I have a deep love of Eastern Europe. I have traveled there a couple of times but in June I had the privilege of taking a cruise down the Danube River through Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia ...

The Danube runs neck and neck with the Rhine as being the most popular waterway for a river cruise. It flows through, or borders, 10 countries, which is more than any other river in the world.

I was three days into a weeklong Danube River cruise in December on Emerald Waterways' Emerald Sky,which sailed about 400 miles from Nuremberg, Germany, southeast to Budapest, Hungary.

It’s no secret that the Danube isn’t blue, despite the name of Johann Strauss’ popular waltz. (It’s more of a murky gray.) Still, there is a fascination and draw to the mighty river that ...