Adriana of the Rhine

 

Adriana Boráková of the cruise ship Viking Sun does more than just fold towels

Music in Cincinnati spent much of August in Europe -- on a Rhine cruise, no less.  Aside from a few buskers on the street -- a cellist in Basel playing Bach, for example -- music played a minor role.
   We learned a Dutch tongue twister, Wij smachten naar achtentachtig prachtige nachten bij achtentachtig prachtige grachten,* which is not very "musical," and the sights were splendid.  And we learned that the job of housekeeper on a cruise ship can be an artistic endeavor.

Surprise

Returning to our cabin one day after a walking tour on shore, we found a flower on our bed -- not just any flower, but one made of a blanket and towel.
How charming, we thought.
In the days after that, we found a crab, dog, snake, crocodile, turtle, sea lion ...

Nice doggy

Obviously something was afoot and it turned out to be our cabin stewardess Adriana Boráková.  Adriana of the nimble hands -- she can produce a towel sculpture in five minutes -- or less -- is from Slovakia (Prievidza, to be exact).

Presto! A monkey

"I dreamed of going outside somewhere and I had a friend who was working for Viking (Viking Cruises is the tour company)."  She has been doing it for ten years now and is Head Housekeeper on the Viking Sun, which cruises the Rhine River between Antwerp, Belgium and Basel, Switzerland.

Hisssss

Adriana, 31, whose smile could warm your coffee, works on board from March through December, with two months' vacation in between.  A working day begins about 6:30 in the morning straight through until 2:30-3:30 in the afternoon and resuming from 6 p.m. until anywhere from 10 p.m. to midnight.  There are days or weekends off during the 10-month stretch and she plans to spend time with her boyfriend Roman, who works in the bar on the Viking Sun, on shore in September.  Trained as a cosmetician, she is close to her family in Slovakia and speaks to her mother every day.  She has mastered English and German and has a repertoire of 15 towel sculptures, which she is likely to enhance with other items in the cabin such as coasters, candies and passengers' sunglasses, caps, souvenirs and the like.

dandy crab

On our final day aboard, she created a pair of swans with their necks bent into the shape of a heart.  What a lovely parting gift.

Adriana with sea lion

Bon voyage, Adriana!



























*translation: "We long for 88 beautiful nights by 88 beautiful canals."