Need Port Activity suggestions for the Danube Christmas Market cruise

I am planning on going on the Uniworld Danube Holiday Market Cruise on Dec. 16, 2018 as a solo traveler. This will be my first river cruise and I am very excited about the Christmas markets and getting to travel on the Danube thru Europe. I am not one to do the cruise organized tours, but prefer to plan my own adventures. With the ocean cruises there are usually posts about each port and all the activities available, however, I haven't found that on here for the river ports.

The cruise will be stopping in Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Krems, Melk, Linz, & Passau. I'd love to hear ideas/ suggestions for all the ports, although in Linz I already have a general itenerary as I will be traveling to Oberndorf during the day in Linz since it will be the 200th anniversary of the first time Silent Night was sung. I appreciate any advice you can share. Thanks!!

Hello claypot77,

there are lots of suggestions for the ports in the river cruise section, but often a bit hidden among other topics, like taxis, etc. Some of the things that people have done during other seasons are doable in December as well. Passau cathedral St. Stephen is great for concerts. I enjoyed the glass museum. In Melk do visit the abbey and it might work best in the group. In Linz the museum on the river bank is supposed to be great for modern art but you might find it closed by the time you get back from Oberndorf: http://www.lentos.at/html/en/index.aspx This is the tourism website: http://www.linz.at/english/tourism/ Try some Linzer torte.

Vienna, oh my goodness, too much to mention, it really depends on your tastes. Some love the horse show, but I if I had had more I would have gone to see the Secession building (Austrian Art Nouveau).

Bratislava I did not see much of but really enjoyed the old town in the group tour, some nice small shops and an art museum there as well. Bratislava has an opera house that I would have visited had I had had more time.

The group tours are usually good for first orientation in a town and if you think after half the time you would like to do your own thing just tell the guide making sure you know where to find the ship and how to get there in time.

Did not stop at Krems. You might like to read about it: http://www.krems.info/en/welcome/

Budapest is just so big and full of interesting stuff that it is hard to choose something. I went to the Gellert baths (just for seeing) something I might want to do again in December, this time to warm up in the water. :)

Other than that you can spend tons of time at the Christmas markets.

I am sure others that have done this itinerary in advent will answer soon. :)

Oh, and seeing that this is your first river cruise you might like to read the stickies of our host jazzbeau. Lots of information.

Have fun planning.

notamermaid

There is not a lot in Krems itself.

However it should be a short taxi ride (15 mins) from Krems to Loisium Wine Experience. It is part of the Loisium Wine & Spa Resort Langenlois, Loisium-Allee 2, 3550 Langenlois, Austria.

http://www.loisium-weinwelt.at/en/home/

It is a mini-theme park meets wine tour experience. You start off by following the journey of the grape from vineyard, to the press to the bottling process. The tour then goes on to the wine cellars and ends with some wine tasting. You can do this with a real-live guide or with an audio guide.

Interesting even if you are not a wine drinker

Claypot,

I went on this exact cruise in 2015. I did a live day by day report titled, "Day by Day Uniworld's Christmas Market cruise Budapest to Passau Dec 1-8". If you do a search it should be easy to bring up.

I don't think you will find a great deal of information about people planning excursions on their own as most will utilize the included excursions on a river cruise. One thing to keep in mind is that in Budapest, Bratislava, Linz, and Passau you will be most likely be docked right at the Old Town so you will be able to get off the ship and walk to many of the various sights on your own or with the tour. You can also start out with the tour to get an overview then go out on your own as long as you let your guide know you are leaving. You will also most likely meet people on the ship that you may want to tour with.

With that said, here are a few things we did on our own or could have done on our own:

Budapest: We ordered tickets ahead of time for the "Nutcracker" at the Hungarian Opera House in Budapest for the evening we were docked. This was a highlight of the trip. We also hired a driver to take us to the Opera house from the ship, wait for us, then took us for a drive afterwards to the Buda side to Fisherman's Bastion to see the Parliament Building and Pest lit up at night. We walked to the Market Bldg as well as 3-4 Christmas markets on our own. And there was still time to take the group tour with Uniworld

Bratislava: This is the shortest stop we made on the trip. It was a beautiful little town and had our favorite Christmas Market. Very easy to walk on your own through the Old city and see the highlights. This is also the perfect stop to start out with the organized walking tour then once you have the layout of the land to take off on your own.

