time of this voyage.   It has been a  pleasure  for us to get to know Sonja during this voyage.

We enjoyed four courses.  

Keith started with the appetizer  caviar and Anne  Marie had a half portion  of  the  tomatoes and mozzarella salad.  Although it wasn't on the menu  we were  told that a mixed salad was available and that is precisely what we each had.  Anne Marie had the sirloin beef for her entree while Keith had the branzino seafood entree.  Dessert was a cheese plate  for Keith and cheesecake for Anne Marie.

We didn't finish dinner until half past nine and didn't attend the evening entertainment which was the newlywed game.   

As usual dinner was terrific between the non-stop conversation, delicious cuisine and terrific service.  The waitstaff team has been great throughout the cruise.  Often we have the same waiter and assistant waiter and sommelier at dinner and sometimes  at lunch depending on where we  are seated at  Waterside.  

We've included only a couple of  food photos and a couple of photos showing views that we enjoyed during dinner.  

We enjoyed another good sleep as we are sailing back to Vienna where this wonderful voyage began.  Keith worked out for the final time of this adventure followed by coffee and breakfast in our room.  

After our room was cleaned we worked on packing as we depart Mozart tomorrow morning.  Packing at an end of a trip is relatively easy compared to when we were packing on Serenity and had to decide what to take with us for the River Cruise and what to ship home.

We  enjoyed our final lunch at Waterside.  Oh  the  word "final" sounds like the end is near.  LOL.  
 
At lunch today there were several examples of how attentive  the waitstaff team is.  For example there  are  dinner  plates for the salad and yesterday Keith saw a waiter with a large bowl which holds the ladle for  the soup. Keith said that is his kind of salad bowl.  The waiter said he will be  sure Keith has a bowl for today.   Keith completely  forgot about it and as  he was going to the salad bar the waiter  came up  to him with the bowl.  A minute later he gave Keith a larger plate to place below the bowl with a napkin on top of it.  
 
Another example was after we were seated and Keith remarked how cold it was and a couple of minutes later one of the waiters who assists us for lunch let us know that  he  had reported it being cold to see if they could adjust the temperature.
 
A third example is the kindness shown each and every day by  Waiter Hanaganut who offered to take us around should we visit his country.  We will miss Hanaganut and this extraordinary Mozart team.
 
After lunch we went by The Bistro so Anne Marie could get a take-out coffee.  In addition to Coffee and Tea there is an array of food items including  sweets.

We will close now as we have a busy afternoon.

More tomorrow.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie &  Keith