River Cruise

May 22

Today is a travel day. We said our goodbyes to George, Roxanne, and the grand old Castle and headed back to Rome airport in our rental car.  We selected the direct route but not using toll roads.   The navigation chose a very scenic three-hour route, and we passed through small towns, avoiding all the traffic.    

We stopped in Nepi, a small town one hour from the airport, and got a sandwich for lunch.  Near the airport, we struggled to fill the gas tank.   The machine was all in Italian and there was no one to ask for help.   

The route into the airport had recently changed, so we needed to hunt for the airport access.  We returned the rental car but again had difficulty finding the route to departures.   Once in the departure hall, navigating to many check-in stations was a challenge, but we finally got checked in and to the gate with plenty of time.  

The direct flight to Munich, Germany, was only 1 hour and 10 minutes.  It is extremely rare for us to have a direct flight.  Once we received our bags, a taxi whisked us to our overnight air BnB type hotel.   We walked across the street to an Indian restaurant and had a delicious dinner with friendly staff.  

May 23

We took a taxi back to the airport to catch the shuttle bus to Vilshoven, Germany, a comfortable 90-minute ride on the autobahn through fertile countryside.   This is where we start our next adventure, six days on a riverboat on the Danube.   We have never done this, and it is part of our bucket list.  

We immediately boarded at our ship, Avalon View, at 11:30 am. We then had lunch while they finished prepping our room and loading our luggage.   Wow, what a lovely boat! It's so spacious, and the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows bring out the full beauty of the luscious countryside.  Once we got access to our stateroom, we walked around the charming little town of “Vilshoven-on-the Danau.”

In the evening, the Cruise Director gave us the mandatory safety briefing and some information about the boat.  We will be traveling 372 miles with 123 passengers on board. The captain ensured the information was complete and jumped in at the end to clarify: We are on a ship, not a boat. Point taken.

The crew cast off while we went to the dining room on the lower level, which can seat all 166 [the ships capacity].  There is a very impressive menu to choose from, and drinks are included. 

 

Of course, we met new friends. During dinner, a heavy rainstorm moved in but did not last long.  The ship stopped mid-river for quite a while, and after dinner, we went to the top side and discovered we were waiting to go into a lock. We had an early night.

May 24

We woke to find we were docked in Linz, Austria. A second river ship was tied up next to us, which is apparently very common.  I am trying to get a good photo of the ship, but it is so long I have had the chance yet.  It was surprising to find everyone speaking English despite being in the center of so many languages.  Apparently, ships only book guests of certain languages, so each ship would be a different language.  Very nice.

Most excursions are included in the price; you just show up at the correct time.  Our morning excursion was a walking tour of Linz with a very good receiver and earpiece so we could hear the guide telling all her stories.

This is where Beehoven wrote some of his symphonies.

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The ship is moored in the very center of Linz, so this was a no-brainer. Linz is famous for Beethoven writing symphonies there.  It is also the birthplace of Arnold Swartanager and the location of The Sound of Music.   Linz is a city in Upper Austria, straddling the Danube River midway between Salzburg and Vienna. Baroque buildings, including Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) and the old cathedral or Alter Dom, ring Hauptplatz, the old town’s main square.

Austria is a small country of 9 million, but Linz is a well-kept city with charming historical architecture and interesting stories. The tour ended at 11 a.m. in the town square, so we spent a little time on our own before returning to the ship for lunch.

After lunch, we had a second exciting excursion. This one to a concentration camp, the Mauthausen Memorial.  We traveled about 30 minutes by bus and then took a tour of the camp. There are many memorials from many counties. All the wooden barracks have been demolished, but six have been reconstructed with photos and descriptions.

Over 1,000 camps like this were created in Europe between 1938 and 1945, totaling 1.65 billion detainees.  This camp housed 190,000, and over half died of starvation or killed.  Their work involved quarrying granite for rebuilding purposes.  It was hard work, 16 hours a day with very little food.  Each barracks was designed for 300, but they actually housed up to 2,000, packed in like sardines.

I was happy to see many schoolchildren taking the tour. This was a sobering excursion, but one I feel we should all experience!   

