Update 10: A wonderful cruise to five Mediterranean countries

We are pleased to say we have completed 10 exciting days on our Empires of the Mediterranean ocean cruise on Viking Sky.

We began on April 17 in Athens and ended the cruise in Venice. The cruise included five countries and eight port stops. In Greece, we visited Athens, Santorini, Olympia and Corfu. Next we visited Kotor, Montenegro, and Dubrovnik and Zadar in Croatia. We stopped at Koper, Slovenia and toured the country’s capital Ljubljana. We finally disembarked the ship in Venice, Italy.

These stops and excursions were daily and made for a hectic pace. We toured by foot and coach and a bit by boat and saw and experience more than we ever imagined.

These were not necessarily fun and entertaining stops, but rather visits to fascinating cities, some we never heard of before, and learning volumes about their history.

They were not separate, unrelated countries. All are part of the Balkans and some - Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro - were previously part of the former Yugoslavia, and literally fought to gain independence as recently as 1991.

All the countries we visited had experienced significant changes by aggression by major powers like the Ottoman Empire, Venetian Empire, the Hungarian-Byzantine Empire and even Alexander the Great and Napoleon. The invading and occupying empires left a legacy of their architecture, religions, language, cuisine, all of which are reflected today in these Balkan states.

Common to several of these cities are walls and ramparts used for defense and security. Because of their high elevations, they have become popular tourist attractions.

It is evident almost everywhere that the economy of these countries are heavily dependent on tourism. In places like Santorini and Dubrovnik, the streets are packed wall to wall with tourists, and the only locals are vendors.

There is an unspoken nervousness that the present uncertainty about fuel costs will hurt the economy of these places that depend on tourism for their survival.

For the tourists, the numbers are increasing as the summer approaches. Our cruise came just before an expected influx of cruise ships.

Still, we got the full experience of safe and comfortable sailing, beautiful sights, excellent cuisine, great entertainment, efficient service and the opportunity to meet fellow travelers from other countries.

As much as it was fun to be on the cruise ship, the same can’t be said about getting to and from the ship. We had good connections, good service and safe flights.

However, travel by air from Saskatchewan to Calgary to Amsterdam and finally to Greece is tedious, especially since about half of the flight is in the night. The same goes for the return flight.

We are happy to report that we made it home safely and are adjusting to time changes and the loss of sleep.

We appreciate those friends and family who joined us through our blogs. We hope you found them enjoyable and informative. If you missed any of the earlier blogs, please visit empirescruise.blogspot.com.

May your journeys be safe and memorable.

Moses and Cintra