2017 River Cruise on the Danube

Budapest is one of Europe's most exciting cities.  Having been freed from communist rule with the breakup of the USSR in the early 90's, Budapest, the capital of Hungary has grown and prospered.  Actually, two cities, Buda and Pest, divided by the Danube each has different characteristics. According to our guide, there are significant local rivalries between the populations of the two sections, with each claiming something better than the other.

Buda, with its hills provide a magnificent riverside setting for the historic and magnificent structures, while Pest with its' wide boulevards and upscale shopping areas reminds one of Paris.  With over 80 museums this city deserves more than a couple of days for exploring.

Our ship docked in Budapest

One of the several historic bridges that cross the Danube.  Budapest escaped most of the Allied and German bombs of WWII, so many historic structures are original.

The outside view and menu of Rudas Turkish baths.  Built in the 16th century, this renovated spa sits atop some of the over 100 thermal springs in Budapest.  A local FB friend had suggested we should do this and we weren't disappointed. Again, we were the only Americans among locals, and the experience of hot, sulfur smell water, along with the local people was rewarding.

Hungarian Parliament by day and night.  One of our nights there, the ship undocked and cruised up and down the Danube showing us all of the sights by night. 

St Stephens Basilica by night

And by day

Crystal cruises offers a variety of excursions and amenities.  This night's treat was dinner provided at a Michelin rated restaurant, Costes, in Budapest.http://www.costes.hu/    The food was amazing as was the company we enjoyed from the ship.

2017 River Cruise on the Danube

Leaving Passau, Germany our ship reversed course and began a downstream, southward journey on the Danube.  Passing through Vienna, our next destination was Bratislava, Slovakia.  Slovakia, formerly a part of Czechoslovakia, is now a part of the EU, with Bratislava as its' capital. Under communist rule as part of the Eastern bloc until the early 90's, Slovakia is now a vibrant, growing economy, with Bratislava having one of the highest personal incomes of any European city.  Just another example of how capitalism lifts up the population of any country that embraces it.

One of the many beautiful small towns we passed as we cruised the Danube

One of the more unusual structures in Bratislava.  A revolving restaurant overlooking the city.

This church is one that survived the communist rule in Slovakia.  Our guide shared with us the difficult times she and her family experienced during the Cold War.  She was to be christened in this church as a child, but because the communists had outlawed all religion, her priest came to their home, in disguise, and christened her in a private family ceremony.

Many of the buildings in Bratislava are painted in bright colors to protest against the former communist habit of painting them gray.  Our guide told us that during the communist rule, the government would deface any buildings that were ornate or beautiful and paint them gray or black.  The people are now rebuilding them, adding back the ornate portions and using bright colors.

Graffiti is prevalent in Bratislava, as the residents discover their new found freedoms.  In Vienna, we were told that the city has designated graffiti areas that are refreshed annually, in hopes that the graffiti artists will not deface the historic building.  

We stopped here for refreshments and some Slovak wine; not great, way too sweet for me.

2017 River Cruise on the Danube

Continuing northward, the next day we arrived in Passau.  On the border of Austria and Germany, in the German state of Bavaria, the city of Passau is built on a tapering peninsula of land surrounded to the north by the Danube, to the south, the River Inn, and just before the two meet, the smaller River Ilz which flows from the Alps.  Over 2500 years old, dreadful fires destroyed the city in the 16th century, most of it was rebuilt in the Baroque style, during the rule of Napoleon.  He said, "I have never seen a town more beautiful in Germany.

Walking along one of the beautiful small streets in Passau, I shot this pic of Vickie and our new friend, Caroline, from England.  Traveling with her parents, Caroline was one of the most enjoyable new friends we made.  Caroline, 27, has special needs.  Her delightful innocence and welcoming personality made her a special traveling companion.  I was especially gratified in the way many of our fellow travelers accepted her and made her feel welcome.

We attended an organ recital at St Stephens Cathedral.  Built after a fire in 1662, it has one of the largest organs in the world, with over 17,000 pipes and 233 registers.  Organ concerts are held every day at noon.

The Veste Oberhausen, a fortress high over the Danube was begun in 1219 and finished in the 1500's

This beautiful old structure, with a cross on the top, was and still is, an orphanage, with private rooms for each resident.

After lunch back on the ship, we boarded our E-bikes for a ride along the Danube.  We stopped for refreshments at this little local bakery.  While relaxing, a local man stopped by and asked why a bunch of American's were visiting his little German town.  We discovered he was a retired art dealer who had moved back to his home town after a career of traveling the world, and discovering we were from Texas, he regaled us with some stories of his travels to Dallas and other parts of the US.  On the way back to the ship, we were drenched in a rain storm, arriving at the ship dripping wet, cold, and tired.  All in all, another great day of adventure.

