Bucharest is often called the Paris of the Balkans, and you can see why. Wide boulevards, elegant facades, and flashes of faded grandeur hint at a past that once aspired to match the great cities of Europe. In places, it still works. There are buildings here that make you stop, look up, and imagine a…
Golubac Fortress The weather had been kind to us so far on this trip – blue skies and warm enough to take our coats off. That changed when we approached the Golubac Fortress. We finally had to put on our big red coats. The wind was brutal, strong enough to almost blow us off our…
Belgrade is the capital of Serbia and it has many buildings dating back to the late 18th-early 19th century, But I wouldn’t want to drive there. I thought the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was chaotic. Watching the drivers going through intersections in Belgrade was crazy. In fact, we had a very…
We left Budapest and headed down stream to a quiet little place on the banks of the Danube called Mohács in southern Hungary. Normally it’s just a peaceful riverside town, the sort of place where life moves at a relaxed pace and you expect to see fishermen, cyclists, and people strolling along the riverbank. But…
This morning our ship stopped at the Croatian town of Vukovar, a quiet settlement on the banks of the Danube. We elected to take a walking tour of the town. The first thing you notice is the water tower on the hill with its Croatian flag flying at the top. After that you notice buildings…
On our last day in Budapest we opted for a visit to the city’s central market. I love markets. They’re a great place to get an overview of what the city loves and what it eats. Having someone on hand to give us a commentary helped, too. The market is a large, very clean hall,…
Budapest is a beautiful city with some amazing architecture and a dark past. We’ve been here several times before so we opted out of the city tours that take you to Heroes Square and the heights of Buda and the castle overlooking the river. Here’s a look at that earlier trip. On a beautiful sunny…
Spare me the sanctimonious platitudes about “illegal war.” The Iranian regime has been waging conflict through Iran’s proxy wars for decades. Hezbollah. Hamas. The Houthis. Rockets, militias, terror groups, and convenient deniability. Yet the moment Iran itself becomes the target of military action, the same people who ignored all of that suddenly rediscover their devotion…