May 25

We moored in Ybbs [pronounced Ibbs].  We were told our ship, the Avalon View, is 443 feet long and holds up to 166 guests. It was built to the maximum size that will fit in a lock, at least half a lock, two ships side by side.

We took a morning tour bu bus to Ornding, about 30 minutes ride.  Our destination was two family-owned farms.  We learned that just about all farms in Austria are small family farms.

We were told our first farm was a newer 400-acre farm, just the fifth generation. The son gave a full description of running the farm and gave us samples of the products they produce and sells from his farm shop: pumpkin oil with a nutty taste for dressing, strawberries, and 130 pumpkin varieties. Farm to table. He showed us where the Danube flooded in 1954, five feet deep in the farm, depositing nutrients that made the ground very futile. 

The farm is picture perfect and a very cozy living.

Next, we went to the farm next door. This farm is even newer—only the fourth generation and 55 acres. They do a lot of direct marketing. They keep 400 pigs and smoke the meat for 3-7 days. They also have potatoes, pumpkins, and apples to make apple pie wine. We viewed the smoker room (from outside).  

There was a lovely kitten on that second farm, and she kept the ladies all excited with her antics.  She was pretty tame and quite cute.  There was also a small area, about three feet by two feet, and close to the ground, that housed one fisty 8-inch turtle.  He was anxious to be fed, and one of the women got right to it, plucking a clover and putting it near the turtle....he obliged.

Our bus took us back to the ship, which had moved downriver to Emmersdorf.  It was just a technical mooring as we moved again after lunch to Krems. The ship passed through the Wachau Gorge while the cruise director commented on all the wonderful towns and farmland.

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We moored up in Krems.  Merry took the city walking tour of the town.  It was a short ride to the town proper and we were off.  The first stop was the town gate, a lovely gate as shown.

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On the next street, we saw three orange-colored balls on the wire, which we were explained were just for brightening up the street, and they indeed did!! One house had Mozart's name on it, and we were told that he had written one of his symphonies there.   

There were several churches that were no longer consecrated, but rather turned into museums.  We did go into the church that was consecrated and saw how lovely a church could be.  All of the gold was goldleaf and there was much of it done that was well worth the trip. 

After going into the church, we were directed to a market, a used market that we would have an hour to wander inside.  I was in my glory!!  I headed right for the market during our free time!  I wandered around, finding first the used clothing department and spent quite a bit of time looking through the rack for the right garment.  An elephant blouse jumped out at me and it was exactly what I wanted and was never worn!!   I gathered some other small purchases and left the shop, after closing time, and headed for our meeting place.  

I [Rod] stayed on the ship to watch my longtime team and underdogs, Manchester United, play local rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup Final (equivalent to the Super Bowl).  A stressful afternoon and an exciting game and WE WON.

We had a relaxing dinner in the dining room and fell asleep watching a scary movie.

May 26

Today we arrived in Vienna, my main reason for booking this cruise.  It is known as the Classical Music Capital of the World.  Becasue I play classical music in several symphonies back home, this has special meaning for me.  

As we had breakfast, a heavy downpour of rain came, but within an hour, it had stopped, just in time for our tour.  It was Sunday so the traffic was light and the bigger shops were closed, but this did not matter to us.  A bus gave us a tour of the old town before dropping us off for the walking tour of the historic downtown.

Our guide pointed out all the historic buildings and told many stories.  Vienna is known as the Classical Music Capital of the world.  We ended at the magnificent St Stephan church just as the service was starting.  Merry said, "I am going to church," and disappeared to the seats.  I headed for the exit but paused to listen to the organ playing the interlude.  It hit deep into my soul.  I turned around and found an empty seat right next to the two organs, a brass ensemble, and a large adult choir.  I enjoyed the music immensely, and it made me look forward to the concert we will attend this evening.

 

Dinner was earlier so we could attend the Classical concert.  A bus picked us up and a guide gave us some more information about Austria.  We passed the Imperial residence and St Stephen Cathedral.  The guide reminded us Austria is a small landlocked country, so the two police boats moored next to our ship are jokingly called "The Austrian Navy".  Only about 25% of the buildings were damaged in WW2, so most of the historic buildings were spared.  Vienna has a population of 2 million.  The most famous residents are Johann Strouss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and frequent visits by Ludwig van Beethoven.  The official language is German.  The Vienna Boys Choir is also world-famous.

