We're back in Romania, here to complete the trip we started 6 months ago. Then we had visited the castles and palaces of Transylvania before our trip was cut short by a family emergency and we had to head home. Now we are back to finish what we started and board our river cruise from Bucharest to Budapest.

​Perhaps the interruption explains …

If Romania could be thought of as ever moving forward, Bulgaria seemed, for the most part, to be looking back. Perhaps due to its centuries under Ottoman occupation or perhaps the simple geography of being more isolated from the economic prosperity of Western Europe... whatever the reason the Bulgarians seemed a bit more nostalgic for socialist …

Onboard the Amaserena we cruised between the Carpathian and Bulgarian mountains north to Budapest. Along the way, we saw the Roman Tablet, a stone carving celebrating the first Roman road in the area and the more modern statue of Decebalus, a huge carved face of this respected ancient Dacian king in Romania.

We also cruised through the colossal …

If you had no other reason for choosing a river cruise, the incredible gourmet food would be enough. Every meal is an experience- elegantly presented and equally delicious.

Special foody events highlighted the cruise. Nearly every traveler made sure to sign up for the complimentary, elegant chef's table 7 course dinner. Dinner consisted of …

If Romania could be dubbed the ambitious older child, ready to embrace each new experience and Bulgaria the compromising middle child, I might consider Serbia to be the rebellious youngest member of the family. Serbians seemed excited to entertain, happy for a laugh, and ready for a fight when needed. A local T shirt read, "I can't keep …

With a menu of excursions to choose from, we decide to focus a good part of our time in Croatia visiting the local wineries! Croatia offers stunning vineyards, quality wines, and memorable cellars. The Croatians love their wine and cherish it. In one cellar, the sommelier told a great story about the cellar master during WWII who hastily created a …

We spent two days in Hungary, but I could easily spend two months. The country offers an incredible mix of awe inspiring architecture, distinctive cuisine, warm people, haunting music, and plenty of activities.

We started in Pecs, a university town that also has a nice walking area downtown. We visited the well preserved frescoes of early …