Zurich: A Day of Swiss Delights
Our journey began with a pre-cruise day in Zurich, Switzerland. We spent the morning wandering the cobblestone lanes of the Old Town, marveling at medieval architecture that has barely changed in centuries. Bahnhofstrasse - Zurich’s famous shopping boulevard - offered everything from Swiss watches to local chocolates. We made time to visit an old friend who’d relocated to Zurich, tried proper Swiss fondue and Rösti, and found a local pub where we could watch a college football rivalry game. Not the most European activity, but a perfect way to decompress before departure.
Bucharest: The Paris of the East
From Zurich, we flew to Bucharest, Romania’s vibrant capital. Often overlooked in European itineraries, Bucharest rewards explorers with a fascinating collision of architectural styles - grand neoclassical buildings alongside massive communist-era structures, all overlaid with a growing layer of modern energy. The Palace of the Parliament, the world’s second-largest administrative building, is staggering in scale and somewhat surreal to stand inside. H&ebreve;r˘str˘u Park offered a more relaxed afternoon, and the Old Town’s restaurants and cafés kept us entertained well into the evening.
Embarkation in Giurgiu
A scenic drive from Bucharest brought us to Giurgiu, a small Romanian port city on the Danube, where we boarded the elegant AmaVerde. The ship immediately impressed - full of light, bold artwork, and a design sensibility that manages to feel both sophisticated and warm. Our stateroom was genuinely spacious for a river ship, with a floor-to-ceiling window that doubled as a French balcony.
The ship’s public spaces set the tone for the week: a fireside library, a well-equipped massage and hair salon, and the Main Restaurant where every meal was paired with wines selected by La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. On select evenings, the Chef’s Table specialty restaurant - with its glass-enclosed kitchen offering views of the chefs at work - provided an even more intimate dining experience.
Cruising the Danube
The AmaVerde sailed from Giurgiu to Budapest over seven days, passing through Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, and Hungary. Each port offered its own distinct character and excursion options - from exploring medieval fortresses to descending into local wine cellars. The ship’s destination managers were excellent, providing context and recommendations that made each stop feel personal rather than scripted.
Days on the Danube between ports have their own rhythm: morning lectures, lunch with the landscape passing by the panoramic windows, afternoon arrivals, excursions, evenings back aboard. It’s a pace that makes you feel genuinely immersed in a region rather than just sampling it.
A Wine Enthusiast’s Paradise
The “Wine Cruise” designation was well-earned. Onboard sommeliers led curated tastings and lectures throughout the week, drawing on the distinct wine traditions of each country we passed through. Hungarian Tokaji - the legendary sweet wine with a history stretching back centuries - was a highlight, as was Serbian Prokupac, an indigenous grape variety that’s just beginning to earn international recognition.
Silver Mountain Winery from Santa Cruz, California hosted several onboard tastings as a featured partner, providing an interesting transatlantic conversation between New World winemaking and the ancient vineyards of Eastern Europe. For wine lovers, this itinerary is simply extraordinary.
Budapest: A Grand Finale
The cruise concluded in Budapest, and the city delivered a fitting final chapter. The Parliament Building, illuminated at night along the Danube, is one of the most breathtaking civic structures in Europe. Buda Castle anchors the Buda side of the river with centuries of Hungarian history. And the Gellért Thermal Bath - housed in a spectacular Art Nouveau building - provided the perfect restorative end to a week of exploration.
Homeward Bound
We departed Budapest with full hearts and well-worn shoes, flying back through Zurich to Philadelphia. The week had delivered everything a great river cruise should - cultural enrichment, culinary discovery, genuine immersion in landscapes and histories that can’t be experienced any other way, and the particular pleasure of making new friends at the dinner table and finding them again every evening. The AmaVerde and her crew made it all feel effortless.
