19/05/2017
Hello everyone! I had a goal to make an informative video about our recent Christmas market river cruise. For professional reasons, I have decided not to proceed with this project. However, since I worked hard on the script, I have decided to post an edited version here. I hope you like it and feel free to pass it on to anyone else that you think might enjoy it or may be interested in a river cruise. Here it is:
Our embarkation port was Budapest, Hungary. After a relatively easy arrival process at the Budapest airport, we met our cruise representatives and we were immediately ushered to our private transfer. The trip from the airport to the foot of the Chain Bridge took just a little over thirty minutes. Be aware that not everyone gets a private transfer. I think we got one because we were the only party scheduled to arrive around that time. Other guests reported their transfers were with fellow passengers on the motor coaches.
It is often said that Budapest is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I would have to agree. From the moment we arrived in the city center, I was completely blown away. From the Gothic Parliament building to the neoclassical St. Stephen's Basilica, around every corner there was spectacular architecture and interesting sites. It wasn't on option for us, but I highly recommend that you extend your stay in Budapest if at all possible. Viking offers a pre cruise extension, or it would probably be pretty easy to do it on your own.
There are two sides of Budapest, Buda and Pest, which are separated by the Danube River. Our ship was docked at the foot of the Chain Bridge on the Pest side of the river. Fortunately, we arrived very early. In fact I think we may have been one of the first parties to embark. It was quite a surprise when we were given the opportunity to take an orientation walking tour with a local guide. There were actually two different tours offered, one in the early afternoon and one in the early evening. Since we were exhausted, we decided to have lunch, take a nap, and then take advantage of the early evening tour. Our tour ended at the main Christmas market in Budapest. The European Christmas markets were the reason we booked this cruise, and this was our first glimpse of one. It was everything I hoped it would be. I must say that Viking has an excellent docking location in the city. It was an extremely easy walk to the Christmas markets on the Pest side and it was an easy walk across the Chain Bridge to the Buda side. Since we were going to return to the Markets the following day, we decided to do some scouting of the booths and return to the ship for dinner and the much anticipated cruise out of, and then back in to Budapest that evening.
Meals on board were a wonderful experience. To be completely honest, I don't have the most sophisticated of palates, but I did enjoy every meal that we ate onboard. I would hope that the meals would somewhat satisfy the pickiest of foodies, but again, not being a picky foodie, I cannot guarantee it. The ship did the best they could to offer regional cuisine, which minimized the need to eat on shore and allowed us to eat the onboard meals we paid for without feeling like we were missing out. Breakfast, while very good, gets pretty monotonous fairly quickly as the menu is limited and the offerings are the same every morning. Our ship, and I believe most ships, offer two different dining options: the restaurant and the Aquavit Terrace. We only took advantage of the more casual Aquavit Terrace for lunch on day one, but from what I can tell, the offerings were similar to what was being served in the main dining room. We much preferred the ambiance and service of the main restaurant, which was very casual as well.
The harbor cruise of Budapest was as amazing as advertised. It is said that Paris, France is the city of lights, and since I have never been there, I cannot really argue. What I can assure you is that Budapest gives Paris a run for it's money. As beautiful as Budapest is during the day, When the sun sets, all of Budapest's iconic monuments along the Danube are dramatically illuminated and the city really shines. The incredibly cold experience of cruising into Budapest on a mid December night is something I will never forget.
