Viking River Cruise on the Danube, April 2017
Itinerary
Tony
and I are home from our Viking cruise (Longship Gullveig) on the Danube,
Budapest to Passau (April 2017). We had a great time with our friends, meeting
new friends (Lee and Kathy, Stephanie, Greg, Joan, and Doug; Dave and his wife,
and others), and exploring the wonderful ports along the way. The entire
experience was new to us: First cruise ever on a river and with Viking, new
experience in booking a Viking cruise, some issues with our booking; and all
ports were new for us: Budapest Hungry, Bratislava Slovakia, Vienna, Melk,
Durnstein, and Linz in Austria, Passau Germany. We continued our trip to
Prague, the Czech Republic, also new for us.
A
river cruise is quite different than an ocean line cruise. An ocean cruise is
more about the ship, its many amenities, and the sea days for relaxing (and the
ports of course); while a river cruise is all about the destination/ports.
Don't expect a lot of on board entertainment and dancing the night away. There
are no casinos or multiple bars or multiple dining venues. There's no
gym, although there is a walking track up top that was never used. There's no
separation of cruise "class" distinction. We were all treated as elite
members with everyone receiving great service by the entire staff on board.
I
liked the intimacy of the longship and small number of people (about 190). The
ship is sleek, beautiful and elegant. You don't walk very far to get from your
cabin to the lounge or dining room. There is a small library filled with books
on the ports we visited, and other books (nice touch); and their "computer
room" is just a table with two computers in a corner near the library.
The top deck of the
boat has plenty of chairs (and a covered area) to enjoy the views while sailing
or to have a drink. There's a small put-put golf course (really small), a shuffleboard,
and even a small herb garden for the chef and his staff in the kitchen (we did
a quick gallery tour one night after dinner). Beach towels are available to
bundle up on a cool, breezy night.
There
are no sea days to speak of, although one day we didn't arrive to a port until
2pm, so we had a relaxing morning. Another day we visited Durnstein in the morning,
cruised and had lunch, and arrived in Melk in the afternoon.
We
much prefer the size of the cabins on a regular cruise ship (170sf in a
standard Celebrity Cruise S-class ship cabin), although we managed well in our
135sf room. The bathroom was very small but well laid out. I would keep the
glass shower door pushed in to the shower area so that I had elbow room when
sitting.... I liked the provided soaps, shampoo, conditioner, and body
lotion. In the room is a regular hair
dryer (yay, not like the ones on Celebrity where you need to hold the button
down), flat screen tv, and a safe in the closet.
I
loved having a French balcony for the fresh air at night. Only two times was
our balcony blocked by another boat, and one of those times it was blocked just
half a day. I don't think I would ever book an 'aquarium class' cabin (not much
natural light). Nor would I book a balcony cabin (a lot more expensive, and I
only saw 2-3 people sitting on their small balcony).
River cruising is not
a relaxing trip, as you are on the go every day; but it’s not hectic either.
Our mornings started with breakfast, usually around 7:45am. You can order off
the menu or get food from the buffet. There are cooks that will make eggs to order.
You can also order eggs benedict!
Most of the included
tours started at 8:30am – others at other times depending on the arrival to the
port. After the tour, you can return to the ship for lunch or stay in town for
lunch and more sightseeing. I think we dined twice on the boat (it rained a lot
in Linz, so we hung out on the boat until after lunch when the rain stopped).
Once
the day ended, we were back on the boat, freshened up, and headed to the lounge
for drinks and/or their lectures before dinner. There is always a port talk for
the next day. About 6:50pm - 6:55pm, Tony or Alan would head to the dining room
to snag a table. I thought we could sit at the same place to have the same
waiters, but that never worked out. In the end, that didn't matter. We sat with
a variety of people throughout the trip.
We enjoyed all the
ports and sights. The included tours were fine. In each room are headsets that
we used for the tours – just be sure to recharge them nightly. You will be
reminded each day to bring them.
Overall, we had a
great cruise and I plan to book another Viking cruise for 2019 or 2020. I will
research other companies for comparison purposes.
Here are the details
of our trip:
Booking
the cruise: I
booked this cruise via my regular cruise travel agent. There's no on-board
creditfor this cruise but we did book it at a slightly lower cost than what
Viking quoted me. I booked this in late December 2015 (making payments via
e-check for a small discount) and the price of the cruise included free
airfare. Only certain months included free airfare (low season). I opted to pay
for the two-night pre-cruise stay in Budapest but decided to visit Prague on
our own. The cost of the Prague post-cruise was way overpriced. For any future
river cruises, I won’t even pay for any pre-cruise stay but will take care of
my own transfers from the airport to my own booked hotel. There's a $100
deviation fee per person for flying out in a different city and on a day
different than what Viking provides. For us, it was a very good deal. The
Viking post-cruise for Prague was 3 nights; we wanted a week there.
A
few months after I booked the cruise (along with our friends Stephanie and Alan
and others), we received notification that our itinerary had been reversed and
that we would be on a different boat. I didn’t mind going on a different boat (the
Longship’s have the same layout) but our plans were to travel to Prague at the
end of the cruise and we didn’t like having to start in Passau and end in
Budapest. After several emails to Viking (through my travel agent), we were
able to get another cruise date and the original Budapest to Passau itinerary.
