I feel so fortunate I was able to travel with my mom to Europe for a river cruise. We made so many memories & experienced new things together. We flew to Prague for our 3 night Prague pre-cruise stay before heading to Passau to embark on our river cruise ship for 8 days.
Travel Day:
We had a flight delay leaving Minneapolis and missed our connection in Paris. We were able to get on a flight later in the day and get to Prague late in the evening.
Pre- Cruise Day 1:
🇨🇿 Enjoyed a delicious complimentary breakfast at our hotel, Hilton Prague
🇨🇿 Visited Old Town Square to sightsee & browsed stores where we purchased a few souvenirs and bites to enjoy later.
🇨🇿 At Noon met our tour guide & group for our Prague Food Tour. Prague is a foodie paradise but if you want to find the most authentic spots, you need a local guide. We arrived hungry & filled our bellies while learning about Czech culture and cuisine in the process. The tour was an experience of Czech food (traditional and fusion) at 3 savory & 1 dessert restaurant. Via walking, metro & train, we enjoyed the food just as much as the conversations with our fellow group members. Highly recommend!
🇨🇿 For dinner we joined fellow guests for a private Prague folklore dinner at a rustic country hall as a lively ensemble of dancers, singers and musicians in traditional dress sang songs & danced. In the Bohemian countryside, villagers once gathered to celebrate the harvest, marriages and other events. We enjoyed the traditions of Czech culture during a fun-filled evening of food, dance and wine.
Pre- River Cruise: Prague day 2:
🇨🇿 Another enjoyable complimentary breakfast at our hotel.
🇨🇿 Off early to our tour to Terezin. Terezín was conceived as a fortress town in the late 18th century, when the Hapsburg Emperor ordered the construction of Theresienstadt—named after his mother, Empress Maria Theresa. Terezín was later established as a town in the newly formed Czechoslovakia. Nazi Germany took it over in 1938 and transformed it into a ghetto and, later, a notorious concentration camp. During this moving visit, we saw the former prisoner cells, residences of the Gestapo (they even had a swimming pool & cinema) and some of the underground corridors.
🇨🇿 After the tour, we drove to Litoměřice, one of the Czech Republic’s oldest and most beautiful cities. A lunch was enjoyed at a local restaurant with traditional Czech fare.
🇨🇿 Wow! What an amazing, intimate & special dinner at Restaurant Zvonice located in a 600 year old bell tower. The magical ambiance features rough ashlar walls and amazing views from the large gothic windows on both floors, with the completely authentic wooden beams and Bell of St. Maria, cast in 1518, a remarkable feature in the space. The food/wine was complimentary to the space. Yum!
🇨🇿 We Ubered back to our hotel, packed up or things in preparation for our journey to Passau, Germany.
River cruise day 1: Prague > Passau
🇨🇿 We enjoyed one last breakfast in Prague at our hotel before packing up our suitcases for Viking representative to transfer our luggage to our coach bus.
🇨🇿 Shortly after we settled into our seats on the bus to travel to Passau, Germany. We enjoyed a beautiful drive through the Czech Republic countryside.
🇩🇪 5pm arrival in Passau! After a quick check in with customer service, we were shown to our stateroom. We then headed to the lounge, enjoyed a glass of wine & some snacks before being briefed by our Cruise Director with a quick safety instruction.
🇩🇪 At 7pm, we made our way down to the dining restaurant to a table with two other couples we enjoyed getting to know. Dinner was delicious & relaxing.
🇩🇪 I topped off my glass of wine (wine & beer is complimentary during lunch & dinner) in the dining room on our way back to our stateroom to unpack our luggage. One of my favorite parts of river cruising is unpacking once and being transported to each city. It’s like a hotel on the water!
🇩🇪 Enjoyed a few last moments of sunlight on our balcony before turning in for the night.
