European River Cruise Preview

Last October Tom and Judy took the cruise to scout out all the best each of our European stops have to offer.  Here is a write up of their experience.

Departure & Amsterdam

This is Teacher Treks’ first European trip, a 16 day all inclusive cruise on the Rhine, Main and Danube from Amsterdam to Budapest. It is our first visit to Holland, Germany, Austria, and Hungry. We are uneasy that it is the beginning of November and cold in central Europe but we pack for cold weather.

We leave Palm Beach late afternoon traveling to Detroit then on to Amsterdam. We arrive early morning, 4:30AM. We follow the signs to our transport, being very careful to avoid the airport gaming casino. The 30 minute ride to our cruise boat passes quickly as we experience our first glimpse of Amsterdam.

We board the boat and meet the desk clerks who direct us to coffee and sweet rolls. As the sun comes up we walk to the city center which very close to our ship. It is late fall in Europe and the weather is colder than we anticipate. The first thing we need is a warm hat and gloves for Tom. We both know that summer weather would make our trip much more enjoyable.

We visit Ann Frank’s House, wander the red light district, explore the canals, and spend some time people-watching. We return to the boat at 4:30 pm in time for the departure.  Though we are tired and have blistered feet from new shoes, we have had a day to remember.

We check in and receive our cabin keys. Our cabin is bigger than most average cruise ship cabins. The river boat is a floating super-hotel. Our cabin has a king-size bed, chair, make-up table, TV, in-room safe, telephone, intercom, and a private bathroom (including shower, toilet, and sink). We unpack and hang up our clothes. Unpacking only once during our entire trip through Europe is a valuable river cruise asset.

We are anxious to explore the boat. There is a huge sun deck with an enclosed area on the top deck. The boat also has a game room, hair salon, fitness area, and library.  All of our meals are served in the dining room.  There is one sitting for each meal.  There is also a bar and lounge where we are entertained each evening. Feature films are shown on in-room TV’s nightly at 5:30pm and 9:00pm.

Our river boat leaves Amsterdam, at 5:30 pm. At 7:00 pm we attend the Captain’s Welcome Reception where appetizers and drinks are served. Our Cruise Director explains the river boat program before we attend our welcome dinner. Meals on the ship are good, but not gourmet. Each evening we are offered several choices for each course: appetizer, salad, soup, entrée, and dessert.  Lunches include a buffet of cold cuts and salads as well as soup, sandwiches and a full lunch menu with a choice of at least two items per course: appetizer, entrée, and dessert.  Coffee and tea are served at each meal.  Wine, beer and alcoholic beverages are available at an additional cost. Portion sizes reflect the European culture and are small, but our waiter offers to bring seconds.  They must know we are American. 

Germany

Our first full day on the river boat we cruise past beautiful small villages on our way to Cologne. We wish for summer when everything is green and the weather is warm. Our pictures are very dark as it overcast and cold. We will plan this trip in the summer.

We dock in downtown Cologne. One of the advantages of traveling by riverboat is that the boat usually docks within walking distance of the town center.  This gives passengers the ability, on many evenings, to return to the town. We bundle up, leave our boat, and meet our guide.

Cologne’s river walk is very beautiful. The Gothic cathedral in Cologne has wonderful twin spires and beautiful stained glass windows. We tour both the town and the cathedral with our guide. After our tour, we stay in town to do some exploring on our own.

The most memorable thing for me in Cologne is the bright red sneakers that we purchase for Judy’s aching feet. We look everywhere for comfortable walking shoes, but the only comfortable shoes we find are these awful red and black polka dot sneakers. Tom named them “Judy’s ballet slippers” (our tour participants will see the ballet slippers on the next tour). The “slippers” prove it is function over form.  Of course, we also buy a bottle of the original cologne, Eau de Cologne 4711, a trademark of the street address of the company in Cologne. After our shopping adventures, Tom enjoys the German beer on the pedestrian walkway “Hohe Strasse”. It is a great day with lots to see.

We travel on to Koblenz where the Moselle and Rhine rivers run together. We explore Koblenz’s cobblestone streets, stepping back in time. After returning to our boat we cruise past Lorelei Rock where it is said that sailors hear the siren, Lorelei, singing. Sailors look up and perish when their boats land on the rocks.

We travel to Rudesheim where we visit the visit the 16th century Bromserhof to see and hear a great collection of mechanical musical instruments. This is followed by wine tasting.  After the tasting, we explore the town on our own. Rudesheim’s scenic streets, many pubs, and wine tasting houses make this evening one to remember. We return late to the ship.

The next day we dock in Mainz where we board a bus to Heidelberg. We tour an ancient castle and the town center. We have a typical German lunch; local sausage, saubraten, and of course strudel for dessert. We reboard our boat in Hanau.

The following day, we are up early as we want to see the mountains and forests of the Spessart National Park. Our next town to visit is Miltenberg. Tom and I find our guide in Miltenberg to be the best of the entire trip. She is full of funny stories, interesting information and a love of life in Miltenberg. We will not tell you her stories as you will hear them for yourself.

