The Blue Danube

As long as there has been water, man has desired to board a boat of some sort and literally "go with the flow." When one gets off the dusty trail and takes to waterway as a way to travel, something calming happens. We are in Austria as I write this. We are cruising the Danube River onboard one of the many river cruise ships that navigate these classic European river ways. Main rivers were the highways of yesterday. Villages along with fortified cities and castles still exist along these ribbons of river.

The Danube serves as a way to divide and to connect in Europe. Stretching almost 1785 miles, this body of water is a border for ten countries -- Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. Many wars have been waged; many fortunes have been sought by setting sail up or down its course.

The Danube also connects Johann Strauss in Vienna to Mozart in Salzburg, so listening to classical waltz music as we float under beautiful bridges just seems right.

We are stopping in Bratislava, the capital city of the Slovak Republic since 1996. The United States is such a young country by most European standards until one visits a place like Bratislava. It's turbulent past has endured the rise and collapse of several national rules. It's one of those places that make our printed maps outdated and cause us to miss on Jeopardy. (Question: “This Hungarian Capitol was later incorporated in to the Republic of Czechoslovakia, which later divided in to Slovak and Czech.” Answer: “What is Bratislava?”)

Our tour guide lived through the last revolt and served as a translator between Russia and Hungary. He made an interesting comment that now people have their independence they sometimes pine for the old days under communist rule. He reasoned that it was very specific things that were missed, one being the low cost of medical procedures and alcohol and tobacco. He went on to say, it was easier for the communist to keep people drunk than to put up with their protests. Hopefully we won't look back on our USA entitlements as a way to keep us distracted.

We walk through cities hearing so much history that we can't possible absorb it in our brief visit. Our ears are treated to sounds of many languages mixing. Our taste buds are treated to new foods and wines. Our eyes jump from monuments to architecture to fashions to the cobblestones we are placing our feet. Then we realize this is why people have always set sail. To experience something different. To learn more. To make life a bit better even if it's appreciating our waterway at home a litt