Our departure transfer from the AmaMagna did not go as planned. The taxi driver’s dispatcher instructed him to take us to the Cosmo City Hotel in Buda, as opposed to the Kozmo Hotel in Pest. When we arrived at the correct address, we discovered that the driver could not accept credit cards. Cashless — the cruise director had told us we could pay with plastic — we asked the hotel’s front desk to point us to the nearest ATM.

As the driver and I walked together on that cool, sunny morning, we laughed at the comedy of errors. “This is just crazy,” he said. “I’m very sorry.”

I replied that I didn’t mind the scenic detour along the Danube, and that I had planned on going to an ATM right after check-in in any case. “I’m glad you are a nice person,” he said. “You laugh, you smile. I like American visitors very much. You are always smiling.”