2028 European Agriculture Cruise

Arrive Bucharest Romania

Welcome to the Romanian Capital Bucharest, known as the Paris of the East, you will be met at the airport and transferred to our hotel.

Tonight, free to relax and recover from your flight.

Bucharest

Today we travel to Fundulea to visit the Romanian National Research Institute for a technical visit, we then explore the fertile Romanian Plains (one of Europe's highest yielding grain Zones). This afternoon we meet with the Romanian Agriculture Department for discussions on Agriculture in Romania.

Tonight enjoy dinner at a typical local Romanian restaurant.

Bucharest

Our day begins with a visit to a local farm and a visit to a Gypsy Camp to learn about their culture and traditions. We then return to Bucharest for a city tour.

Tonight is free for you to enjoy.

Bucharest

This morning we enjoy a walking tour of Bucharest, visiting the local markets and behind the scenes sights of Bucharest.

This afternoon free to explore and soak up the atmosphere.

Tonight is free

Bucharest - Giurgiu (Cruise embarkation)

Bucharest is a fascinating combination of Communist grandiosity, elegant French-influenced 19^th century buildings dating back to the 1500's. We firstly enjoy a panoramic city tour and a featured visit to the Peoples Palace. Later, we will be transferred via coach travelling through the fertile agricultural country to Giurgiu, where our ship awaits, the S.S. Marlene is an homage to German-born actress and singer Marlene Dietrich. Launching in 2027, the ship is sure to impress travellers with Dietrich's distinctive flair, drawing inspiration from her time as an old Hollywood film star and, later, a cabaret artist. We begin our cruise up the lower Danube.

Uniworld S.S. Marlene

Giurgiu - Ruse

Bulgaria's formost Danube Port, Ruse is sometimes called 'Little Vienna' for its elegent 19^th century mansions and public buildings.

Today we visit Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanassi, twice the capital of Bulgari before and after the Ottoman's conquered the nation, Veliko Tarnovo climbs steep hills above the Yantara river.

After a authentic bulgarian lunch we travel back to our ship through the Bulgarian Grain belt.

Once on board we will be met by a local Agronomist for a short talk on agriculture in Bulgaria. We then continue on our cruise to Vidin

Uniworld S.S. Marlene

Vidin

Vidin is a port town on the Danube that once played an important role in medieval Bulgarian politics, as a great fortress Baba Vida attests. It is our base for an unusal excursion today - a visit to the facinating Belogradchik rock formations.

Uniworld S.S. Marlene

Cruising the Iron Gates, Domji Milanovac and Golubac

Today's main attraction will be the spectacular scenery along the Danube, as we cruise a stretch of gorges known as the iron gates located between Romania and the northern part of Serbia. There are 2 major hydro dams that operate through the gorges, and we will learn of their significance for the area. Later we head ashore to explore a Paleolithic site and an extraordinarily well-preserved medieval fortress.

All along our cruise today history lines the banks of the river. We see Trajan's Plaque, which the ancient Romans erected to commemorate the road they anchored in the steep cliffs above the water, we also cruise past Golubic castle built in the 14^th century.

This afternoon we enjoy an easy-going hike to Kovi Lovo Viewpoint.

Uniworld S.S. Marlene

Belgrade

Belgrade, the modern day capital of Serbia,is one of Europe's oldest cities, dating back 7000 years. Signs of its tumultuous history are visable everywhere, juxtaposed with the cities vibrant modern day present.

Today we have 2 options

1) Belgrade City Tour with visit to the Royal Grounds of Karafjordevic dynasty palace.

2) A bike Belgrade Tour.

After returning to our ship we enjoy an afternoon discussion focusing on Danube logistics, exploring how millions of tonnes of grain travel down river to the black sea port for export.

Uniworld S.S. Marlene

Ilok and Aljmas

Welcome to Croatia.  This ancient country, which has made a remarkable recovery from a brutal civil war, is noted for its beautiful countryside and thriving folk traditions, as well as simple delicious local rustic food.

