Eastern Danube, Day 3: To the Danube

Monday, July 27, 2026

Today we board the ship for our Danube cruise, the AmaVerde. We were informed by email a couple of days ago that our itinerary has changed a bit. Due to low water on the Danube, our embarkation point was changed from Giurgiu to Turnu Măgurele, a bit further upstream. The ship also changed, from the AmaBella to the AmaVerde, but we were told they are sister ships and our accommodations will remain the same.

On the way to breakfast, we encountered a large group of high school kids from various countries wearing lanyards and badges. They told us that they are attending the International Linguistics Olympiad this week. They were all bright, friendly, and excited. We wished them good luck in their event. From looking at sample problems on the Olympiad website they will have a challenging week. I want to go back and try some of those problems myself.

After breakfast, Kenna and I took a short walking tour in a direction we hadn’t been before, including a Russian Orthodox Church with ornate onion-shaped domes. We then made our way to a nearby hotel in the Old Town that was the meeting point for our bus ride to the ship for our cruise.

The three-hour bus ride to Turnu Măgurele passed through agricultural areas, growing sunflowers, canola (out of season), and wheat (also out of season). It also passed through a significant large solar “farm”, and it was explained that Romania is generating a significant amount of their electricity from renewable sources such as solar.

Upon arriving at the AmaVerde just south of the town, we quickly boarded and were led to our cabin. We spent some time in the lounge and exploring the ship while waiting for later buses to arrive, followed by introductions of the cruise staff and the safety briefing.

Dinner followed in the ship’s restaurant. We sat next to a couple from Quebec who didn’t speak much English, but we hobbled by with our long-dormant high school French while they used their limited English and we had an enjoyable conversation.

This article is part of a series about our recent trip to the Eastern Danube. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.