2017 River Cruise on the Danube

The third largest city in Austria came as a surprise as we awoke.  Not having done any research  on this port before the cruise, we were expecting another Austrian village.  Instead we are greeted with a large city, with a very modern art museum on one side of our ship, and another glass and steel contemporary building across the river, overlooked by a castle on a hill.  

Linz has one Guinness world record, the Postlinberg Tram; it is the steepest climb for a tram that is not the traditional funicular type; sort of like a modern SF streetcar.  At the top was a church and castle which held a surprise.  The Grottenbahn is a fairy tale amusement area that depicts all of the Grimm's fairy tales.  Disney adapted many of these for their animated stories; Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and others.

This quirky little park in the belly of a castle had a train in which you would ride around in a circle looking at various scenes from the fairy tales.  Then you exited into a larger area with dioramas of all the Grimm's tales.  We were the only English speakers amongst a large crowd of visitors; definitely a local German/Austrian attraction. 

Linz also has a historic place in history; Adolf Hitler went to University here, before dropping out to join the military.  Linz was the city he returned to in order to announce his annexation of the country of Austria into the Nazi regime.  The picture above is the balcony of city hall where Hitler broke the news to the city.  Today it is still the city hall, and the local tourist bureau.

One other interesting story told by our guide was this.  Austria received its' independence in 1956 from the Allied powers that controlled Austria after WWII.  After the war, Europe was divided up between USA and Russia until all the German controlled areas could be sorted out.  Linz was divided by the Danube, with the western half controlled by USA and the eastern half by Russia. ( By the way, none of our guides had much to say about the Nazis and WWII, but they were unanimous in their hatred of the communist rule of their countries after WWII and during the Cold War.) back to the story; the bridge across the Danube held a checkpoint and people coming to the USA side from the Russian side had to have proper ID and had to be "de-loused" first.  It seems no one really wanted to cross over to the Russian side from the US side. She also said when Austria became independent and Russia departed, they basically stripped everything from their side of the city and took it with them.  The picture below is the city of Linz, with the aforementioned bridge on the left.

In the City Centre of Linz, a commemorative sculpture built to give thanks to God for saving the city from the Bubonic Plague of the Middle Ages.  We saw similar sculptures in Vienna, also.

River Cruise on the Danube

Departing Vienna, our ship started north, upstream, on the Danube.  Our first stop was in the Wachau Valley, a famous wine producing area of Austria.  Known for its' white wines, this beautiful mountainous area reminds me of Napa and Sonoma as regarding the topography.

Stopping at the small town of Krems, we rode our bikes to Melk, a few miles upstream, touring the wine country along the way.  There were numerous beautiful old churches and castles along the way, in addition to thousands of tourists from the other River cruise boats.

Riding our bikes along beautiful wine trails, we arrived in Melk, a quaint small Austrian town.  Home of the Melk Abbey and Schallaburg Castle, we toured both.

Melk Abbey 

If you look closely at the top of the picture, you will see an unusual frescoe.  This is at the Schallaburg Castle.  Our guide explained this as the response from the craftsman, having worked on this castle for 20 years, and then being told at the end of his engagement that the royal family had gone bankrupt building this massive sturucture, and they could not pay his final bill.  So he finished his work with a fluorish. 

Vineyards of the Wachau Valley

2017 River Cruise

Vickie and I love to travel and usually we plan our own travels, not being a fan of planned tours and such.  However, we have taken a few cruises, Alaska being the most recent in 2015.  Several of our friends have talked about European River cruises, so we decided to try it.

After a lot of research, we decided on cruising the Danube.  It is the longest river in the EU, beginning in the Black Forest of Germany, and emptying into the Black Sea.  Traveling through ten countries, more than any other River in the world, it is over 1700 miles in length.

We picked Crystal Cruise lines, a well known ocean cruise company, and they are new to River cruising.  The Crystal Mozart did not disappoint.  Ours was a round trip cruise, starting and ending in Vienna, Austria.  Ten days of being pampered, meeting new friends, and enjoying the history and culture of Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest, along with some other smaller cities was wonderful.

Business class on American is the way to go.  We flew from DFW to London Heathrow, then connected to Vienna on British Airways.  With your own little cubicle, lots of movies and sufficient food and drink the hours flew by.

Arriving at Hotel Bristol, across the street from the Vienna Opera House, our room wasn't ready.  So, we took a few hours exploring the city center, got lost, and finally had lunch at a nice little Italian restaurant.  Vienna has a large number of Italian family restaurants and all of the gelato shops are owned by Italians who arrived in Vienna after WWII.  When we got back to the hotel, we had been upgraded and met with this nice little welcome.

The Albertina Museum in the background, with Vienna's visiting beauty in the foreground

Some of the sights in Vienna before our departure.  We took a bike ride along the Danube and around Danube Island.  E-bikes are great, being electrical assisted hills are no problem. 

Tomorrow we start our journey north into Germany.