Vienna: There is so much to do in Vienna but you won't be able to walk off the ship to do it. You will need to utilize public transportation to do so. Or again you could use Uniworld's walking tour to get you to the old town then get your own transportation back. I would highly suggest you do Schonbrun Castle. It was a very nice tour with a great Christmas Market. I would also recommend you take advantage of the concert that evening that Uniworld provides.

Kreis/Durnstein/Melk: Sounds like they changed the itinerary a little in that we didn't get off at Melk. They just made a technical stop, Instead they stopped in Kreis/Durnstein. This was a enjoyable city to just get off the ship and walk the town. It didn't have a traditional Christmas Market. Instead it was more of a Christmas shop. Oddly enough though we bought more ornaments, snow globes, decorations etc... here then anywhere else(best prices). We also while wandering found a small flea market that was fun.

LInz: Sounds like you already have your day planned out. If not definitely take the Salzburg tour. We didn't as we were worn out and wanted a slower paced day. The alternative tour from Salzburg was our least favorite day.

Passau: This was one of our favorite towns just to wander the market, main shopping, etc... We took the provided walking tour to give us a feel plus were able to go to a gingerbread making demonstrations which we enjoyed. Very easy to start off with the tour then go out on your own.

Have fun planning!

We leave today on a similar itinerary. Tickets to Parliament in Budapest and Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna are in my carry on.

Hi claypot77, we've done lots of Christmas markets all thru Europe, many independently and several times on river cruises. My all time favorite is the market in Budapest at Vörösmarty Square. Items at this market, and maybe all in Budapest?, are made in Hungary which makes them unique and not like some of the mass produced items you'll find at most of the other markets. Have a wonderful time.

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Thank you to everyone for taking the time to reply!! Y'all provided a wealth of ideas and resources for me to go thru... I love this part of the process, all the research and planning. :D Thanks again for all the great suggestions and advice!!

I would also recommend you take advantage of the concert that evening that Uniworld provides.

Agree completely! It was a long day in Vienna and we almost skipped the private concert that was offered but were so glad afterward that we didn't miss it!

One other thing we did in Budapest that we really enjoyed was the Christmas Market and Food Tour with Taste Hungary. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g274887-d1943822-Reviews-Taste_Hungary-Budapest_Central_Hungary.html The guide was excellent and spent a lot of time chatting with the two of us. We were able to try a lot of different foods and drinks and ended the tour in a local cafe for dessert and coffee. We felt like we were old friends by the end of the tour.

We also went on a Legenda sightseeing/dinner cruise in Budapest that we really enjoyed.

Vorosmarty Square market in Budapest is carefully vetted for handcrafted Hungarian products. The other markets are not, with locally produced food but the rest the 'made in China' stuff. Focus on Vorosmarty and the surrounding pastry cafes for traditional cultural immersion. There are good potters, an enamel work jeweler, and a knife maker among other craftspeople. The women's handcraft guild stall near the large Christmas trees has fine Hungarian made woven, embroidered, and appliqued textile items - check out the pillow covers. (They seem expensive until you convert the Forint into Dollars.) The textiles in the rest of the city, whether hand or machine made, will be 99% made in China. If you buy paprika, the grocery stores seem to have the fasted turn over and a better place to buy - there is one near the Fisherman's Bastion.

If you buy paprika, the grocery stores seem to have the fasted turn over and a better place to buy - there is one near the Fisherman's Bastion.

Great tip! We bought it at the market, but our guide checked out the dates prior to selecting the package for us. I would have never thought to do that without her!

In Bratislava, the Christmas markets are mainly food. The city hall square market is more traditional, the one in front of the State Theater is food and a lot of Chinese 'stuff'. Next to the French Embassy on the city hall square is a Slovakian crafts shop with a good selection of locally made goods - amazing Easter eggs among other things - including CDs of local music. The strudels are good from the stalls, but beware of the poppyseed strudel - it has almost no sugar and has a very, very dry, earthy taste. It is very unlike the Texas Czech poppyseed kolaches flavor. I love poppyseed baked goods but this was too much for me.

If the weather is fine and it is offered, take the tour to the castle for good views of the city and landscape.

