Austria to Romania with Five Countries Betwixt

March 14-15, 2026

We are on our way! So far everything is going smoothly (knock on wood!). After all the publicity about long TSA lines we decided to leave earlier than previously planned to get the airport with plenty of time to get through the lines. Amazingly, there were no lines! There was only one person in front of us, and no one behind us. So we had time to chat with the TSA agent for a few minutes. The news had run a story about some airports collecting donations to help support the TSA agents who aren't getting paid during the current government shut down. The supervisor said that the only donation that is currently permissible in San Diego are gift cards for food. So we went to some of the food shops in the airport, and the only one that sold gift cards was Starbucks. We purchased some gift cards and gave them to the TSA supervisor, and they were really appreciative.

The flight was smooth and we are now in the Amsterdam Airport, waiting for our connecting flight to Vienna where we will board the Viking Rinda for our cruise on the Danube. If you haven't been to the Amsterdam Airport - it is huge! And it is open and full of interesting art, shops, and places to eat. Our departure gate was in a different part of the airport, and here are two of our favorite sites from that walk.

The Clock:

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This clock first appears to have a person standing inside it, cleaning the clock-face; but, "the person" is actually erasing the minute hand and repainting it in the correct position for the next minute. Of course it wasn't a real person, but it was captivating to watch.

Champagne! There was a Moet & Chandon booth where they were giving away free tastes of champagne. The super nice server also gave us a champagne stopper just because.....So cool!

Once we arrived on the ship we met up with Tom and Katie. After the fun and exciting (not!) safety drill, we went to dinner and are now looking forward to our first day of excursions.

Monday, our excursion is a panoramic Vienna tour. We have done this tour before on a previous cruise, but, that was a few years ago and we are getting older...so who knows, we may not remember! We'll let you know in tomorrow's blog! Gute Nacht and Schlof Guat!