I read a cruise critic comment, in which the person had the same problem and
asked for compensation. She was upgraded to a balcony cabin. I figured it
wouldn’t hurt to try for a better cabin (we were originally booked in a
“submarine class” cabin). We, along with
Stephanie and Alan, were upgraded to a french balcony cabin. Nice!
Another
problem we had was that we wanted to be on the same flight as our friends;
however, we ended up on different flights, both directions. Our booking numbers
were linked together but that didn’t help at all. With free airfare from
Viking, you get what they provide to you. You have the option to request a
different flight schedule at the cost of $50 per person (air plus). That’s not
much but we didn’t want to pay for it since we felt Viking should have booked
us together in the first place. We also didn’t know our flight schedule until
about 40 days out. I didn’t care for that at all. My recommendation is to buy
the air plus and make it easy on yourself if you are traveling with others.
Overall,
the booking process and flight schedules were a pain in the butt and
frustrating. Viking could do a better job here. Maybe it was because we booked
through a travel agent and not directly with Viking??
About
3-4 weeks before flying out, we received a Viking packet that included an
itinerary-specific information booklet, two leather luggage tags, two ‘paper’
tags (to be used from the hotel to ship); two round red transfer stickers to
wear upon arrival at the airport for your included transfer to the hotel. All
of this came in a cloth zippered pouch. Viking somehow messed up, in our favor
and sent two additional packets, one in Tony’s name and one in mine.
The
booklet included our flight and hotel information, a ‘Before You Go’ section,
detailed information on the daily included tours and optional tours, a deck
plan map with our specific cabin highlighted, and the cruise contract. Overall,
a very nice packet of information.
Off to Budapest (5
April 2017):
Our
flight from Dulles International was on BA via Heathrow airport (with about a
2-hour layover). Upon arrival in Budapest, we were greeted by a friendly Viking
staff member, who helped us with our luggage and walked us out to the van for
our ride to the hotel. We were the only two in the van. Our young driver
offered to take us along a longer route (only by 10 minutes) for some extra
scenery. We enjoyed that.
Viking
booked us at Hilton Budapest, on the Buda side near the Fisherman’s Bastion (a
turreted fortress) and St. Matthias
Cathedral. Excellent location!!
We
arrived at the hotel around 3pm. Viking has a desk in the lobby where we
checked in with them and then with the hotel.
Our
room (#314) has great views. The room with a complete view of the Parliament
building was #308. As a Hilton Honors member, we received a bottle of bubbly (I
brought it on board the boat).
Viking
provided a short 30-minute overview walk in the area, but the timing was really
bad, so we missed it. They should have had a few different time options.
However, a couple of our friends did the walk and said we didn’t miss anything.
Tony
and I spent the rest of the late afternoon walking around the area and having
an early dinner (since we didn’t have lunch) at Pest-Buda Bistro &
Hotel.
Pest-Buda Bistro
& Hotel
Located
up the street from our hotel (take the street that bears left), Pest-Buda
Bistro is a cozy place with a nice Hungarian menu. Our waiter asked if we’d
like to try a local liquor called Palinka. I had one that was flavored apricot;
Tony had the plum flavor Palinka. It was pretty strong! We shared a Hortobágyi
chicken crépe with paprika sauce appetizer. I had the Chicken paprikash with
buttered noodles; and Tony had traditional bread-crumbed pork “Fledermaus”. We
also had Cucumber salad with sour cream and another side dish of pickled
cabbage/vegetables (17,560 Ft or about 63 euros). We enjoyed our dinner so much
that I made reservations for the next night with our group of friends. Dinner
the second night, for the two of us, was 11,255 Ft, or about 40 euros.
After
dinner, I did some night photography from the Fisherman’s Bastion, right in
time for blue hour. The Parliament building was all lit up. It’s quite a
beautiful sight to see, especially at night.
The chain bridge was lit with purple lights.
7 April 2017:
After
a nice buffet breakfast in the Hotel (very good choice of foods), my group of
friends (Stephanie, Alan, Carol, Glenn, Karen, Jim), Tony and I went on a day
trip. We toured with Agnes Horvath (toursinbudapest@gmail.com) who met us at our
hotel at 9:30am. She had a small van for the 8 of us. It was a cold and rainy
morning. We went to Estergom (beautiful basilica and views over the Danube from
the top of the dome), Visegrad (more great views of the Danube and an old
fortress), and the riverside town of Szentendre (a pretty and colorful town
filled with art and souvenirs). Along
the way to Estrogom we stopped to take photos of some funky looking buildings,
Stephaneum déli oldala, by Imre Makovecz.
Between
Estergom and Visegrat, we had lunch at a food court, Palotahaz Etket Haza. Most of us had Hungarian beef goulash. It was
very good and inexpensive.
Agnes
gave us a nice walking tour in Szentendre and thenwe had some time on our own
before going back to Budapest. Had we been there later in the year (April was
too early) we could have caught a boat back to Budapest.