Ilok is the Wine Capital of Croatia.

Today we look at agriculture where Ilok is globally famous for its microclimate, which is heavily influenced by the Danube River and the rolling hills of Fruška Gora. This makes it one of the premier viticulture (winemaking) hubs in Europe. Ilok is a town that has a winemaking history dating back to the Roman Empire.Our first visit is to a high scale wine producer Ilocki Podrumi, where we look at viticulture farming systems.  After, we continue by coach to Aljmas which sits at the confluence of the Drava and Danube rivers, this region holds a vast chunk of Croatia's total arable land.The vast flat plains surrounding Aljmas are used for capital-intensive, large scale farming of stable crops like corn, wheat, barley, soyabeans, sunflowers, as well as horticulture and vegetable farming. We visit a local large scale cropping farm to see and compare farming practises. After, we enjoy Lunch at a local family restaurant and enjoy a brief tour of Osijek before re-boarding our luxury Uniworld river Cruise.

Uniworld S.S. Marlene

Budapest

Budapest, located on opposite sides of the Danube, Buda and Pest each have their own distinctive character and allure. Budapest is a vibrant capital of hungary and offers an enchanting combination of East and West. Today we explore this dynamic and multifaceted city with your choice of excurions - you can see it from a locals perspective on your walking tour, or cover more ground with a panoramic tour

Tonight is our last night on our Uniworld cruise ,we enjoy a beautiful farwell dinner.

Uniworld S.S. Marlene

Budapest - Szeged

This morning we disembark our ship and travel 90 minutes by coach to Szeged, a major agricultural area. Szeged is located on the great Southern Plains. Thanks to an exceptional amount of annual sunshine, fertile soil, and proximity to the Tisza River, the area functions as a core agricultural hub.

Our first visit is to a local Paprika farm as Szeged is famous for growing Paprika. Large-scale farming dominates the flat landscape surrounding the city, with a heavy emphasis on grains, oilseeds, and advanced seed breeding.

We visit a local farm and grain elevator. Because of its agricultural dominance, Szeged hosts major international research hubs, such as Corteva Agriscience's research center, which specifically breeds climate-resilient corn, wheat and sunflower hybrids tailored to combat continental heat stress. We will meet with a local agronomist to discuss European union environmental mandates and input subsidies.

After our agicultural visits we will have free time in Szeged to enjoy beautiful Hungarian food at one of the many local restaurants.

Szeged - Budapest - Breclav

After breakfast we travel by coach back to Budapest where we board our train to Breclav, Czech republic. We travel north through central Europe's scenic grain country and the Moravian plains. Breclav is a major agricultural hub.

On arrival we enjoy a brief walking tour of Breclav and then free time tonight.

Breclav

A dedicated agricultural day, visit a high tech, Czech broadacre grain and seed breeding farm, compare machinery setups, crop rotation strategies, and weather challenges. After we look at other agriculture such as Sugar beet.

Tonight we enjoy dinner at a local restaurant where we will have a chance to sample Moravian wines.

Breclav - Krakow

Train to Krakow - we take a scenic morning train across the Czech Polish border, passing through the upper Silesian agricultural valleys we see why Poland is known as the Breadbasket of Europe.

Kraków, a southern Poland city near the border of the Czech Republic, is known for its well-preserved medieval core and Jewish quarter. It's old town - ringed by Planty Park and remnants of the city's medieval walls - is centered on the stately, expansive Rynek Glówny (market square). This plaza is the site of the Cloth Hall, a Renaissance-era trading outpost.

We are then transferred to our hotel.

Krakow

This morning we visit local farms and a agricultural distributor before returning to Krakow for a afternoon walking tour of Krakow.

Tonight, free to enjoy Krakow.

Krakow

Today we visit the local produce markets and the famous Salt Mines of Krakow before returning and enjoying a free afternoon.

Tonight is our Farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Krakow

This morning we conclude our tour.