River Cruise day 3: Linz -> Český Krumlov > Linz
🇦🇹 We enjoyed another delicious breakfast to kick off our morning and to fuel us for our all day tour. Viking provides a wonderful buffet of hot & cold foods as well as made to order omelets, eggs any way, eggs Benedict, French toast, blue berry pancakes, etc.
🇨🇿 We boarded our coach bus and headed for a scenic drive through the Czech countryside to visit Český Krumlov Castle. We stepped into the Bohemia of old during a guided stroll through the Czech Republic’s fairy-tale town of Český Krumlov. We admired its Renaissance style, viewing the Upper and Little Castles & a walk over the Bear Moat, where bears have been kept since 1707. We descended the castle hill by foot into the town center and enjoyed a tradition Czech lunch & a mug of beer. Afterwards we had time to explore on our own, enjoyed browsing the various shops & stopped at a restraint to enjoy the much talked about fresh apple strudel & a glass of wine before heading back to our ship.
🇦🇹 This evening was one of the nicest evenings on board our ship. After another wonderful dinner, we went up to the top deck, played a bit of shuffle board and chatted with another couple from Minnesota.
River cruise day 4: Krems
🇦🇹 On this morning we got to experience an exclusive visit to historic Göttweig Abbey before learning how to make tasty apricot dumplings.
We took a scenic drive by coach bus to the Benedictine monastery, located on a hilltop overlooking the Wachau Valley and Danube River. Our host and guide welcomed us to the cellar entrance with a glass of sparkling apricot wine or juice produced in the region. We enjoyed a private viewing of a short film about monastic life and learned how the monastery is run today. Following the film, we admired its ornate, colorful interior and walked through the abbey’s museum. Following our tour, we continued to the abbey’s show kitchen, where a cook demonstrated the preparation of Austrian-style apricot dumplings using local ingredients. We sampled the delicious dumplings with coffee or tea before returning to our ship.
🇦🇹 We enjoyed a late lunch on board before we headed out for another tour.
🇦🇹 I was so excited for this tour! Finally a wine tasting! Ha ha We met our guide for a scenic drive into the valley, whose unique combination of terraced slopes, dry stone walls, hillside castles, vineyards and rich cultural tradition has earned it a place as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wine has been produced here since the time of the Celts, long before the Roman Empire introduced the Riesling grape. During our winery visit, we toured the winery and sampled 4 different wines and enjoyed the vitner, Earhart, who was quite entertaining. This was definitely one of our favorite tours!
🇦🇹 We arrived back to our ship just in time to enjoy a traditional Austrian dinner, beer,
pretzels and all!
River cruise day 5: Vienna
🇦🇹 Enjoyed another wonderful breakfast, fresh made omelets have become my favorite.
🇦🇹 Our morning tour of Vienna was spent viewing architectural highlights of one of Europe’s most elegant and romantic cultural capitals. We met our guide and drove into the city for a half-day motor coach and walking tour. We saw the magnificent Hofburg Palace, winter residence of the Hapsburgs and home of the Spanish Riding School with its Lipizzaner horses. We also viewed the Gothic St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the beautiful Vienna State Opera concert hall. After the tour, we had time to explore on our own.
🇦🇹 Back on board for a short time, we had lunch before I headed out on my afternoon excursion.
🇦🇹 Our guide met us at our ship for our e-bike tour of Vienna’s Countryside. After a short safety briefing, we were off! Our guide pointed our points of interest along the way, as best she could as it soon started to downpour! We hopped on a ferry ride across the Danube and a bit of a relief from the rain. We arrived back at the ship with smiles and a feeling of triumph for riding in the rain, discussed hot showers and a celebratory drink as we boarded the ship!
🇦🇹 Because we had an evening tour, dinner was served to our group early. Fantastic as always! Beer, wine, and soft drinks are all included during meals.
🇦🇹 A little more dressed up for the occasion, we boarded our coach bus for a Viking exclusive concert, Mozart & Strauss by The Vienna Residence Orchestra - one of its most beloved institutions. In a historic venue, we witness the period come to life as costumed singers and dancers took to the stage. We enjoyed the beautiful Strauss waltzes and selections from Mozart’s The Magic Flute—music that has defined this magical city.