The
tour cost: 200 for the van/driver and 150 for our guide – 43.75 euros per
person. Pretty good price for the day. I highly recommend her if you wish to do
a day trip or even a tour in town.
The
eight of us ate at Pest-Buda for dinner. Had a great time. More night photography afterwards. Some of us
walked all the way down to the Danube to get better photographs of the
Parliament building and the Chain Bridge (lots of stairs!!); as well as some
street scenes near the hotel.
8 April 2017:
Viking
requested we have our luggage outside our hotel room by 9am or 10am. I really
didn’t like that idea, as there were other non-cruise people in the hotel. It
just didn’t feel the same like putting luggage outside my cruise ship cabin at
the end of the cruise. Also, I wasn’t interested in hanging around until 1:30pm
when the shuttle bus would be available for pick up to the ship. I checked with
a Viking rep and was told we could just bring our luggage and have the bellhop
store the luggage. I also had a bag with bottled water, vodka, and wine, which
I could leave with the Viking rep, as she offered to take it with her on the
shuttle bus so that it wouldn’t get knocked around.
After
breakfast, Tony, Stephanie, Alan, and I walked around the area for a bit. West
of the hotel is a nice overlook, a line of pretty trees (just in bloom), and
towards the south is the Buda Castle (huge complex and grounds). You have great
views from there, plus you can watch the changing of the guards and see the
sights there. It’s beautifully light up at night too, which you’ll see from the
Viking ship. We also visited inside the
St. Matthias Church. Gorgeous!!
Near
our hotel is a bus stop, so we took one that crossed over the Chain Bridge.
From there it was only a minute walk to our boat.
The
four of us checked in on the ship, had lunch (a light offering of consume
soups, sandwiches, and salad) with wine (for a minute I had forgotten the wine
was included and was thinking, “Should I buy a glass?”).
We
walked to the Parliament for our 3pm tour. The Parliament tour was great. It
lasted about 45 minutes. We got to see the royal crown and some of the
beautiful rooms. The main hallway staircase is elegant!
The
Parliament was a 20-minute walk from the Viking boat, which was docked next to
the Chain Bridge. Between both and on the waterfront, is the Shoes on the Danube memorial. It is very
moving. There were many people there photographing the shoes. I wish I had gone
back later.
Back
on board, we explored the boat (takes only a few minutes!); and unpacked some
of our things. Everything arrived safely.
We
all enjoyed our dinner and the service in the dining room. Every night was
great.
More
night photography. This time the chain bridge was lit with white lights. It
made me wonder why it was lit in purple the night before. We walked all the way
to the other side and back.
9 April 2017:
Since
the Viking morning tour included much of what we had already seen, everyone
decided to go out on their own. I wanted to visit the big indoor market but
it’s closed on Sundays. I missed reading that!! Tony and I were so
disappointed. However, we walked around another outdoor market near the indoor
market. We saw many food stalls with delicious meats; as well as various local
items to buy. It was very colorful.
Nearby
is the St. Steven’s Basilica. Tony and I went to the top for city views.
We
walked all the way to the House of Terror Museum (passing the opera house),
which shows the dark side of Budapest’s history. We didn’t use the audio guides
but read the various provided sheets to read. There’s videos, voice recordings,
photographs, and displays of artifacts. With limited time in Budapest, I
probably should have picked a happier place to visit; but I’m glad I went. This
was a terrible part of history.
The
ship’s captain and staff were introduced to everyone before dinner in the
lounge.
After
the welcome dinner (we sat with Lee and Kathy; excellent dinner of Chateaubriand),
many people went the top level of the boat to photograph the night scenery of
Budapest as we left the city. We past the Parliament building, all lit up. I
wish I had used my wide-angle lens, as at one point I couldn’t get it all in.
We were passing by very close to the building.
Some
Onboard Information
The
boat:
The boat holds about 190 passengers. All cabins have water views, although you
need to stand on your tiptoes, unless you’re tall, to look out the small
windows in the "submarine" or "aquarium" class
cabins. As I previously stated, we had a french balcony cabin, in which we
enjoyed having the large floor to ceiling window open for fresh air and for the
views. Some people say not to bother with a balcony or french balcony cabin, as
most times it's blocked by another boat when docked. I was told by one staff
member that Budapest and Vienna were the two big ports that boats are docked
side-by-side. When that happens, passengers in the outer boats must walk
through the lobby of the other boats to get to land. On our day of arrive, our
boat was closest to the dock. In the late afternoon, the boats switched out and
we ended up with river views.
Food/Dining:
Unlike
a regular cruise where there are lots of dining options and throughout the day
and night, Viking serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That’s it. There are
coffee/tea stations on each side of the boat, located right before entering the
bar/lounge area. Be sure to try their cookies that are in a few baskets.
The chocolate cookies were the best!! I had read they go quickly but anytime we
walked by there were cookies.
Dinner is served in the dining room from 7pm to 9pm. I believe you can have a
casual dinner in Aquavit terrace (nice indoor/outdoor area with lots
of windows), but we ate in the dining room every night. The
portions of the food were small to average. Sometimes we would get two
appetizers. Overall very good food and a nice variety every night. They also
had their “always available” foods, like Caesar salad, steak, chicken, etc.
