|
|
|
returning to find springtime
Wednesday, April 4 2018
location: room 311, MS Joy, navigating up the Danube between Romania and Bulgaria
[REDACTED]
Today was, as they say in German, a flusstag, or river day. We'd be on the boat all day as it headed upriver, spending most of its time in the Iron Gates area, where the Danube separates the Carpathian Mountains from the Balkan Mountains and where we must pass through locks to get to the a sufficient elevation to get back to Budapest. As we headed west, it gladdened my heart to see that springtime had made some advances since we last passed through. The clumps of mistletoe were greener, there were green buds on the willows, and some fruit trees were now covered with flowers. The climate seems to get steadily milder as one goes westward on the Danube; none of these signs had been in evidence in the Danube delta. There was, however, still snow on the high mountains visible far to the west (somewhere in Serbia).
I loved the opportunity to work without even the chance of distraction today, particularly as the boat navigated such gorgeous country. Unfortunately, it was after dark by the time we passed the Decebalus Statue, so we wouldn't get a second chance to see that.
For meals, we've mostly been sitting with either the Scottish couple (and friends) or the Aussie couple. One of these dinners, we actually sat with both. Tonight might've been the meal where were were served tall open-faced burgers that initially seemed impossible to eat. Had they had a top bun, they would've been easy to dispatch. But without it, we were forced to cut them up with a fork and knife. I'd heard something about how in the past when sandwiches were served on a vegan cruise, some of the diners complained because sandwiches were considered beneath the dignity of such an experience. Maybe this was the reason the top bun had been elided, the thinking being that an open-faced sandwich is more European and dignified, particularly given that it cannot be eaten without utensils. [Later, though, I would learn that the reason for the missing bun was that the kitchen had run out; some of the first people served had received proper two-bun sandwiches.]
Dinner conversation today might've focused on the culture of tipping. The Australians have been in the most countries most recently, so, more than anyone, they've been the most exposed to the great diversity of tipping rules around the world. They said that there are few places where tipping is as essential as it is in the United States, though Germany comes close. In Hungary, the norm is a ten percent restaurant tip, but (and this we didn't know), it's very bad form to include a tip and leave. You are expected to announce what the tip is so that all parties understand.
Later this evening, I was trying to do some work back in the room when Gretchen came to get me. She (and her team) needed my help out in the lounge for trivia night (it was actually the second such trivia night of the cruise). So eventually I came out and tried to help. But, with a few exceptions, the questions were absurdly difficult, often requiring us to know a specific number greater than two thousand. Also, for the one question where I might've normally been helpful ("What plant family is vanilla in?"), I had no answer. (It turns out vanilla is an orchid.) Still, the experience of participating in the trivia was more entertaining than I'd expected. And at some point staff came around handing out tiny pizzas, each no larger than credit card.
Snow on distant peaks, while green buds appear on the willows. Click to enlarge.
For linking purposes this article's URL is:
http://asecular.com/blog.php?180404 feedback
previous | next |
