European Sojourn

Bucharest is Romania’s cultural capital. Its original fortress, the first of many, was built to protect the Walachian state from the Turks. Today, it is a city of elegant French-style boulevards, lush gardens and green expanses, including the tranquil Bucharest Botanical Garden. The historic Lipscani district exudes the old-world charms of cobblestone alleys, inns and shops. The sprawling Palace of Parliament is the world’s largest civilian building, said to contain 3,000 rooms.

Communism changed the face of Bucharest and has left in its wake a city brimming with imposing socialist architecture. Dotted among today’s cityscape are wonderful art nouveau buildings, ancient churches and monasteries that were rescued from the bulldozer. From the 18th-century church Schitul Maicilor to the 16th-century Mihai Vodă Church, it is best to discover these treasures on foot. Bucharest is also home to an array of world-class museums, including the George Enescu National Museum, which features a beautiful oyster-shaped glass awning.

The most integral Danube city in Bulgaria, Ruse enjoys a setting amid a rolling countryside blanketed in sunflower and wheat fields. Once an outpost of the Roman Empire, it was known as Sexaginta Prista, or Sixty Ships, for the fleet that once docked here. Today, it is more known for its colorful atmosphere and as a gateway to Romania’s fabled Transylvania region. Best explored on foot, the city features many fine examples of 19th- and 20th-century neobaroque and neorococo architecture.

One of Bulgaria’s oldest riverside towns, Vidin is home to the only entirely preserved medieval Bulgarian castle. Perched impressively on the riverbank, its striking pose, thick ring walls, stout towers and solid gates form a fortress known as Babini Vidini Kuli, which means Granny Vida’s Towers. Around the castle rose a fairy-tale town of 25 minarets, domes and other charming architecture of the period. Though many of these features have been shadowed by today’s city, Vidin retains its charms. Today it is largely an agricultural and trade center renowned for its wines.

Sail through one of Europe’s most dramatic natural wonders, the picturesque stretch famously known as the Iron Gate. Meander through narrow gorges that slice through the Carpathian Mountains to the north and the Balkan Mountains to the south, and marvel at the towering white limestone cliffs draped with forest. Be on the lookout for ancient remains upon the dramatic walls. On the Serbian side, Trajan’s Tablet was laid to mark the construction of a Roman military road; on the Romanian side, marvel at the enormous rock sculpture of Dacian king Decebalus.

The Serbian capital and former capital of the state of Yugoslavia, Belgrade is one of the oldest cities in Europe. Its location at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers has long made it a contested region. Throughout its history, the “White City,” as its Serbian name translates, has been destroyed and rebuilt 20 times. Fortunately, the wide-reaching citadel remains, housing the Kalemegdan Fortress, Orthodox churches, Turkish baths and green parkland. Its Church of St. Sava is one of the largest Orthodox buildings in the world.

The fourth-largest city in Croatia, Osijek is located near the confluence of the Drava and Danube Rivers. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural capital of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia. In its early days, Osijek was a Roman settlement called Mursa Maior (“major”). It was later rebuilt by the Ottomans and ruled by the Hapsburg Empire. Today, with an abundance of farmland and game, as well as plentiful baroque architecture and musical and outdoor venues, Osijek has become a gastronomic and cultural center of Croatia. Its cathedral can host 3,000 people.

Once the seat of the archbishop, the cultural center of Kalocsa is more than 1,000 years old. The quaint town, surrounded by 8,000 acres of farmland growing fiery red peppers, is brimming with traditional Hungarian culture and steeped in the piquant flavors of paprika, the “red gold” that has been giving local goulash its distinctive taste for centuries. The world’s first Paprika Museum chronicles the spice’s history. The streets are adorned with bright murals of floral motifs, which create a cheery ambience for browsing craft-filled shops. Hungary’s artistic heritage takes center stage at the House of Folk Arts museum.

Riverside beauty and a vibrant cultural scene blend together in Budapest to form one of Europe’s most rewarding cities. Hungary’s enchanting capital straddles the banks of the Danube, with traditional hillside Buda on one side and modern Pest on the other. By day, stunning art nouveau buildings, stalwart castles and grand palaces set the stage for inspiring strolls and long soaks in thermal spas. By night, the shimmering lights of the Parliament building dance across the waters of the Danube, the Chain Bridge uniting it all as a dramatic centerpiece.

Budapest’s old town is a fascinating medieval patchwork of narrow streets and colorful houses. In the Castle District, the Matthias Church soars in Gothic glory. Adjacent, the expansive wall and seven turrets of Fisherman’s Bastion overlook the Danube, the graceful Chain Bridge and the Pest side of the river. The centerpiece of the district is the sprawling Buda Castle. Constructed in the 13th century and expanded to its current baroque splendor during the 18th century, this edifice was home to Hungary’s kings for almost 700 years.

Renowned as the “City of Waltzes,” Austria’s capital city of Vienna is Europe’s center of classical music. Strauss and Mozart composed many of their finest pieces here. Vienna’s musical history is matched by the elegant, graceful architecture that lines the Ringstrasse, the wide boulevard encircling the Inner City. Baroque, neo-Renaissance, Gothic-Romanesque and other splendidly styled structures, from the Hofburg Palace to the Vienna State Opera, take the breath away with their grand facades. Vienna has a more intimate side too: inviting footpaths lead through green parks and its famed Viennese cafés sweeten any stay with coffee and the city’s delectable Sachertorte .

Vienna is considered one of Europe’s greatest cultural hubs. Its art scene has long been established with the Hapsburg’s collection of fine art, now housed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Today, Vienna’s modern side showcases street art murals that don the side of buildings along the banks of the Danube. Ingrained in local life is the long-embraced tradition of coffeehouses; UNESCO includes Viennese coffeehouse culture on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritages. It is considered one of life’s pleasures to while away an afternoon over an Einspänner coffee and a pastry.

Sail through a serene tapestry of terraced vineyards, forested slopes, charming towns and castle ruins in Austria’s Wachau Valley, celebrated as perhaps the most scenic stretch of the Danube. Journey 18 miles through this vast UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the river courses through picturesque hillsides. Gaze upon the prolific grapevines and quaint wine-producing villages hugging the shores—the legacy of vintners that stretch as far back as Celtic and Roman times and an echo of the more than 30 monasteries that served as vineyards in Renaissance days.

Founded by the Celts over 2,000 years ago, Passau is one of Bavaria’s oldest cities. Known as the “City of Three Rivers,” it rests at the confluence of the Inn, Ilz and Danube rivers. The city has long enjoyed its strategic position and grew to great economic and political power because of it. The legacy of its past prosperity lives on in graceful arcades, colorful houses with rococo facades and the glorious baroque St. Stephen’s Cathedral, home to one of Europe’s largest pipe organs. Passau is also where two nations meet; it is here that the German-Austrian border begins.

Having escaped major damage during World War II, the picturesque town of Regensburg is one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval cities, the oldest city along the Danube and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Old Stone Bridge, constructed in the 12th century, is a masterpiece of medieval engineering with its 16 arches. St. Peter’s Cathedral is widely considered Bavaria’s best Gothic architectural work. The old town’s Neupfarrplatz square is a cross section of history—it was once a thriving Jewish quarter, a bustling marketplace and the site of Nazi book burnings.