Postcards From The Danube

Never did I think I would enthuse so much about cruising down the Danube. What a wonderful, restful experience it was, something I would very happily do again. I thought I would share my itinerary with you, maybe it will encourage you to try!

Day one we flew to Munich and then transferred by bus to Nuremberg, a journey which took just under 2 hours. Once we arrived into Nuremberg we embarked on the ship ready for our journey. We sailed overnight. That is a great experience actually. Because we were in the balcony suites which has floor to ceiling windows, we kept the blind up. Lying in bed at night, passing these little villages by moonlight, was really rather magical.

Day two we were sailing down to Regensburg our first port of call.  Regensburg is one of Germany’s best preserved medieval cities and has one of the oldest bridges crossing the Danube.  We went on a lovely walking tour, which I needed I can tell you after sitting eating and drinking hot chocolate all morning! A lovely town with some very nice buildings however, it was freezing that day with a bit of rain and the wind, I was pleased to get back onto the ship!

From Regensburg we sailed down to Passau (the 3 rivers city). From here we did have the opportunity to visit Salzburg or Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. Now, I was originally going to visit Salzburg however, I heard that Cesky Krumlov is very well known for it’s history and medieval buildings so we plumped for that instead. It was a long drive from Passau, through the most beautiful countryside.  I was a little disappointed though . I agree the town is beautiful with the most amazing buildings but it was a little like a ghost town – hardly anyone there, although we were told in the summer this place is heaving! I must admit I did not pick up on any particular atmosphere there which was a shame as it is so lovely. I got the feeling it was all a bit “made up” but I could be wrong.

Day 4 of our trip and the scenery is changing.  We arrived in Melk, Austria. Melk is a lovely, small village really which is dominated by the 900 year old Benedictine abbey located above the town. The abbey is huge and actually has a school in part of it, a novel idea I thought. The school takes in children from the local area of all denominations and is just like any other school, except to say the children are studying in the most fantastic ornate surroundings. After lunch we sailed through the “Wachau Valley” to Durnstein.  Durnstein has to be the most magical little village we visited. There is nothing much there really, apart from the ruins of the castle where Richard The Lionheart was meant to have been imprisoned. The village had that magical feel about it. Again not a soul walking around but such a atmosphere  with the most beautiful buildings in the most wonderful setting, this is one place I would urge you to go to.

Day 5 and were in Vienna! I want to quote the lyrics from Ultravox here – “it means nothing to me” because this is the one destination which did disappoint. We moored very close to the city, so much so that we were able to walk about 10 minutes to get to shops and catch a tram into the centre. We did however, have a excursion to the Schonbrunn Palace via a drive around all the points of interest. I did think Vienna would be one of those cities which would wow me but all I saw was a busy city – maybe it was the weather!  The palace though is impressive however, I prefered the gardens which were lovely.

Day 6 and we arrived in Bratislava. What a lovely city it is.  The city has a lot of history of course from the old town to the Holocaust memorial and the town hall which was erected in the 14th and 15th centuries. Bratislava was small enough to have a good old wander around. Loads of pubs too, no wonder it is a popular short break destination.

Day 7, Well, this has to be the “save the best till last.”  We sailed from Bratislava to Budapest and the night before was advised to get onto the sun deck at about 0830 in the morning to view the arrival into the city. Now, I have been to Budapest before but never arrived by river.  The city is fantastic, magical, beautiful, wonderful – need I go on?  To arrive by river has to be the best thing ever. The views were superb. We moored right in the middle of the city, very easy to walk into town although it is a walk it is well worth it. For those of you who do not know the city, it is divided into 2 parts. The Buda side is the old town with plenty of fantastic heritage sites such as the royal palace, fisherman’s bastion on castle hill to name but a few. Then there is the Pest side which is the commercial part of the city with lots of good shops, restaurants bars etc. The Christmas markets in the squares just added to the atmosphere of this lovely city.  We did toy with going ice skating in a massive outdoor rink, but in the end we did not as it would be typical of me if I fell and broke a leg!  What we did do was go on the old ferris wheel and NEVER again will I subject myself to such horror! To say I was scared is a understatement!

Day 8 – well the end of the most fantastic trip ever. I have been incredibly lucky throughout my time in the travel industry to see some fantastic destinations from Machu Picchu in Peru to Kruger National Park in South Africa, to Thailand, the States etc but in all honesty this trip was wonderful. I would never have thought to go somewhere in Europe I would come back so full of enthusiasm. It confirms to me that you don’t have to go far to see some wonderful places.

Yes, a river cruise is more expensive then your normal ocean cruise however, all I will say is you do get what you pay for – try it, you will not be disappointed.