❀ My first topic today is Serious Bread. I conclude the reason Europe has excellent breads is they take bread seriously. Here in the U.S. we really don’t. We pop thin, insubstantial slices of a wheat-based blandness in a toaster or wrap them around sandwich fillings but really don’t consider bread as serious food, worthy of respect.
Europeans serve bread at every meal, expect it to have a semi-tough crust, and want to actually chew it. Perhaps the only bread product we Americans take a little seriously is biscuits. Over the last two weeks we ate croissants at breakfast, crusty thick slices of white and wheat baguettes and rolls, with and without seeds at lunch and dinner, and loved all of it.
Be clear, we were not at all surprised by this difference when we experienced it again recently. We’ve known it since we first went overseas maybe 30+ years ago. It is one of the delights of European travel.
❀ Another treat I find common overseas and rare in the States is rum raisin ice cream, in fact anything flavored with rum-soaked raisins. The availability of things flavored with rum raisins is particularly strong in Britain and its former colonies with predominantly European populations - Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Plus the German firm Ritter Sport makes an excellent rum raisin flavored chocolate bar.
❀ Viking river cruises pours red and white wine with lunch and dinner at no extra charge, though they have premium wines you can buy if you choose. We drank little wine as we don’t love it. The other DrC drank San Pelegríno sparkling water and I drank Coke Zero, also included with no charge.
❀ The Viking food is good, and their default “available every night if you don’t favor the menu choices” items are a ribeye steak and salmon - better choices than on a Princess cruise, for instance. I believe Viking views food excellence as a factor to distinguish their brand, and don’t let the cost accountants dominate the menu planning.
❀ The several firms running river cruises all run the same rivers, make roughly the same stops in the same order, and offer the same sights at those stops. A firm tries to distinguish its offering from the herd by an emphasis on staff friendliness, food, drink, included vs. for-fee excursions, carefully curated interactions with locals, etc.
❀ I knew of one firm 15-20 years ago which had an on-board physician on each river ship, which would be important to some challenged travelers. I don’t believe they continue to sail. Unlike an ocean cruise a river ship is never more than a couple of hours from the nearest medical service.
❀ The longest day is today. Flying westward in a modern passenger jet does odd things to day length. As I write this addendum the time in Budapest where we arose at 2:30 a.m. is now 4:30 a.m. April 22 whereas the time where I am now near Salt Lake City is 8:30 p.m. April 21, In other words, my April 21 has so far lasted 26 elapsed hours, with 3.5 hours of April 21 remaining.
