The Dance Of The Danube
Harmony - Celebrate Age|April 2017

Following the course of Europe’s second longest river through Budapest and Wachau Valley offers a glimpse of history and period architecture.

Rekha Sarin
The Dance Of The Danube

Come summer and the urge to take a respite from blistering subtropical heat is strong. It’s an opportune time to look at Europe, with destinations that bask in benign tempera-tures with long daylight hours that give way to mildly cool evenings. Reason enough to inspire us to make a tryst with the Danube, following the river along the Hungarian capital, Budapest, and onwards to Wachau Valley in neighbouring Lower Austria.

Our itinerary was consonant with the pages of history as this river—the second longest in Europe—has witnessed a period when the kingdoms of Austria and Hungary were united under the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. Ruled by the House of Hapsburg, the Austria-Hungarian Empire endured right until World War I, a time when Austrian composer Johann Strauss II wrote the famous An der schönenblauen Donau, The Blue Danube Waltz, the strains of which have continued to haunt music lovers over the ages. The Danube, though, is not exactly blue. More often than not, its waters are in shades of green, at times even muddy—and it creates scenic splendour wherever it flows. In Budapest, the river embraces the city on both sides, the capital being the outcome of two independent cities, Buda and Pest, which united with the Roman settlement of Obuda in 1873. Of all the bridges across the river, the most splendid is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, designed by English engineer William Tierney Clark in 1849.

Besides the obvious charms of the river, Budapest on its own is a jewel of a city, resplendent with sumptuous period architecture. I find myself looking skywards in several photographs of the trip. I simply could not stop admiring the craftsmanship that expresses itself in myriad forms, whether it is the embellished exteriors of churches, palaces and buildings or the high-vaulted ceilings and domes.

This story is from the April 2017 edition of Harmony - Celebrate Age.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April 2017 edition of Harmony - Celebrate Age.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM HARMONY - CELEBRATE AGEView All
Wrapped In Love
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Wrapped In Love

My Dadi Meenakshi Banerji was a short and tubby woman with great gumption who raised 10 citizens of the world.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2017
Sharing Her ‘Mettle'
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Sharing Her ‘Mettle'

To me, this bell metal vaarpu, which weighs about 80 kg and is at least 120 years old, is an enduring reminder of my paternal grandmother Aleyamma Abraham.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2017
Medical Overload
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Medical Overload

Your doctor may walk the talk while writing out your prescriptions but here’s the thing: make sure he hasn’t prescribed one too many. 

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2017
An Act Of Faith
Harmony - Celebrate Age

An Act Of Faith

One act of kindness can save someone’s life.’

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2017
Armed For Business
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Armed For Business

The sheer glory and glamour of the Olive Greens motivated me, a third-generation soldier, to join the Army. Thus I enlisted, brimming with enthusiasm, in 1984.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2017
Capture the fracture
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Capture the fracture

Fracture owing to osteoporosis can have a serious impact on a person’s health and quality of life. Dr Abhijit Y Pawar, consultant orthopaedic spine surgeon at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, speaks about the significance of timely intervention in preventing fractures

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2016
Friends With Benefits!
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Friends With Benefits!

Incontinence need not interfere with life.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 2017
Yellow, Yellow, Gritty Fellows!
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Yellow, Yellow, Gritty Fellows!

It was a nippy Sunday morning but nothing that would keep the rugged Delhiite away from the annual Senior Citizens’ Run supported by Harmony at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon. Not even the mood-dampening smog that had descended on the capital a week earlier could do that! So said 74 year-old Sarla Rani and her band of regulars at the run who arrived at Nehru Stadium on the morning of 19 November even before the sun did. Soon they were joined by busloads of silvers from all over Delhi, Noida and Gurugram.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2017
Magic By The Sea
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Magic By The Sea

From Lord Jagannath to oceanside beauty and green initiatives, Braja Sorensen uncovers the many layers of Puri.

time-read
6 mins  |
December 2017
Indian Rhapsody
Harmony - Celebrate Age

Indian Rhapsody

In a span of two decades, Roshen Dalal has attained renown for her painstakingly researched books on history and religions in India. The Puffin History of India and The Puffin History of the World, each in two volumes, have not just received critical acclaim but are bestsellers as well. Her other books include The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths; Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide; The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism’s Sacred Texts and The Compact Timeline History of the World. 

time-read
5 mins  |
December 2017