Only one time did Tony and I request another dish, as they had served Zwiebelrostbraten, which
it was very dry.
Dinner is served in the dining room from 7pm to 9pm. I believe you can have a
casual dinner in Aquavit terrace (nice indoor/outdoor area with lots
of windows), but we ate in the dining room every night. The
portions of the food were small to average. Sometimes we would get two
appetizers. Overall very good food and a nice variety every night. They also
had their “always available” foods, like Caesar salad, steak, chicken, etc.
Only one time did Tony and I request another dish, as they had served Zwiebelrostbraten, which
it was very dry.
The farewelldinner was very nice and we all
received a signed menu (although they messed up the date by one day) for a
souvenir. Dinner was surf and turf. The ‘turf’ wasn’t a filet mignon and
overcooked for my taste (rare). It seemed that the least amount of cooking was
medium-rare. The lobster tail was small, only half a tail, so I asked for
another one. The second one was much better and made up for the overcooked
meat.
Drinks: Yes, you can bring
your own wine/alcohol on board without any questions. You
can bring your wine to dinner (or the lounge) and not get charged any corkage
fee. Tony would pour himself a vodka drink, I would have a glass of wine and we
would bring it to the lounge before dinner.
Drinks at the bar are
reasonably priced. Tony would order a vodka drink, 6 euros. I would sometimes
order an amaretto, 5.50 euros. A limoncello was 5 euros. One evening after dinner
I ordered an amaretto. One of the bartenders brought it over and it was half
the amount than the other ones I had previously! I refused it. It didn’t even
look to be an ounce! A bar manager came over and said that pour was the correct
amount. I told him all the previous ones were larger in size (the same with a
few friends that ordered along with me), to which he replied, “Then the
bartenders have been pouring incorrectly and I will fix it.” He offered to buy
me the drink, which I accepted and appreciated. I certainly hope the bartenders
didn’t get into any trouble.
Dress Code: None! Casual attire. Sometimes I changed into a
pair of black leggings with a nicer top, while other times I kept what I had on
during the day for dinner but would change into another pair of shoes. Tony
brought a sports jacket and wore it for 30 minutes. No one wore suits or
anything fancy. Relax, pack less, and enjoy the cruise.
Room
service:
None. There's an ice machine down the hallway (ice bucket in the cabin along
with a bottle of water every night). If you want wine glasses just go to the
lounge and get some.
Entertainment: Bobby, piano player
most nights. Cultural entertainment (Vienna singers, German performers), a
cooking demonstration, German language lessons, etc.
Rough waters: None. Hahahaha. Most times I didn’t feel like I was on a
boat. Just a very smooth ride. With the window open in our room, we could hear
the water against the boat, which was very soothing.
The
ports - and daily included tours:
At
each port, Viking provides a map and a small card with the current address
where the boat is docked in case you get lost. They also provide bottled water,
which Tony and I didn’t like. It’s mineral water with too much salt!
10 April 2017,
Bratislava:
Our arrival to Bratislava wasn’t until about 2pm. We had the morning to enjoy
the scenery along the Danube. This was the day we went through some locks,
which was neat to see. All the other locks we went through were done at night.
The boat positioned itself in the lock, the back locks closed, we watched the
water/boat rise; then once to the right level, the front door of the locks
opened. Afterwards, we toured the tiny wheelhouse. Unlike a ship’s bridge where
there are a dozen officers and all sorts of high tech equipment, only one
officer sits inside. Very basic equipment but modern.
While
at lunch, the hotel director sat with us. It was very enjoyable. I saw him
later in the cruise dining with other people. He was very personable.
It
was a beautiful and sunny day in Bratislava. We had a little time to kill
before the tour, so Stephanie, Alan, Tony and I walked around the area near the
boat.
There
were two tours, a walking tour and a bus tour. The bus tour gets you to the
castle at the top of the city. As much as I wanted to do the walking tour, I
wanted to see the castle. We didn’t go inside but the area is lovely. The
baroque gardens weren’t quite in bloom yet but I imaged it would be beautiful
soon.
The
old town center is quite charming, so we just spent the afternoon walking
around. We also visited inside the St. Martin’s cathedral. It wasn’t quite
spectacular as the others we had already seen.
Stephanie
and Alan were eyeing a beautiful chandelier (lots of shops with crystal
products), but in the end they didn’t buy it. They did take the stores card for
future reference.
After
dinner (beef carpacio, tomato caprese, and grilled shrimp), Viking provided
some evening entertainment – opera singers getting us ready for Vienna the next
day.
Outside,
Alan, Carol, and I took some shots of the bridge near us (the colors on the
bridge kept changing) and the UFO restaurant bar further down from us. It was a
place I wanted to visit but didn’t make it there.
11 April 2017, Vienna: The minute we stepped off the boat, Tony
said, “Vienna smells like a pastry shop.” How wonderful!
Viking
provided a bus tour around the city center passing many important buildings
followed by a walking tour in the heart of the old town area. You can’t walk
from the port to town…well, you can but it takes close to an hour (I know, we
did that going back to the ship!).