We arrived at the concert hall in a spectacular room on the third floor with gorgeous woodwork, walls, and ceiling.  There were just nine musicians playing violin x3, cello, double bass, clarinet, flute, grand piano, and percussion.

The concert included all the most famous and favorite Vienna music.  I was in heaven.

Blue Danube Walze, Redetzky March, Jockey Polka and many more.

May 27

Unfortunately, this is our last full day on this decadent ship that docked in Bratislava, Slavania with a five million population in the country and 1/2 million in Bratislava.  We had a morning walking tour into the historic city center.  What a charming place.  Most of the streets in this area are pedestrianized, so walking was a pleasure, with lovely buildings around every corner.

We returned to the ship, which cast off just before lunch.  I finally got a picture of the whole ship, moored in Bratislava.

We had a nice casual lunch in the lounge with a lovely view of the front of the ship. 

We passed thorugh a giant lock.  Most passengers did not understand how locks worrk so I ended up giving a comentary.

We spent happy-hour with three couples who have been friends for a lifetime. They are happy to have this lifelong friendship.

We had dinner with two other couples and had a jolly time.  There was a birthday, two in fact at the same table we were at, the other two men celebrated the same day...no they did not look like twins.  They have the same medical service they both practice.  Well, birthday cakes arrived and song sung: after which Merry jumped up to do her birthday song.  She made some 'noise' to quiet the rest of the people and then did her song-  if you have not heard it, request it on your birthday!!  Applause and laughter followed!

During dinner, we passed the Esztergom Basilica.

May 28

The ship arrived at our final destination, Budapest, Hungary.  Budapest, at 1.75 million, is the capital bisected by the River Danube.  Its 19th-century Chain Bridge connects the hilly Buda district with flat Pest.  A funicular runs up Castle Hill to Buda’s Old Town, where the Budapest History Museum traces city life from Roman times onward. Trinity Square is home to the 13th-century Matthias Church and the turrets of the Fishermen’s Bastion, which offer sweeping views.

We needed to be packed and out of our stateroom by 9 a.m., but we could stay on our ship until 2:30 p.m. as our hotel check-in was at 3 p.m. We had an excellent breakfast and checked out before 9 a.m., then chatted with other guests waiting for their ride.

At 9:45, we left the ship to explore the city. We found tourist information and signed up for the Hop-on bus nearby. We started with the green line, then transferred to the Red line, and listened to the narration as we went. 

The traffic was very slow, and before we knew it, it was 1:30, and our taxi was booked for 2:30 at the ship. We needed to return to the green bus to get back to the ship, but it was not due until 2 p.m. This is cutting it close.  

While we waited, we popped into a cafe and ordered a quick burger and drink. We had to gobble it down and return to the but stop before we missed it. Then, we had to wait at each stop for the green bus to stay on schedule.  Bottom line: We returned to the ship at 2:28, just as the taxi driver took our luggage to his car.

We arrived at our Air BnB just at 3 p.m. We had three nights booked. The room was rather basic, but it was pretty inexpensive and had everything we needed.   

Some feedback on the River Cruise.

We have traveled a lot by cruise ship, but this was our first time on a riverboat, and we were delighted and very impressed. Of course, comparing a cruise ship to a riverboat is hard, but we felt like we were traveling first class. The crew was great, but the cruise director was a delight, a memorable person.

It was harder to make friends in just six days, but we enjoyed meeting everyone, and apparently, they enjoyed meeting us and hearing our stories.  The last night was almost tearful because, as the cruise director said, "there was a special bond evident with all on board".

Would we take another river cruise?  Absolutely.

May 29 - 30

We spent the next day riding the Hop-on bus. 

The bus ticket included a one-hour tour boat ride on the Danube. This seems unnecessary, having spent the last week and most of this year on the water, but we had plenty of time, so we boarded the tour boat.  It was a lovely, warm, sunny day, and the ride gave us some great views of the magnificent buildings that are hard to see from anywhere else, so we really enjoyed the trip.

This winds up our lovely time in Budapest as we have an early flight back to Italy to start our next adventure, which will surprise most of you.

Save this page and refresh it in a week or so to find out what comes next.