Serbia’s Golubac Castle dominates this part of the Danube River, as seen from the deck of the Viking River Cruises Neptune. Photo by Gene Korte

Our odyssey on the second longest river in Europe began in Vienna and it took us seamlessly through five countries of the former Soviet bloc. Unexpectedly, the shoreline was mostly pastoral and tree-lined with only the occasional town or city. And of the metropolises on the river’s edge, Budapest with its architectural splendors was the most stunning.

The Viking River Neptune, our home for 14 days, is a well-organized, bright and friendly floating hotel with first-rate food and wait staff. Menus often matched our locales, giving us a taste of each country through daily fish, vegetarian and meat entrees at lunch and dinner. We found this ship perfect for travelers like us who are looking for a comfortable classy way to see new parts of the world with a minimum of international travel fuss. The always-interesting daily bus excursions were included in the trip price and we unpacked our luggage just once, and thankfully the ship’s crew took care of all our passport details in and out of each country.

Award-winning Viking River Cruises offers scenic cruising in 19 vessels along the rivers of Europe, Russia, China, Southeast Asia and Egypt.

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The Silver Wind, moored here in Copenhagen, is part of the Silversea fleet that is often ranked first among small cruise ships by sea travelers. Photo by Gene Korte.

The Silver Wind is pizzazz on the high seas. The vitality of its staff, layout and offerings made us feel like we were guests, not customers, on a floating five-star hotel. On our 10-day northern European voyage, we saw touches of the Vikings and glimpses of the czars amidst the graciousness of our floating home.

In Copenhagen the changing of the Danish Royal Guard is as old as the city subway is new. Helsinki’s bustling flower market near the harbor is only a few blocks from the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral, a reminder of the centuries when Russia ruled Finland. In high-tech Estonia, one of northern Europe’s oldest intact medieval cities is the core of this tiny nation’s capital, Tallinn.

And St. Petersburg in western Russia still has the glory of the past with palaces, churches and its enormous display of priceless art in the Hermitage, while Sunday afternoon bridal parties filled nearby parks, http://www.silversea.com.

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