In Passau, take the offered walking tour. It is a small place and you will see the major sites. If there is an organ concert available at the cathedral, try to go as the acoustics are outstanding the and organ magnificent! The ticket will be extra, about $4.00 - cheap I think. However the program I heard (and loved) was Bach, some of it pretty high brow. It may not be your cup of tea. The bakery where you will probably have a 'gingerbread' (think molasses cookies) demonstration is a good place eat. Have been there several times. Their 'Springerle' (anise) cookies in a bag are very good. If you get some to take home, be sure to dunk them in coffee before eating as they can be very hard otherwise.

Bringing home cookies. I always bring home bags of cookies from the Christmas Market trips. Some of them you can buy in the US but they are probably 6 months old. No difficulty with US Customs. When they ask about food, just tell them baked Christmas cookies and cakes. There has never been any problem. Same is true with candy.

The wrapped Stollen (a type of raisin bread) from Dresden with the blue label in the German markets are usually very fresh and travel home well.

In Melk, the tour of the monastery is a must. The interiors are very fine and there is a great view of the Danube valley from in from of the Church. You probably won't hear the organ playing, but the gift shop has a CD of it from a Bach concert.

If you can, walk back through the town and enjoy the small town atmosphere. There is a good pastry shop. The walk back to the ship dock is downhill all the way.

If you buy paprika, the grocery stores seem to have the fasted turn over and a better place to buy - there is one near the Fisherman's Bastion.

Great tip! We bought it at the market, but our guide checked out the dates prior to selecting the package for us. I would have never thought to do that without her!

This is important! I have been told that paprika is considered a 'dirty spice.' It doesn't just get stale, it eventually grows things. You want it fresh!

Very interesting comment about paprika. I've had some for years with no problems (identified by some as little white bugs). This came from a Florida (hot and humid) source. The general consensus seems to be 3-4 years in a tightly closed glass container. The same is true for all the red pepper family. I would be interested to have your source as to the term 'dirty spice'. It does not seem to be common parlance - no info on Google search. Thanks.

Certainly, you would want to buy the freshest paprika available.

Very interesting comment about paprika. I've had some for years with no problems (identified by some as little white bugs). This came from a Florida (hot and humid) source. The general consensus seems to be 3-4 years in a tightly closed glass container. The same is true for all the red pepper family. I would be interested to have your source as to the term 'dirty spice'. It does not seem to be common parlance - no info on Google search. Thanks.

Certainly, you would want to buy the freshest paprika available.

It's from memory, and as they say on wikipedia [needs attribution] -- I couldn't find it either. Maybe it was fake news from a vendor who was touting how fresh his stuff was...

WOW! Thanks, Bubbulz and xmaser, for all the GREAT information!! I'm definitely taking notes! Looks like I'm going to end up on the AMAWaterways Iconic Christmas cruise next year so I'll miss out on Bratislava but the other stops are the same. I'm really looking forward to Budapest so I loved the tips above! At this point in the planning, I'm going to be flying in to Amsterdam and stay a few days, then take the train to Hannover as my great-great-grandparents came to America from Hannover and I've always wanted to visit. After a day or so there, I'm going to take the train to Prague for a few more days before taking the train to Nuremberg to connect up with the ship. So excited and am LOVING all the planning and dreaming in preparation for my European Christmas adventure. Thanks for y'alls help!!

WOW! Thanks, Bubbulz and xmaser, for all the GREAT information!! I'm definitely taking notes! Looks like I'm going to end up on the AMAWaterways Iconic Christmas cruise next year so I'll miss out on Bratislava but the other stops are the same. I'm really looking forward to Budapest so I loved the tips above! At this point in the planning, I'm going to be flying in to Amsterdam and stay a few days, then take the train to Hannover as my great-great-grandparents came to America from Hannover and I've always wanted to visit. After a day or so there, I'm going to take the train to Prague for a few more days before taking the train to Nuremberg to connect up with the ship. So excited and am LOVING all the planning and dreaming in preparation for my European Christmas adventure. Thanks for y'alls help!!

Happy to help! It brings back great memories for me, plus we're planning another Uniworld Christmas Markets trip for next year and adding Prague to our trip for the first time. I'll be living vicariously through you this year. ;) As it is, you're going to some of my favorite places with the visits to Amsterdam and Budapest! In Amsterdam, get a ticket for the Canal Bus. It's a great way to get around and see the city. Also, while in Prague, you may want to consider a day trip to Český Krumlov. We're planning to stop there on our way from Passau to Prague at the end of our cruise.

