Viking Idun Review
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Our Grand European Tour from Amsterdam to Budapest was just that - grand. We left Amsterdam in chilly wet spring weather and ended in Budapest in summer conditions. The port excursions were fantastic. In Cologne, we climbed the 533 steps to the top of the cathedral tower. It was a grueling climb, but well worth it with the view of the city from the top.
Then in Durnstein, Austria, we made the climb to the fortress that sits high on the mountain behind the village where Richard the Lion Hearted was held prisoner in 1193. This, too, was a hard climb, but the view from the fortress was phenomenal of the village below, the beautiful Danube River and the surrounding fields.
Entering Budapest at night was an awesome sight with the parliament building, palace and bridges all lit making the lights dance on the Danube. And we were greeted by young people walking on the Chain Bridge where our ship docked yelling to us 'Welcome to Budapest'. A lovely way to enter a city and make us excited for the next day's tour. Our tour of Buda and Pest was phenomenal with walking around Heroes Square; and Fisherman's Bastion offered the best views of the Danube far below and Pest across the river and Matthias Church in the rear of the Bastion. The market in Pest was great. Almost made me wish I lived there to allow me the opportunity to shop there each day for my fruit, vegetables, breads and meat for that night's dinner!Ports we visited are not listed on the port reviews so will add them here.
Cabin Review
We were on the main deck of the ship which, to us, we called the 'basement'. We opted for this cabin because we are ones to not stay in the cabin only long enough to sleep and get dressed in the mornings so a view from the cabin was not necessary so why pay extra for a balcony that we may not use. We did have a window at water level from which we had some natural light and so forth, but not a view. The cabin on the Idun was small. It was adequate, but there were no chairs in the room to sit in the evenings. We had to sit on the bed. The beds are very comfortable and we had no problem with sleeping. The closet space and drawer space for clothing and packages was adequate. There is storage underneath the bed for suitcases and whatever so this is not a problem. The bathroom in the cabin was adequate - the shower was very good - although we did not like that there is no electric outlet in the bathroom to plug in the hair dryer. You must use the dryer in the bedroom area. We also loved that the Idun had two electric systems, European and American so on this ship bringing electric adapters was not necessary. Our cabin was very quiet. We were not bothered with people walking in the halls or in the cabins beside ours. And it was no problem getting upstairs to the dining room, lounge and sundeck.