After
the tour, the eight of us visited St. Stephen's Cathedral. Don’t miss the views
from the top (there’s an elevator), especially the colorful roof of the
cathedral.
We
went to the fabulous Capuchin
Crypt (Kapuzinergruft), (https://www.kapuzinergruft.com/site/en/home) burial
place of the Hapsburgs. This was recommended to me by my friend Carolyn. There
are 145 royalties entombed here. Some of the sarcophagi were
spectacular. As you walk from the entrance way to the end, you see how times
have changed from the very opulent to plain sarcophagi.
Vienna is famous for its cafes, so we stopped to have
drinks. I don’t drink coffee so I ordered hot chocolate. Wow! Best. Hot. Chocolate. Ever!!
Heading further west is a large marketplace. Lots of
food! Tony and I shared a wiener schnitzel for lunch. Thank goodness we shared,
as it was huge! We enjoyed it because
the breading was very thin, the meat tender and not greasy at all from being
deep fried. I think we paid 11 euros for lunch, which included a mini bottle of
white wine that we also shared.
Stephanie had gone back to the boat; the other four going
in their own direction. Tony, Alan, and I continued our day and walked to the
town hall, gardens, the Votivkirche, (a neogothic
church), and other sites in between.
Instead of taking the metro back to the boat, we decided
to take the tram to the metro closest to the boat. Well, we screwed up. While
at the park near the Votivkirche, a
young woman overheard us talking about figuring out how to get back via the
tram. She suggested a particular tram. Looking on the map, it seemed very close
to the port. Not so. We could have walked 10 minutes to get to the stop where
we got off. It was a long walk to the boat and by the time we got to the boat,
my feet were ready to fall off.
Just before getting to the boat, there is a beautiful
church, Heiliger Franz von Assisi (St. Francis of
Assisi). We didn’t go inside but took pictures of the church.
This was the night we had Zwiebelrostbraten, which
was overcooked/dry for our taste. The dining room manager was very apologetic
and got us something different. Later in the lounge, one of the bartenders came
over with a bottle of red wine for Tony and me stating it was from the dining
room manager. It was certainly not necessary,
but much appreciated for his extra attention.
12 April 2017,
Durnstein and Melk:
Durnstein: No tour was provided, as this was a very small and charming town
with cobbled streets, vineyards along the sloping hills and the Blue Monastery
Church and Abbey (3.50 euros) – very easy to do on your own. High above the
town is an old castle where King Lionheart
was imprisoned in 1192 during the third crusade. We walked partially up the
hill for great town views. Tony continued to the top while I waited at the first
lookout point. I had been having problems with my left eye and for two days I
went without wearing a lens in my left eye. My eye did clear up, thank
goodness.
At
the end of the town is a small cemetery. There’s a small crypt filled with
bones. They were the bones of Austrian/Russian soldiers that fought against
Napoleon I French troops.
Back
on the boat, we had scenic views as we cruised to Melk. We sat up top for a
while listening to the commentary provided by Debra (cruise director). It was
pretty cold and windy, so we ended up inside looking from the floor to ceiling
windows in the lounge. When I would see something of interest to photograph, I
would just pop up to the top level.
In
Melk, buses were waiting for us for our visit to the Abbey. Fabulous!! We only had a short time in Melk. After our
Abbey tour, we walked down to the town. The others took the bus back to the
boat. We stopped for drinks at Madar café central Melk before walking back to
the boat. Charming town, which was very quiet in the late afternoon.
There
was evening entertainment during dinner along with a special dinner menu. You
had a choice of the Taste of Austria or you could just go up to the buffet area
and select your foods (which had a lot more choices the tasting menu). On each
table were platters of meats, pretzels, cheese, pickled vegetables. A lot of
food! At the buffet, various sausages
had been grilled. There were also two kinds of schnitzel (one was more tender
than the other), potato dishes, salads, etc.
After
dinner, the kitchen was open for a quick tour, followed by dancing in the
lounge.
13 April 2017, Linz: The Viking
excursion for the day was a visit to Český Krumlov
(CK), a UNESCO world heritage site. Since Tony, Stephanie, Alan and I would be
heading to Prague via CK at the end of our cruise, I arranged for our
transportation service to stop in CK for four hours. This way we could enjoy
Linz.
It
was a rainy morning in Linz. Our tour was on a small, bright yellow train
around town, followed by a walking tour. Our guide showed us one building
(location of the tourist office) that had a small balcony. This is where Hitler
gave a speech in 1938. He lived in Linz when he was young.
As
it was still raining, the four of us decided to have lunch back on the boat and
wait to see if the rain would stop. It did and blue skies popped out. Stephanie
stayed behind, and the three of us explored more of Linz.
Before
dinner, there was a captain’s toast to say farewell. Also, a couple of days
earlier, the hotel director challenged the passengers with a game. We were to
find the longest German word in one of the towns. Stephanie was the
winner!
Surf
and turf for dinner followed by evening entertainment of singers.