The next day, on day two, we got up early to take a morning walk around Budapest. I'm so glad I did as I was able to see some parts of the city that I assumed were going to be included on the city tour, but were not. Kossuth Lajos square and the Hungarian Parliament building were beautiful blanketed in the early morning fog. After breakfast, It was time for our included tour of Budapest. The first part of the tour was an intensive motor coach tour of the Pest side. The coach then crossed the Chain Bridge over to the Buda side of the city. We slowly drove up the hill to Budapest's Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fisherman's Bastion usually offers unbeatable views of the Danube River and the monuments of the Pest side of the city. Unfortunately, it was still very foggy. Our guide compared the Gothic style Mattius Church to Cinderella's Castle in Walt Disney World, and honestly it was an apt comparison. Our tour included admission to the church and after that we were given a little bit of free time. We took this opportunity to visit Ruszwurm, which is supposedly the oldest cafe in Budapest. Your guide will tell you that it is small, and they are not lying. It was incredibly crowded and there was no way we were getting a table. We got our coffee to go. Our guide told us that it hardly ever snowed in Budapest anymore, maybe one day a year. Right on cue, it began to snow while we were exploring the old town. Soon, we boarded the motor coach and returned to the ship for lunch.
Since we were not leaving Budapest until much later in the evening, we had some more time to explore. Since the fog had finally lifted, we decided to return to Old Town Budapest for some better pictures. Though very cold and windy, the walk across the Chain Bridge and the climb up the hill was relatively easy. If you are so inclined, there is also a chair lift to the top of the Buda hills. After revisiting the old town, we purposely got lost in Buda, eventually finding our way back down the cobbled streets to the river. We followed it back to the Chain Bridge. The sun was beginning to set, and that meant that it was time to return to the Christmas markets. But first, we had to stop by the ATM at retrieve some Hungarian Forints, which is still the official currency of Hungary. Every expert I spoke with recommended getting currency from a bank ATM as they offer the best exchange rates. We also had a Visa credit card with us that had no foreign transaction fees. More places accepted our Visa than I thought, but some booths with signs that indicated they accepted credit cards actually did not. That night, we got our first taste of the famous chimney cake, which was the perfect compliment to the wonderful hot chocolate available at the market. After a few hours of shopping, we begrudgingly returned to the ship for dinner, not quite ready to leave the beautiful city of Budapest.
When we woke up the next morning, on day three, we were in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Bratislava certainly did not have the curb appeal of Budapest, and after an initial early, quick walk to Hviezdoslav Square before our included tour, we were wholly prepared to be underwhelmed by the city. The dominate feature of the city is Bratislava Castle, which is the first stop on your included tour of Bratislava. To get to the castle, our motor coach meandered up through the Little Carpathian Mountains above the city, where apparently some of the more desirable residences in Bratislava are located. I guess it is kind of like the Slovakian version of Beverly Hills. Although the Bratislava Castle is massive, I was not impressed by it at all as most of it was fairly new. After a little free time at the castle, which we could not go in, we again boarded our motor coach for our trip back down to Old Town Bratislava.
This is where I began to understand the allure of this city. Old Town Bratislava was gorgeous. We entered the Old Town through St. Michael's Gate, which is the only remaining city gate, and one of Bratislava's oldest structures. We wound our way through the old town stopping in the Main Square, where the Old Town Hall and the gently falling snow provided a spectacular backdrop for the city's main Christmas market. Our tour ended in Hviezdoslav Square. Although I was impressed by Hviezdoslav Square earlier that morning, it was much more impressive at night. After exploring the old city and the Christmas markets for a few more hours, we returned to the ship to have dinner and watch the snow fall through the floor to ceiling windows in the dining room.
The next morning, on day four, we awoke in Vienna, the Capital of Austria. Oddly, the city center of Vienna is located quite a ways from the Danube River. Therefore, like Bratislava before it, it lacked the initial wow factor of Budapest. There are a few different public transportation options, as well as a Viking shuttle into the city throughout the day. Our included tour of Vienna left soon after breakfast. The Vienna tour was intense, as there is more to see in this city than any other on the Danube Waltz itinerary. Simply put, Vienna cannot be done in one day. That being said, I felt pretty good about what we were able to accomplish in the short amount of time, but if you truly want to immerse yourself in Vienna, you will not be able to do it on this itinerary. The motor coach took us by many different landmarks including the Vienna Opera House, and eventually dropped us off at the Hofburg Palace, which was the winter home of the Hapsburgs and site of the Spanish Riding School and the Lippizaner horses. Our walking tour ended in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral, and we were given the option to stay in the center of Vienna, which we elected to do. St. Stephen's Cathedral is very impressive. Mozart was married here and his funeral was held here. After exploring the interior, we climbed the south tower. There are 343 stairs and the passageway is quite narrow, but the view of Vienna from the top is certainly impressive and worth it.
