Pictures alone can never give you the full flavor of a place. For this you must see, feel and discover it all for yourself. However, pictures can provide inspiration for possibilities. Enjoy!
Day 1: Embarkation and Vilshofen Walkabout
Vilshofen is a bit over an hours drive from the Munich airport - reachable by transfer (private or through the cruise line ) from the airport or by train from Munich. A lovely little port town, it exuded quintessential Bavarian Germany.
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Day 2: Passau Active Walk to the Fortress
Passau - the City of Three Rivers. Passau sits at the confluence of 3 rivers - the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. It is one of the oldest cities in Bavaria, having been founded over 2000 years ago. I took the active walk/hike up to the fortress for the amazing views. The guided walk (which I took on my first visit) takes you through the town and often times includes a stop at St. Stephen's cathedral where you can see one of the largest church organs in the world. My first visit was timed for 12 noon 30 minute concert. Beautiful!
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Day 3: Full day trip to Cesky Krumlov from Linz
Cesky Krumlov is truly a fairy tale, medieval town, located in the Czech Republic's South Bohemia region. Yes, it is very touristy, but well worth a visit. An experience that exceeded my expectations. It is a UNESCO site with well preserved Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. The day we visited was the last day the castle was open for the season. The town celebrates with many dressing in period costumes and dancing. We took the longer route back to Linz through the beautiful countryside. We had a little free time in Linz - went up to see the main square. The other extra option for the day was a trip to Salzburg. I heard that was fantastic too. Check out my article on what you can see in Salzburg.
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Day 4: Ybbs, Arstetten Castle and Durnstein
Ybbs is a very small town - basically a place to get off the ship for our excursion . We did a short walking tour... took about 10 minutes BUT Ybbs is charming and famous for the decline of the Austrian empire 110 years ago. This morning we had a choice of 2 excursions - Melk Abbey (amazing - saw it the first time) and the one I took, Artstetten Castle, past home of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sophia (their assassination was a major factor in the start of WWI). Descendants of the Hapsburgs still live in the castle and we were surprised with a private audience with Countess Alix. Amazing - that's called special access! After a beautiful sailing through the Wachau Valley, the afternoon was spent enjoying Durnstein, a lovely (but touristy) wine town. I had considered the active hike up to the castle ruins where its rumored that King Richard was held hostage, but hearing the path included rock climbing, I opted for something more sensible - wine tasting with newfound friends!
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Day 5: Vienna City Tour
The classic tour in the morning included a coach bus ride past some of Vienna's amazing buildings combined with a walking tour that ended at St. Stephen's Cathedral and the famous pedestrian shopping avenue Karntnerstrasse. We even got a glimpse of a few Lippizzaner horses - it was their day off!
Day 5: Vienna Foodie Tour
In the afternoon we had a choice of exploring Vienna at leisure or joining an optional tour - Schonbrunn Palace or a Vienna Foodie Tour. Foodie tours in other cities have been fabulous, so I joined this one. It combined food tasting with sites not seen on the walking tour. Bonus experience - Vienna's underground. Instead of wasting time in traffic on a bus, the Underground it was - easy, simple, quick. Stop 1: wine tasting Stop 2: sausages and beer Stop 3: pastry shop Stop 4: chocolate shop Stop 5: Handmade spinach and cheese dumplings. The dumplings should have been after the sausages but a timing issue with the restaurant pushed it to the end. No bother to me - all tastings were excellent.
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Day 6: Bratislava
The morning guided city walk took us through the quaint streets of Old Town, Town Hall and St. Martin's Cathedral, the sight of royal coronations. While I didn't take the active tour, it was a hike to the Bratislava Castle. Maybe next time. We instead had coffee and and a local pastry treat at the famous Mayer Cafe. WORTH IT!! The man coming out of the sewer...Men At Work!
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Day 7: Budapest and Evening Illumination Cruise
I opted for the guided city tour (the active tour was a hike up to Fisherman's Bastion - next time!) Although not my first time in Budapest, I wanted to see the major sites again - Hero's Square, the Opera House, Fisherman's Bastion, Matthias Church. We were even treated to the famous chimney cake. Nice overview but there is very little time to enjoy the views from the castle. This excursion felt quite rushed, but it didn't help that we lost about 20 minutes to a bathroom break. A second visit post cruise made up for it.
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Day 7: Budapest Wine Tasting Tour
In the afternoon on the last day I took an optional wine focused excursion. A short drive out of the city took us into wine country. We visited two very different small, family owned wineries. The wines weren't award winning but the experience of meeting the local winemakers and the ambiance were. Our guide had to translate from Hungarian - the history and background of both families were quite interesting. This tour is definitely for wine lovers - between the two visits we had 8 glasses of wine! Not full, but more than just a tasting.
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Post Cruise - Visit to the Castle District and Jewish Memorial
The visit to the Castle District on Day 7 was far too hectic, so we opted to go back and spend another half day in the area. Highly recommended. There is so much more to see that is missed on the tour. Fisherman's Bastion has beautiful views over the city (not to be missed) but there are wonderful gems beyond this viewing area. The Hilton Hotel is built around the ruins of an old monastery, and in the cellar there is a secret Wine Bar! Would love to come back in the evening to try that. Beyond the Hilton are charming buildings, many with restaurants and one of a kind shops filled with unique "goodies". On the way back to the hotel we visited the Jewish Memorial on the banks of the Danube. Quite sobering.
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