River Cruising

What a wonderful way to see Europe...River Cruising. Included excursions, relaxed atmosphere, entertainment provided by locals are just a few of the features of a River Cruise. You will experience the culture and ambience of villages and towns in a way you could not do on an ocean cruise.


We departed on November 21, 2008. Flying from Detroit we arrived in Nuremberg, Germany via Amsterdam.


November 22


Our first night was at the Victoria Hotel right in downtown Nuremberg. Cab ride from airport 15 Euros. We spent our evening walking around, exploring all the shops and enjoying the beginnings of the Christmas Season in Germany.




November 23

In many European cities all the shops are closed on Sundays except restaurants and cafes.

We decided to take the train to Bamberg to experience train travel in Europe and visit a quaint town and enjoy one of their cafes for a coffee and pastry. Train ride 19 Euros roundtrip. Late afternoon we returned to embark on our River Cruise aboard the Viking Spirit.

Our room is pleasantly large and the beds are comfortable. Lots of storage for clothes and a decent size shower. Large window that opens for great views and fresh air. Excursions are included everyday as well as free time on a river cruise and we look forward to the week ahead. Tonight we are treated to a glass blowing demonstration by a local artisan.


November 24

Our ship stays overnight in Nuremberg. This morning we take a tour to the Nazi rally grounds and some ruins of the war. We saw how today they are used for positive events. We visited the buildings where the Nuremberg trials took place. Our guide also shows us other historical sights and explains some history.




This afternoon we spend exploring the pedestrian area of Nuremberg. We have our first taste of mulled wine (heated wine mixed other juices that is made during the Christmas season).


November 25


Regensburg-once a very wealthy area, and an important trading post. Here you will find a 1000 foot long Stone Bridge built in the 12th century, a masterpiece of early engineering. A walking tour took us through Gothic style churches,the oldest sausage house in Germany as well as other sites. Coffee, 2 Euros each. Delicious Sausage snack with drinks at the oldest sausage house 12 euros each. We chose to have dinner at an authentic German restaurant; Schnitzel a side dish and a drink for about 20 eruos each. Tonight we listened to Bavarian Folklore provided by local muscians.

(Sausage House where they still make and cook the sausages everyday)

November 26

Passau - Known as the City of Three Rivers. It is at the confluence of the Inn, the Danube and the Ilz rivers. Home of St. Stephen's Cathedral which houses one of the world's largest church organs.

November 27

Linz/Salzburg




Today we took the optional excursion to Salzburg. Birthplace of Mozart. There is a very small museum however as our guide explained to see where Mozart ran and played as a child in the square, where he later played the organ (still there today) in the church and to see the landscape that helped to inspire some of his music is the real museum. Another beautiful German city. Visible here is also various areas where the Sound of Music was filmed, although today the young people of the city are not familiar with this movie. Today lunch was included at at a restaurant built in the year 803. Austrian music is our entertainment tonight, with audience participation.

(Mozarts birthplace)

November 28

Melk-Our tour took us by bus up the hill to the Stift Melk, or the Melk Abbey. The architecture dates back to the 18th century. Incredible frescos are painted on the ceilings, a library with thousands of volumes and beautiful artwork in other areas of the abbey adorn the walls. The abbey has been the home to Monks for over 900 years and today also houses 750 students who are taught there. We walked down the hill, enjoying some shopping time with la unch stop for some delicious soup on the way back to our ship.

November 29

Vienna-The capital of Austria. The largest city we visited with 1.2 million people. The St. Stephen's Cathedral built between 1263 and 1511 is the symbol of the city. Vienna is now one of the 9 provinces of Austria (the smallest province), the most densely popluated and most industrialized. This very cosmopoliton city is a great city if you like to shop in designer boutiques that rival New York and Paris. The coffee and pastries are delicious and for approximately 4 euros per person you can enjoy these. You can also enjoy these same items in more upscale cafes for 6 - 7 euros per person. Or enjoy a ferris wheel ride that offers treats and coffee while you go around giving you a birds eye view of the city from the top.

Our ship stayed in port overnight giving us lots of opportunity to explore the city by subway or by foot.

November 30

We disembarked our ship today and transfered to the Kaiserhof hotel. A lovely hotel just outside the downtown area of Vienna. We were within walking distance of the Christams markets and enjoyed browsing through them.

River cruising is truly a great way to see a part of the world. With less than 200 passengers on these ships, there are never crowds to push through to get on or off the ship. The relaxed atmosphere is a welcome change to our busy lives. The amount of time in each port gives you lots of time to explore on your own and with excursions included everyday, there is real value in such a trip.

December 1

Today we depart for home. Taxi to the airport 35 Euros. Viennas airport is very easy to navigate and efficient with check in and security. You can enjoy some last minute shopping here or one more cup of Vienna's coffee.

Feel free to call me if you are interested in hearing or seeing more about River Cruising.

Grace

519-352-5524