After lunch at one of Vienna's famed coffee houses, a place called Starbucks, we got lost in Vienna, but this time, not on purpose. I thought we would be able to navigate by the giant landmarks of the city, but once you are immersed in Vienna, the narrow streets and tall buildings make it difficult to see anything above the roof line. It also does not help that, due to the similar architectural style of much of the city, it all looks very similar. That is not a knock against the city, as I was completely awestruck by it's beauty the entire time we were there. By the way, I was kidding about Starbucks.
Since we were going to attend the Mozart & Strauss concert that evening, we were running out of time and we still needed to explore the main Christmas market in front of the Old City Hall. After walking many miles exploring the numerous secondary Christmas markets and unique shops, we eventually found our way to the Votive Church. From there, we thought we could see the Old City Hall, but it was still a few blocks away, and we were not exactly sure it was the Old City Hall. Fortunately, there was a company motor coach parked in front of the church and the driver confirmed that we were heading in the right direction.
The setting for the main Christmas market in Vienna was striking, and by far the most impressive of any port of call on the itinerary. To the east, the market was bordered by the Old Town Hall, to the west, by the Austrian National Theater, to the south by the Austrian Parliament Building and to the north by a large ice skating rink and the University of Vienna. A Viking shuttle picked us up at the market around five and took us back to the ship for dinner and to get ready for the concert.
The Mozart & Strauss concert was the only premium excursion that we chose to do with the cruise line. There will be people all over Vienna advertising a Mozart & Strauss concert, so you can choose to do it that way if you wish. I'm glad we did it with Viking because it was not that expensive and a motor coach took us to and from the concert venue. I am not exactly a classical music aficionado, but I found the experience enjoyable overall. There were two talented singers, a soprano and a baritone, as well as two talented dancers. Even on a late fall night, the room warmed up quickly and the chairs were not very comfortable. However, I would recommend it if you do not get to experience live classical music very often.
On Day five, we got our only only scenic cruising experience on the entire trip, which was through the Wachau Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I was not overly impressed by the Wachau Valley, but it was certainly nice to have a morning to sit in the lounge and relax, enjoy a cup of coffee and watch the river go by. Later that morning, we arrived in Dürnstein, which is located in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, located in the northeastern part of the country. The town is so named for the castle which ruins sit on a hill above the town. This castle is where King Richard I of England was held prisoner by Leopold V after a dispute during the Third Crusade. The boat docks rather close to town and it was about a ten minute walk each way for us.
It is possible to hike to the castle ruins, and I was able to visit them very briefly after I finally figured out how to get up there. The map provided by the cruise line looked like it was drawn from memory by someone who had walked around the town for ten minutes. In other words, it was not very helpful. The stone stairs and cobblestone streets of Durstein were covered in a thin layer of ice and were extremely slippery. Just walking around the town was very risky. Other than climbing up to the castle, there is not much to do in Durnstein besides strolling around and admiring the small town and it's unique cemetary. There were not many shops and there was no Christmas market. We saw very few people while we were there. I think we all enjoyed our short time there and it was certainly interesting to experience a quaint Austrian town.
We returned to the ship for lunch and made our way to Melk, Austria. The centerpiece of Melk, on a hill overlooking the town, is the massive 900 year old Melk Abbey. The town center is away from the Danube, but the included tour takes you to the entrance of Melk Abbey. We got an excellent tour of the Abbey and the Abbey church. After the tour, you could board the Viking motor coach for a ride back to the ship, but we chose to explore the town on our own and make our own way back to the ship. I really enjoyed Melk. It was peaceful and quiet. There was no Christmas market, but there were Christmas trees everywhere and a few shops and cafes strewn along the mostly deserted main thoroughfare. The walk back to the ship was very easy. It took us around ten minutes and there is a lighted, paved path to follow.