Linz
is known for it electronic industry. From where we were docked, across the
river is the Ars Electronica Center, which, “focuses
on society, technology and life in the future.” At night it was lit up, colors changing every
several seconds. More night photography!
14 April 2017, Passau: I think Passau was
one of my favorite ports because of its colorful buildings, the small streets,
and great views from the fortress Veste Oberhaus.
Flowers were in coming into bloom everywhere (well, in all the other ports
too). Passau sits on the confluence of three rivers: Danube, Inn and the Ilz.
It’s a very pretty area.
We had the typical morning walking
tour, which provided an overview of the town; and a short visit inside the main
cathedral.
Lunch
on board with a banana split for dessert.
Later,
we took a small bus to the fortress and hiked back down. I was interested in
looking at cuckoo clocks but the one store that was recommended by a fellow
passenger was closed.
On
the menu for our last dinner on the boat included herb-crusted rack of
lamb!
Off
to Prague:
It
was time to say goodbye to Viking and continue our trip to Prague.
Breakfast
was served in the dining room as usual. Rooms were already quickly cleaned for
the next guests as a lot of passengers were off the boat very, very early. I
believe breakfast started around 2:30am!! When we’ve left our other cruises, it
always seemed some of the staff had already forgotten about us, as they
prepared for the next set of passengers. It always felt cold. Not so with the
staff on Viking. They were just as friendly as on day one.
Our
transportation service was through Martin Stitch, info@taxi-transfers.cz, www.Taxi-Transfers.cz. All correspondence with Martin was
prompt and friendly. I had a few other companies on my list but picked him
based on some of the reviews. I know I wouldn’t go wrong if I had chosen
another company.
Stephanie,
Alan, Tony and I were picked up at 9:15am. It took a little over 2 hours to get
to Český Krumlov (CK) where we would spend
some time before continuing to Prague. Along the way, it rained lightly; and it
was very cold. Our driver, Patrik, stopped at one point for photo ops at a
lake/camping area, but it was so cold outside, I quickly got back in the van.
Upon arrival in CK, Patrik stopped at
a lookout point over the town. He said we arrived a little early to meet our
guide, so he gave us the time for some wonderful photo ops and then a bathroom
break at a nearby gas station (similar to a 7-11).
In CK, we met up with Olly (oldriskab@gmail.com), our guide. Martin hired her to take
us around for two hours (56 euros for the four of us). Next time
I’ll avoid the middleman and hire a guide directly. Olly was born and raised in
CK so she provided us with a nice walking tour. In fact, she is a freelance
tour guide and sometimes works for Viking providing tours to those that want an
easy walking tour.
CK was never bombed during WWII and is
one of the best-preserved renaissance towns in the Czech Republic. It's
charming! It's crowded! It’s touristy! And lots of photo ops and shopping. Our
tour ended at the chateau located at the highest point in town. There’s also a
beautiful tower for city views. We didn’t want to waste the time in line and
going up the tower, especially since we already had great views from the
chateau.
After
our time with Olly, we had lunch at U
Dwau Maryi, Parkan 104, Cesky Krumlov 381 01, Czech Republic, www.2marie.cz/1/en/normal/the-house-u-dwau-maryi-at-two-maries-/a place that was on
my list that I put together for the trip. Olly agreed it was a good choice,
except she said the white wine is terrible. It overlooks the river but the
tables with the views were already taken.
I
ordered a glass of red wine and it came in a large ceramic cup – it almost
passed for a small wine carafe! Lunch consisted of typical Czech foods (chicken
with tarragon and potatoes for me; smoked meat with potatoes and cabbage for
Tony) and for the two of us it came to 400 Kc, about 16 euros.
I
think most of us napped on the way to Prague. I was tired too but wanted to see
the beautiful countryside. There were a lot of low rolling hills, which
reminded me of central Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Prague
is a huge city, but the old town area is small and walkable. We arrived about
6pm to our hotel, Residence Leon
D'Oro. The hotel is in a
very good location, only a few minutes’ walk to the old town square; the Tesco
(department store with a big grocery store in the basement) is a 5-7 minute
walk away; the Mustek metro station
about the same distance on the same street as Tesco and another one towards the
river. There's also a daily permanent market down the street with food and
locally produced souvenirs and crafts (Havelské tržiště Market).
We
had room402 and Stephanie and
Alan had 406, right across from
ours. We originally had 413 but I wanted a room with a kitchenette. Also, the
shower leaked from the bottom of the shower doors. We could change rooms the
next morning before going out for the day.
Avoidroom 413 only because of the shower. I booked via booking.com for a total of 873.40 euros for the
seven nights. We had to pay the entire bill upon arrival, which was unusually
but we were fine with that. Staff not overly friendly (but not unfriendly
either) except Sonia who always had a smile on her face. Nice buffet
breakfast included in the price of the room. There are no safes in the room.
Refrigerator kept our wine and sodas cold.
We
hit the nearby grocery store for bottled water, wine, snacks. Tesco is about a
5-7 minute walk from the hotel.