🇦🇹 We were welcomed back to the ship with late night homemade bowl Austrian goulash, which is a soup unlike the Midwestern goulash I’m used to.
River cruise day 6: Bratislava -> Budapest
🇸🇰 We started the day fueling our bodies with a delicious breakfast before setting off on foot in this smaller scale European Capital.
🇸🇰 Right off the ship, we joined our guide and set off along the Amber Road, tracing the ancient trade route that once linked Northern and Southern Europe. We stopped to view the Gothic-style Universitas Istropolitana, the first university to have been founded in present-day Slovakia. Though it operated for only 25 years, it proved highly influential in the fields of mathematics and astrology. In the main square, we admired the Roland Fountain, built in 1572 to provide water to the public. Around the square, we saw the rococo, late-baroque Grassalkovich Palace, residence of the president, and the rose-hued Archbishop’s Palace, home to today’s mayor. We stepped inside the Gothic St. Martin’s Cathedral, home of Hungarian coronations for more than 250 years.
🇸🇰 After our tour, we boarded our ship for lunch and set sail for a scenic cruise down the Danube on our way to Budapest.
🇸🇰 In the afternoon we were treated with a live cooking demonstration making apple strudel while sipping of a cup of tea or coffee. Bonus, we got to sample it as well!
🇸🇰 Prior to dinner we attended a port talk regarding our tours in Budapest as well as information on disembarking.
🇸🇰 For dinner I started with a delicious and slightly spicy pumpkin suit and chose Châteaubriand with truffle aeoli, potatoes & steamed veggies capped off with a chocolate lava cake. So good!
🇸🇰 After dinner we strolled to the loinge for an exclusive performance of The Stars of the Hungarian Opera. Beautiful!
🇭🇺 Not long after our evening entertainment, we arrived in Budapest which is breathtaking to experience at night.
River cruise day 7: Budapest
🇭🇺 We we’re able to sleep in a bit and have a relaxing breakfast. I suprised my mom with a special tour so we didn’t head out in the Viking Scheduled tour.
🇭🇺 At 10am we are picked up by your guide with Budapest Tuk tuk City Tour, I booked via Viator. We had an amazing guide and he took us all over the city. We were able to get around quite quickly & park is the tiniest of spots. This tour is truly customized to what you would like to explore in Budapest. Our favorites were visiting a thermal bath, ordering a chimney cake (I forgot to take a picture), Fisherman’s Bastion, and the Chain Bridge. We ended the trip visiting the shoe sculpture on memorial on the Danube riverbank erected on 16 April 2005 to honour the Jews who were massacred by fascist Hungarian militia belonging to the Arrow Cross Party in Budapest during the Second World War. They were ordered to take off their shoes (shoes were valuable and could be stolen and resold by the militia after the massacre), and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away. The memorial represents their shoes left behind on the bank.
🇭🇺 After our tour, we had a late lunch of focaccia bead & pizza at an adorable Italian restaurant not far from the shop. Yum!
🇭🇺 We enjoyed the nice afternoon on the Aquavit terrace with coffee & a cookie & took it all in. Reminiscing about the trip and our favorite highlights.
🇭🇺 In the evening we enjoyed a farewell cocktail and dinner. Our night was capped off with entertainment from singers
in the Hungarian Opera. We said goodbye to the wonderful friends we had met and connected with a few on Facebook.
🇭🇺 We turned in for our last night, to finish packing & a good night sleep for our travels home the next day.
River Cruise Day 8: Budapest > Minneapolis
🇭🇺 After putting out our luggage out for crew to take and load on the bus, we enjoyed one last breakfast on board our ship. Shortly after, we we were on the bus headed to the airport. We had smooth travels home to Minnesota, with a heart full of memories.
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