Castles Along the Rhine and Danube-Long

[Talisker92]

We found a cruise called,”Castles on the Rhine and Danube” on Vantage Travel's River Odyssey that fit the bill. The cruise goes from Budapest to Amsterdam.

 

BUDAPEST

Budapest is a beautiful, baroque capital draped over several hills on a gentle curve in the Danube, with a city center that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the Buda side of the river, we visited the storybook Fishermen’s Bastion, which offers stunning views of Pest. When we were there in the winter, it was so foggy we could not see the Danube, let alone the view of Pest.

The next morning I set off to visit the Budapest Synagogue, one of the largest in the world. This stunning temple was constructed between the years 1844-59 according to Ludwig Förster's plans. The second largest synagogue (the largest stands in New York) in the world can take in 3,000 people. Its Byzantine-Moorish style is fascinating and remindful of monuments in the Middle-East. Two onion-shaped domes sit on the twin towers at 43 m height. The towers symbolize the two columns of Solomon's Temple. The spacious interior has equally rich decorations. A single-span cast iron supports the 36 foot wide nave. The seats on the ground-floor are for men, while the upper gallery has seats for women.

In the courtyard behind the synagogue there was a beautiful metal sculpture called the “Tree of Life”.

On our way to Vienna from Budapest, we had to make an unscheduled stop at Estergom to pick up some passengers who had been delayed by their airline. The cathedral at Estergom in the final resting place of Cardinal Mindszenty, who was best know for his opposition to the Communist regime in Hungary

 

VIENNA

After picking up the passengers we sailed up to Vienna. We attended a talk about Europe’s rivers, and their important role as ancient “highways” and their continued prominence in daily life and commerce.

After lunch, we arrived in Vienna and took a tour of sites associated with great classical composers who lived in Vienna. We went to the Vienna concert hall, and visited the Brahms room and the main concert hall.

In the evening we took an optional tour to on of the most famous “Heuringens”, or wine taverns. The Wolff opened in 1609, which was before the Pilgrims landed! The food was great, with all kinds of “wursts”, and we sampled some of the local wines. We were also entertained by a singer and an accordionist.

The next morning we took a tour of the Ringstrasse, which are a series of streets that circle (ring) the city. We toured the National Library, which was quite impressive, and reminded me of the library in Melk Abbey.

In the afternoon, we did what we like best- tour on our own. We had a light lunch, so we sort of ate our way through Vienna. After walking by the palace, our first stop was at a sidewalk café where we had a pannini sandwich and some unusual iced tea. We sat and people watched for a while, then headed down to Stephensplatz (St. Stephen’s Plaza), which is a huge pedestrian area dominated by the cathedral. Our next stop was at a stand that sold bratwurst, and our final stop was at a restaurant for a Sacher Torte.

As we were sitting in the square, the heavens opened up! Of course our umbrellas were in our cabin on the ship, so we decided to wait it out. When it became obvious it was not going to let up for a while, I ran across

the square to a shop a bought a cute white umbrella with musical notes all around it. It will make a nice souvenir of Vienna.

That evening we were treated to a classical concert at the same hall we had gone to on our Xmas cruise. The hall is beautiful and the chandeliers were quite elegant. The orchestra played a number of pieces by Mozart and Strauss, and there were some arias performed as well as a couple dancing. They danced a classical dance, and one cute one of the “Champagne Polka”

 

WACHAU VALLEY

After Leaving Vienna, we cruised the picturesque Wachau Valley, known for its wines. We passed a number of small towns, each with its own charm. One of these was Durnstein, known for its blue bell tower. We also passed the huge Melk Abbey, with its enormous library.

 

PASSAU

Passau is at the junction of 3 rivers; the Danube, the Inn, and the Ilz. Inside St. Stephen’s Cathedral —beautifully decorated with frescoes and has the world’s largest pipe organ. The organ has 17,388 pipes and 231 registers. When we were here last time, the concert season was over. We were there on a Sunday, so there would be no concert as mass was being celebrated. There was a high mass at 9:30 AM, and we decided to go to. The high mass is celebrated as a more formal mass, and would include the choir and the organ. At the end of the mass, the organist treated the congregants to a 15 minute recessional concert.

I bought a really neat Bavarian hat in Passau, and wore it that night as we were featuring a Bavarian dinner complete with roast suckling pig!

 

DEGGENDORF

The next morning, two funny quotes came to mind- “God willing and the creek don’t rise”; and “don’t raise the bridge-lower the river”. It seems that because of all the rain on the Danube, our ship could not get any further that the town of Deggendorf because there was a railroad bridge we could not get under. Deggendorf is a tiny jewel of a town that ships normally bypass. However, we were stuck there for two days waiting for the Danube

water level to drop.

 

REGENSBURG

We were taken by bus to our next port, 2,000-year-old Regensburg, which was virtual living museum of European architecture. On our walking tour we crossed the medieval Stone Bridge. It is difficult to wrap one’s mind around the fact the bridge was built hundreds of years before America was colonized.

For lunch today we went to a restaurant that has the oldest bratwurst house in Germany, being 850 years old. They were delicious, especially washed down with a good German beer

 

STRAUBING

Since we could not go any further, arrangements were made for us to visit a quaint little town named Straubing. One of the features was a stained glass window of Moses by Durer in St. Jacob’s church. The church was quite large, and had two rows of stained glass windows on the walls. As I was looking for the window, a bell was rung, signifying the beginning of mass. I left the church so as not to disturb the service.