Our
time in Prague was spent exploring the area and enjoying the atmosphere of the
town. It’s beautiful!! I loved the
architecture and small streets. However,
it did take a couple of days to get used to getting around. The streets are not
in a grid and there’s a lot of small streets. Once we figured things out and
used a particular building here or there as a landmark, we got around easily.
Some highlights of
Prague:
The
most beautiful spot is the old town square with the church, town hall, and town
hall tower (take the elevator up to the top for fabulous views; 250 CZK each)
with the old astronomical clock.
Charles
Bridge: Wow, that bridge was packed with people. Hard to get decent photos, but
great views from all around. We didn't get the chance to go to the top of the
tower at the bridge. Suggest you do so. There were street performers and people
selling photographs, jewelry, souvenirs, and artwork.
Wallenstein
Palace Gardens: Beautiful gardens with sculptures and peacocks!
Prague
Castle: Pricey. There are two types of tickets, in which we went with the
cheaper tickets (250 Kc each) which included the old royal palace, the Basilica
of St. George, the Golden lane (lots of small houses), and St. Vitus’s
Cathedral. We did a lot of walking all around the area. 50 Kc to take photos
inside any place visited.
Vyšehrad: A beautiful, peaceful and quiet area of town,
which is the location of an old fortress, church, and cemetery. Nice panoramic
views too. Since there are plenty of things to see and do, along with day
trips, I wouldn’t put this on the top of my list.
Walking tour: I wanted to do a free walking tour
with the company that has the green umbrellas in the old town square but we
didn't get to spot at the right time (11am). We went with another company
(Sandemans Neweurope, http://www.neweuropetours.eu/Prague/en/home?date=28/04/2017&tour=595) but after Veronica
announced "3 hours plus a break in between" we knew we would fall out
from the tour half way through. We tipped 10 euros.
Our Day trips:
Kutna Hora: The four of us took the train to Kutna Hora,
which was about an hour from Prague. At the train ticket office, we got a group
booking, so the tickets were less expensive than booking separately. That was
nice! The frustrating part, and it’s
typical in most European train stations, is having to wait to see what track
the train will be on and then having to find the track! However, we managed
well.
In
Kutna Hora, we walked from the station to the center of town. It was very quiet
that day. The town square is pretty with cafés in the area. Not much was open.
We
visited the St James Church and St Barbara’s church (an incredible gothic
church). Close to the church is a nice
little restaurant called Restaurant
Kometa, www.restaurantkometa.cz. Both Stephanie and
I ordered the garlic soup. That was really tasty! The guys had the schnitzel and we also
ordered a plate of vegetables. Total for all four of us to include a coke, a
beer and a glass of wine was 468 Kc, or about 21.30 euros.
We
took the train, just a few minutes ride, to Sedlec. Here you want to visit the
Kostnice Sedlec Ossuary, which is the church of the bones. The bones are from
approximately 40K-70K people from the 1600’s. The bones are displayed in
various manners. One such display is of a coat of arms. Quite interesting and
bizarre at the same time. You can rent an audio guide for 20 Kc – just get one
and share with your spouse, as that’s what the woman in the ticket booth said
to do.
Near
the Ossuary was a big festival with food stalls, games, and rides. Easter was
being celebrated everywhere and all week long.
The
train back to Prague was full – standing room only. Ugh!
Tired feet and I had to stand an hour! We think it was because students
were going back to school after the Easter holiday weekend.
Plzeň: On our last day in Prague, we headed to Plzeň
(Stephanie and Alan went off to do something else). Tony's
a beer snob. He makes his own beer at home and understands the laws of making
beer they way the Czech did and started about 170 years ago. We took the metro
to the end of the yellow/B line and then a Student Agency bus called RegioJet (www.studentagencybus.com/) to Plzeň.
Metro tickets for 90 minutes is 32 CK; the bus 100 CK one way per person.
That's about $4!! Cheap.
There
were only three seats left on the 10am bus. We asked about buying return
tickets once in Plzeň, as we weren’t sure what time we wanted to return. The
young woman simply stated, "It's
Friday." Meaning we needed to buy our return tickets immediately. We bought
tickets for a 5pm return. On the way to Plzeňwe didn’t sit together but did on the way
back to Prague.
The
bus is like an airplane on the road! You can get complimentary coffee,
tea, or hot chocolate; and complimentary headphones to watch movies or listen
to music, even a newspaper to read if you wish. There’s even a bathroom
onboard. The ride was about 65 minutes long. Nice countryside scenery.
When
we arrived in Plzeň, we had to walk a bit into the center of town, and
then a little further to the brewery. When we got there, we saw that the next English-speaking
tour was at 1pm. We bought our tickets (200 Kc each) and walked around the
brewery grounds and checked out the gift shop.
I
recommend if you plan to take a day trip to Plzeň, get there early to enjoy some of the
town’s sites, the brewery, and lunch. The brewery is a very popular tourist
destination, so book everything in
advance (bus tickets to/from, and the tour itself).Link to the tour: http://www.prazdrojvisit.cz/en/tours/
The
tour lasted about 90 minutes. Very interesting and at the end you get a glass
of unfiltered Pilzner Urquell beer. I'm not a big beer drinker and drank just a
little, but I did enjoy it. Maybe because it was unfiltered. Be one of the first to get your glass of
beer. Tony and I were at the end and then I had to chug down the beer, as
the tour continued. If you’re close to the front of the line, you can relax and
enjoy your beer.
