Walking tours are the best. The bus takes you to the start of the tour, then you and the guide go on foot through the town/city/castle/abbey/etc. The VOX system allows you to hear the guide through an earpiece, up to 1/2 mile away, so you can dawdle and catch up and still get all of the commentary.

The guided tour ends after about an hour and a half, and then there are a couple of hours when you are on your own, to go into a building more thoroughly, go shopping, or sit in a sidewalk cafe and watch the world go by.

So you have the best of both types of sightseeing: guided tour and time on your own. Then you walk back to the ship or to the bus, depending on the arrangements. Or you can stay longer in town and take a taxi to the ship. Just so long as you get back by dinnertime! Or before the ship sails.

One daily tour is included in the price of the cruise, but more tours and concerts are available for an extra cost, if you want them.

Tours started and ended on time, and the guides were knowledgeable and pleasant. My only criticism was of one guide who kept speaking negatively about the gypsies and how they would steal anything you had. OK to warn us about pickpockets, but to single out a particular group smacked of prejudice, to my mind.

My favorite city on the tour was Budapest. I could have spent several days there, extending my visit and staying in a hotel, if I hadn't had to get back to go to work. Still, though, I have hopes I can go back there some day. It is an interesting city and the people were easy to meet and talk to.

I keep seeing the faces of the people I met and some of the places I walked to. I think of the lovely green forest along the Danube and how different it is from the desert country in which I live. It was a great vacation and I am very grateful to my companion for inviting me.