We reboard our ship further down river and later in the day tour Wurzberg, with its Prince Bishop’s Residenz Palace. After we leave Miltenberg we find that one tour was not included in our travel package, the city of Rothenberg. Since we want to experience all the tours we chose to visit Rothenberg. We find it the "Disney" of the River. Rothenberg has loads of shops for tourists and a center of town that looks much like it was manufactured for tourists. When we arrive we have a delicious local lunch followed by some shopping.  Prices in the shops are extremely expensive so we choose to indulge in hot chocolate and decadent pastry until we return to our boat.

We enjoy our nightly beer, wine, and soft drinks in the lounge area of our ship, where Dino plays and sings nightly. Our new friends like to sing and join him on many tunes as he plays into the night. We did find that many passengers retire to their cabins early.

We enter the Main Danube canal at Bamberg, one of Germany’s most beautiful cities. We tour the old town and the Farmers’ Market in the Town Square where we buy poppy seed strudel, a dessert familiar from my youth. It is as good as I remember. We tour the cathedral, Old Town Hall and the quaint shops.

We reboard our boat for our next stop Nuremberg, Germany’s second largest city. Nuremberg was the site of the Hitler’s rallies. You will recognize the parade grounds from the old newsreels. The symbol of the Third Reich on the grand stand was blown up after World War II by the Allies. You will be surprised to find out what the parade ground is used for today. We pass the court house where the Nuremberg trials were held. We tour the 13th century city walls, watch towers, and gateway. The best thing to buy in Nuremberg is the Lebkuchen (gingerbread). This is a great gift to bring home. There are also cuckoo clocks, steins, Hummels, Christmas Nutcrackers and more for sale all over Germany.

We are at the highest point on the river, the continental divide, 1332 feet above sea level. We continue through the stair-step locks. Tom reminds me that we will travel through more than 70 locks, 4 countries (Holland, Germany, Austria, and Hungary) and tour 15 cities and towns during our 16 day cruise.

We enter the Atmuhl Valley and disembark at Regensburg, our first town on the Danube River. Regensberg is a town that has stepped out of medieval time. We spend the afternoon exploring the town on our own. Tom continues in his search for the best Cuban cigar in Europe.

Early evening we reboard the boat and continue through the night to Passau where we begin to notice that all the churches are called St Stephan. St Stephen’s in Passau is home to the largest church pipe organ in the world. We have the opportunity to hear the organ. What a grand rich sound!

Austria

This evening we cruise into Austrian waters where we dock in Melk. High above the city is the huge, baroque Benedictine Abbey at Melk. The panoramic view from the Abbey overlooking the Wachua Valley is magnificent.

This evening we arrive in Vienna. We cannot wait until morning so we jump on the subway and head for the city center. We get off the subway on the Karntersstrasse, a pedestrian only street. Here we find the Sasha Hotel where the sasha torte was made famous. We visit the cocktail lounge and have the opportunity to try the famous sasha torte. It was GOOD! It is a fun night exploring the nightlife of Vienna.

In the morning we tour the city: Hofburg Palace, Vienna Opera House, St. Stephan Cathedral (another one!) and more. This afternoon we have a choice of many activities, but choose to explore the “City of Waltzes” on our own. We buy several packages of Mozart’s Balls. (A wonderful sweet _____, you’ll have to come to Vienna with us to find out what the Mozart’s Balls are). Austrian crystal is for sale in many of the shops here.

We visit Durnstein, where King Richard the Lionheart was held for ransom. What really happened to gain Richard’s release? You’ll find out in Durnstein.

Hungary

Tonight Hungarian immigration and customs check our passports before we enter Budapest. We are all on deck when we enter Budapest, a city that spans the Danube for 8 miles. Seven bridges span the Danube connecting the old side of the river Buda with the modern city of Pest. We dock across from the Buda Castle on the hill. Our ship provides the best view of the “Paris of the East".

This afternoon we tour Buda, the old city, and view the city from high on Castle Hill at Buda Castle. In the evening we visit a local winery to sample fine Hungarian sparkling wine (its only called Champagne if it is grown in the Champagne region of France).

In the morning we tour St. Stephan’s Cathedral (yet another St. Stephen's!) and the Pest side of the city. The afternoon is free. We shop for hand embroidered items: tablecloths, dresses, linens and more. We buy most of our souvenirs in Budapest. Both the hot and sweet Hungarian paprikas make great gifts and are reasonably priced. We also purchase a handmade Hungarian doll for our granddaughter, Catherine.

This evening we have cocktails in the lounge, say our formal farewells to the crew, and then have our final dinner aboard ship. This evening after the ship's lounge closes Julian, our favorite barman, and Dino, our entertainer friend, invite us to a local Hungarian Pub. It is a wonderful ending to our cruise. Peanuts and sawdust litter the floor. The band plays Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" in perfect English. Tom enjoys a variety of Hungarian beers and Judy drinks her diet coke and a celebratory schnapps to mark the end of a great trip. After our breakfast we disembark and transfer to the airport.

This trip opens a whole different world for us. It is such a fantastic experience that we would like to share it with our travel friends. This sixteen day Grand European River Cruise will be our newest tour scheduled for Summer 2005!

Many of our tour participants ask which tour is our favorite. Each tour is so different that is impossible to choose. We want to see the whole world. Please join us on this new European adventure.