We
ran into a fellow Viking cruiser, Dave. He was spending time with his nephews
in Germany and they were traveling around together. We all sat together for
lunch at the brewery’s restaurant, Na
Spilce. I had a mushroom soup and a nice salad with baked goat cheese. It
was a nice change from all the meat, sausages, and potatoes on this trip. Tony
had a beef goulash. Prices were reasonable (339 Kc, about 13 euros), which was
a surprise. I was figuring prices would be high because we were at the brewery.
Tony
and I had enough time to walk back to the center of town, check out the interior
of the church for a few minutes and walk to the train station for our 5pm ride.
Dining
in Prague:
With
Easter being celebrated all week long, reservations were mandatory. On our
first night, we were turned away but were able to make reservations for our
last night in town. We were able to find another place. Afterwards, we made two
reservations and winged-it the other nights. All the places we ate in were very
close to our hotel, Residence Leon D’Oro, and the old town square.
Restaurant V Cipu
There
is a second location Vladislavova 1719/1, Praha, 110 00. http://www.vcipu.cz/en/vladislavova
Typical
Czech food. Very casual place. For dinner on our first night, we walked to a
nearby place, Mlejnice, but we were
turned away. I made reservations for the next possible day (Friday!). We walked
around the area and ended up here. We ate here twice as it was easy to get
into. The food was good. Flirt, have fun with the waitress and she’ll smile and
laugh with you. I say this because many Czech’s we came across seemed unhappy
or at least very reserved. I had the grilled pork tenderloin with chanterelle
mushrooms sauce, and a side dish of potato croquettes (many Czech restaurants
don’t include sides with the entrées); Tony had Milano Steak, which was chicken breasts with sun-dried
tomatoes, ham baked with cheese. Dinner was 597 Kc, about 27 euros.
Giovannis Pizzeria
Ristorante
Excellent
pasta dishes. Nice atmosphere. Reservations mandatory. I had the lasagna
All’Emiliana. Tony had a pasta dish with chicken and spinach in a light cream
sauce. Everything was very good.
Trattoria by Giovanni; Zelezna 8, Prague 110 00, Czech Republic. www.trattroria-by-Giovanni.cz.
This is owned by Giovanni’s (above) and is just around the corner on Zelezna. Fantastic pizzas and
easily matches the pizza we had in Naples Italy. Before dinner, Tony, Alan and
I went to the Charles bridge for sunset photos. By the time we were done it was
about 8pm. On the way back to the hotel we stopped here and asked about
reservations. There were plenty of available tables. I asked Tony to get a
table while Alan and I went back to drop off our camera gear and to get
Stephanie. 10 minutes later and back to the restaurant the place was 100%
filled!! Our table was for 6 people. Two young women walked in and the waiter
asked if they could join us. Sure!! They
were on vacation from Germany. We all had a great time that night. Dinner for Tony and me (a pizza that we
shared, two wines, and a beer): 495 Kc or about 19 euros.
U Modré Kachničky
Michalska
16 Praha 1. http://www.umodrekachnicky.cz/en/michalska+420 224 213 418, retro@umodrekachnicky.cz
This
is an upscale restaurant, lovely, cozy atmosphere, with professional and
delightful service by the waiters. Duck is the specialty in this place. Food
was excellent and filling. A piano player added
to the great atmosphere. This
was our ‘splurge’ dinner, although we found it reasonably priced based on what
we ordered: $58 for Tony and me. We shared a duck foie terrine appetizer (the
portion was more for just one person). I ordered the duck with Brussel sprouts
and Tony had a rabbit dish. I had a kir to start and then a glass of red wine;
beer for Tony. The entrée portions were generous. Best meal of our trip.
Mlejnice – Kožná,14, +420 224 228 635, www.restaurace-mlejnice.cz, Prague 1 Old Town.
We dined here on our last night. Typical Czech food, very food. Very good
schnitzel. Must have reservations.
Mike’s Cafeteria, ul. Michalska 27
Simple
lunch. Sat upstairs. This is the place that automatically charged us in USD
rather than local currency. Total bill for Tony and me (beef goulash, beef
goulash in a bread bowl; beer, wine) came to $23.18 and it should have been a
couple of bucks less. At least the bill wasn’t huge.
One
night the four of us picked up food at the Easter market/festival in the old
town square and had a picnic in our room along with our drinks. It was the cheapest
dinner of the trip.
Summary:
We
had a great time on this cruise and post-cruise time in Prague. I really
enjoyed being on the Viking boat cruising down the Danube. It would have been
nice if the cruise was a few days longer and with more time enjoying the
scenery of the Danube.
The
service, the food, and the entertainment on board were very good. Loved having
wine at lunch and dinner.
We
enjoyed making new friends and hanging out with old friends.
Up
next is a Celebrity cruise on the Reflection but I hope to get another Viking
cruise in the next couple of years, maybe on the Rhine.
Monica Pileggi
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