This summer, we were blessed with the chance to take a Danube River cruise with Alyson’s family. The cruise started in Munich, finished in Budapest and hit several places in between. Because this was a relatively rigidly planned out itinerary, this post will likely not be as exhaustive as was our EuroTrip last year, but hopefully I can offer some insights that might help you.
We flew into Munich on Delta, which was actually a pretty nice experience. We flew back from Budapest on British Airlines. Given the choice, I would avoid BA in the future. Everything about the experience was just a little bit crappier than with Delta.
We landed a day in advance of boarding, so spent some time in Munich. If you’re there at the right time, don’t miss the turning of the hour at the Glockenspiel. We hit the 11 am show and were happy that we did. It’s basically an elaborate cuckoo clock, and it is very touristy, but it’s a lot of fun.
We also rented a car and drove about two hours outside of Munich to a mountain called Herzogstand. We took a gondola up, hiked for a bit and had a really nice meal at a mountain hut. The weather wasn’t great, so it wasn’t super clear, but it was still a lot of fun.
We also rented bikes and tooled around Munich for a bit. There’s an area in the English Garden where people actually surf. It’s man made, but it is pretty cool and is fun to watch. We also had a nice meal at the Hoffbrau Haus. This is very touristy, and basically what you would expect from a German beer house, but it is a lot of fun.
We boarded the boat in Passau and set off along the Danube. This cruise was done through a company called Tauck. My mother-in-law has used them several times, and everything is very well done. It is similar to a Viking Cruise, but a little bit nicer. There were 130 guests, including several children. Most Tauck trips don’t allow kids, but they do a few each year that allow for younger passengers.
The boat isn’t as decked out as a major ocean liner, for obvious reasons. There were a few bars, two restaurants and a hot tub, but it is not the type of cruise where the boat is the destination. Most of the actually cruising was done at night, but everyone was very friendly. The food service was wonderful, with several options at each meal, and every meal available on the boat, if you liked.
The cruise included several stops, the first of which was in Linz, Austria. We didn’t spend much time in Linz but were bussed about 1.5 hours to Salzburg. Here, we learned more than most want to know about The Sound of Music and spent time in the Mirabel Gardens. If you’re really into that movie, like Eileen is, you would love this.
Next, we cruised through the Wacau Valley and parked for a bike ride along the Danube. This was a lot of fun, and good way to see the town of Durnstein. That night, we left for Vienna, where we spent a day and a half.
We did a walking tour, climbed the south tower of St. Stephens and had dinner in a palace. We spent the next day in Vienna as well, visiting the Prater amusement park, which has several pay as you go rides. This was a favorite for most of the kids.
Overnight, we sailed to Bratislava, Slovakia, which was by far my favorite part of the tour. We didn’t do anything spectacular, just another walking tour, church visit and site seeing, but there is something really special about this small European capital. We also went to Devin Castle and experienced the medieval games, which were quirky, but fun.
For our last night on the ship, we were supposed to sail to Budapest, but the Danube was too low, so we had to stop outside the city and get bussed in. This was a little disappointing, but what are you going to do.
My overall impressions of this trip are all very positive, but frankly, it doesn’t rank in the top 10 trips that we have taken. There were a lot of walking tours, which start out interesting but start to drag. There were a lot of really cool churches to visit, but that too starts to get a bit old. I believe these Tauck trips are definitely more geared towards an older audience. It was a lot of fun, but we probably didn’t do much of what we would have we planned the trip ourselves. That said, I am not at all complaining; it was a ton of fun, and a great way to visit several countries.
Next up for the Traveling Igoes, a 9 day trip to Ireland with the extended Igoe family. We’ll touch base soon…