Sounds like you're planning a great trip!!

I believe the castle at Cesky Krumlov is closed in December. You can check this on the internet.

For me the setting of the Christmas market in the main square in Prague is the most beautiful in Europe. Try to experience it at different times during the day. If you are traveling alone, never go off alone in Prague away from the crowds - this is from a unfortunate personal experience. Prague is a great place but is more dangerous than Germany/Austria. The shops seem to have better goods than the market stalls, but the smell of roasting ham in the square is wonderful.

If you are in Prague for several days and really want to do Christmas markets, get a day tour to Dresden. You can find both bus tours and private tours by Google searching "private tours Dresden from Prague". The historic buildings are beautiful but the market in the Altmarkt is overwhelming. There are 3 additional Christmas markets in central Dresden. I think this is the most impressive of all markets and a necessity for Christmas market connoisseurs. Here you can buy the delicious Stollen very fresh from the bakery. Wrapped, it will travel well back to Texas.

The main Christmas market (Hauptmarkt) in Nuremberg is my favorite (after 7 Christmas market cruises). Fine selection of goods (many made in Germany - especially the pewter tree ornaments (Weinachtsbaumschmuck). The cookie makers have samples; try before you buy.

I believe the castle at Cesky Krumlov is closed in December. You can check this on the internet.

Even if it's closed, there's still a lot to see based on what I've heard from friends who have been there in the winters. We're planning to stop on our drive from Passau to Prague.

If you are in Prague for several days and really want to do Christmas markets, get a day tour to Dresden. You can find both bus tours and private tours by Google searching "private tours Dresden from Prague". The historic buildings are beautiful but the market in the Altmarkt is overwhelming. There are 3 additional Christmas markets in central Dresden. I think this is the most impressive of all markets and a necessity for Christmas market connoisseurs.

Might have to check out the logistics for adding Dresden. Sounds great!

Xmaser, funny you mentioned Dresden... after reading about Hanover, I decided that just going thru it on train and getting to see the area will be enough for me. Time is so limited that even staying overnight in Hanover threw off the rest of the stops. I was trying to decide last night if I should plan to stay a day or two in Dresden and then go on to Prague or use Prague as a jumping off place and do day-trips from it to Dresden and surrounding. I've heard how beautiful Dresden markets are at night so I was hesitant to just do a day trip. The train from Amsterdam to Prague goes thru Dresden so either option is easily do-able. Thoughts?

Also, just thought of this... are trains safe for single women travelers in Europe? I'm assuming they are, but after you mentioned concerns about Prague I started to wonder.

Bubbulz, I'm thinking while I'm in Amsterdam next year that I want to do the Canal tour but at night to see the Light festival. During the day, I'm planning on going to Anne Frank's House, Monet's Museum, and Rembrandt's Museum. Does that sound like I'm squeezing too much in for just 2 days w/ jet lag figured in?

Bubbulz, I'm thinking while I'm in Amsterdam next year that I want to do the Canal tour but at night to see the Light festival. During the day, I'm planning on going to Anne Frank's House, Monet's Museum, and Rembrandt's Museum. Does that sound like I'm squeezing too much in for just 2 days w/ jet lag figured in?

Doing a canal tour at night for the lights sounds like a great idea. You can still use the Canal Bus (it's like a HOHO bus, essentially) to get around during the day - plus it will give you a nice broad view of much of Amsterdam. As far as packing too many sights in, you may have to play it by ear to see how you feel after traveling. We didn't do Anne Frank's house, but it really wasn't a priority for us given everything we heard about the long lines and how claustrophobic it could be. It just wasn't how we wanted to spend our time there.

The long lines for the Anne Frank House aren't an issue if you get tickets online in advance. Inside is claustrophobic, but that is the way they were living. Is it enjoyable? No. But history isn't always. However, if it isn't meaningful to you don't go.

Inside is claustrophobic, but that is the way they were living. Is it enjoyable? No. But history isn't always. However, if it isn't meaningful to you don't go.

Agree with this completely. Different strokes for different folks. Our priorities during our travels aren't necessarily the same as many others.

The one note I'd make about the lines is that even if you have tickets, it's still very slow moving since you trudge along behind the line of folks in front of you as you make your way through. For some, it's obviously worth it in spite of this. For us, not so much ...