On day 6, we awoke to find ourselves in Linz, Austria. This day would turn out to be the most unexpectedly enjoyable day of the entire cruise. Even though we docked in Linz, the cruise line included an all day tour to the wonderful Bohemian town of Český Krumlov, which is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. I highly recommend you take this excursion as, if for no other reason, it is your only chance on this itinerary to visit the Czech Republic. Český Krumlov is often described as a town straight out of a fairy tale, and I could not agree more. Even the short drive from Linz was magical. The ice and snow on the trees reminded me of the winter forest scenes in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Our walking tour began at the highest point in town, the Český Krumlov Castle overlooking the town and the Vltava River. It continued over the bear moat, yes a moat where bears have been kept for hundreds of years, and into the center of town. After our tour, we were given plenty of time to explore the city on our own. Lunch was not included, so we took the opportunity to enjoy lunch off of the ship for the second and last time on the trip. I could go on for days about how beautiful this place is, but it is difficult to put into words.
In the late afternoon, we returned to Linz and made the short walk from the ship to the Linz Christmas market. I do not really feel like we saw enough of Linz to give it a fair assessment, but we did see the main Christmas market and it was my least favorite of the entire week. I would have liked to have more time in Linz, even just to visit the Ars-Electronica Center, which was just across the river and was flying a German flag in tribute to the terrorist attack in Berlin that had occurred just one day earlier.
On day 7, sadly our last full day on the cruise, we awoke in Passau, Germany. We were immediately struck by the beauty of the scenery on both sides of the river. Passau is in the Bavarian state of Germany just outside the Austrian border. It is at the confluence of three different rivers: The the Inn, Ilz and of course the Danube. It is an extremely colorful city full of spectacular baroque architecture.
There was an included walking tour included in our cruise which wound it's way from our ship to St. Stephen's Cathedral and the town Christmas market. The pipe organ in St. Stephen's Cathedral is considered the largest church organ in Europe with over 17000 pipes. We did not get to experience it since there are no organ concerts in December. Also included in the tour was a gingerbread making demonstration at Cafe Simon, where the Simon family have been making gingerbread for hundreds of years. There were plenty of quaint little shops and the location of the Christmas market was scenic enough.
The next day, we awoke very early for a final breakfast onboard and an early transfer to Prague. We did not get to experience the transfer from Passau to the Bavarian capital of Munich, so I really cannot comment on that. Overall, we had an absolutely wonderful time. It was almost a flawless experience. That being said, there are a few things you should keep in mind if you have booked or are thinking of doing a Christmas market itinerary.
A lot of the Christmas markets on this itinerary will have a lot of the same items. Much of the merchandise for sale is mass produced and handmade items are difficult to find. After the first few days, we experienced a bit of Europe fatigue. Although all of the ports of call are beautiful and unique, soon everything begins to look very similar. I am sure you have seen the commercials with ships sailing past beautiful castles and quaint cities, and If that is what you want to experience, this isn't the cruise for you. There was only one morning of scenic cruising on this itinerary. The included excursions are wonderful, but there is a lot of information to absorb. It might be a good idea to brush up on the history of the area before you leave. The best thing about the cruise line excursions is the QuietVox which allows you to listen to your tour guide through a wireless earpiece. The nightly information sessions are often at inopportune times. Fortunately, if you are onboard, you can watch them in real time on your stateroom television. Cruising is traveling with a group. I am sure you are aware of or can imagine the pitfalls of traveling with a group of strangers, so I do not think I need to say anymore about that. Just be glad that it is only around two hundred strangers and not ten thousand strangers like on some ocean cruise lines. Surprisingly, there were a few other young couples on this cruise and there were a few children traveling with family for Christmas. However, the majority of our fellow travelers were a bit older.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100150967867747&set=a.10100153127400027&type=3&theater