Outside the church, I ran into another couple from the ship, and saw they had a map that indicated there was a synagogue in the town. Armed with my map, I set out to find it, and finally locate it. Unfortunately, like most synagogues, it was closed. I took a picture of the outside and headed back to St. Jacob’s church.

The mass was over, and I finally located the window. It was in the upper bank of windows, and was quite spectacular!

 

NUREMBURG

On our city tour of Nuremberg, we visited the Documentation Center and the Rally grounds as we explored the city’s World War II history. The Documentation Center had displays of how the ****s came to power, and the atrocities committed by them. Up until some years ago, German history was taught up to the end of the

Weimar Republic, with no mention of the ****s. Now, all the history is taught, and school children are taken to the Center as an educational lesson.

We were then taken to the main square, where there is a magical fountain. The story is that if you rotate one of the rings on the fence around it and make a wish, it would come true.

 

BAVARIAN FOREST MUSEUM

It is an ill wind or a rain swollen river that blows no good, as we would have missed the charming towns of Straubing and Deggendorf, as well as the fantastic open air museum. It resembles Skansen Park in Stockholm, where wooden buildings from all over the country have been reerected in this park.

 

FREE AT LAST!!!!

The river level had fallen enough in the two days we were stuck to allow us to get under the bridge! An announcement was made that we would pass under the bridge at about 5 AM. Kathy and I got up and looked out our French Balcony. All up and down our side of the ship, heads were popping out to see. It looked like the “whack a mole” game. As the ship passed under the bridge, a cheer went up from passengers on the upper deck who were sitting on the deck to clear the bridge. We cleared it by 8 inches!! The captain had the

wheelhouse lowered and peeked out through a hatch on the top. He looked like he was driving a tank rather than the ship!

As we sailed past Regensburg to enter the Rhine-Main-Danube canal, we passed two imposing monuments on hillsides.

The Befreiungshalle ("Hall of Liberation") is an historical classical monument upon Mount Michelsberg above the city of Kelheim in Bavaria. It stands upstream of Regensburg on the river Danube. King Ludwig I ordered the Befreiungshalle to be built in order to ommemorate the victories against Napoleon during the Wars of Liberation that lasted from 1813 to 1815.

Walhalla is an imposing temple in Greek style on a Danube hillside. The Doric marble temple was built for King Ludwig I by Leo Klenze taking the Parthenon on the Acropolis as his model in honor of famous members of the German-speaking world. He chose a hillside overlooking the Danube to erect this edifice.

 

ROTHENBURG

Since we had been stuck in Deggendorf, arrangements were made for us to go to both Rothenburg and Bamberg by bus the same day.

Rothenburg is a charming medieval town, and there is a story that the town was once under siege, and the may was told if he drank a 3 liter pitcher of wine the town would be spared. He did that, and then slept for 5 days after.

The event is commemorated by figures that come out of the town hall windows every hour between 10 AM and 5 PM.

Our first stop was at the St. Jacob’s church, where there was a magnificent wood carved altar done in the 1500’s. The altar pictured the Last Supper, the entry into Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives.

After the church, we had lunch at a delightful restaurant located above the street and shaded by trees. We both ordered a bratwurst platter and got 3 different styles of bratwurst. They were all delicious!

We visited a Christmas store and museum in town whose name was Kathe Wohlfahrt, and it was enormous! There were 3 floors covered with anything and everything to do with Christmas.

 

BAMBERG

Since I had visited Bamberg previously we did not opt for the walking tour, especially after walking all over in Rothenburg in the morning. Bamberg is the center of a rich Bavarian beer-brewing tradition, and their specialty is “Rauchbier” or smoky beer. The hops are roasted over a smoky fire sort of like the malted barley in Scotch

whisky. It did have somewhat of a smoky nose and taste, but was quite good. I found the store that sold it, and bought a 4 pack.

On the way back I took a picture of the city hall, which is in the middle of the river. The reason for this dates back hundreds of years. The clergy wanted it built on the cathedral side of the river, and the laity wanted it built on the other side. The compromise was to build it in the middle, which is the emperor's territory.

 

WURZBURG

We went a tour of the grand Würzburg Residenz, a baroque gilded palace preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After our guided tour, we visited the Residenz’s own wine cellar for a tasting. We had to negotiate about 30 feet worth of steep stairs, and the whole cellar was lit by hundreds of candles. The cellar was enormous, and easily accommodated the 150 or so from our ship.

We sampled wines made from four different grapes: Muller-Thurgau, Sylvaner, Reisling, and a dessert wine.

 

HEIDELBERG

We set off from Frankfort for a full-day excursion to Heidelberg, home to Germany’s oldest college. Arriving in this exquisite town, we toured the 15th-century Heidelberg Castle, an imposing Gothic-Renaissance ruin of red stone, followed by lunch at a local restaurant and some time at leisure to explore the charms of Heidelberg on our own.

 

THE RHINE FINALLY!!

Because of the delay due to high water, we had to bypass the town of Rudesheim. The last time I took this cruise we were stuck on the Main River 3 bridges short of the Rhine. I had purchased a book on the castles along the Rhine on my last trip, but had not seen the castles.

I brought it with me to help identify the 40 odd castles we would see and give some of their history. Some are still ruins, but some have either never been damaged or have been rebuilt.

Due to our delay on the Danube, we did not have time to stop in Cologne.

On our last night onboard, we were invited to sit at the captain’s table. There were 4 other couples invited, and we had previously become friendly with all of them, so it was really a nice dinner.

 

AMSTERDAM

After debarking from our river cruiser, we planned to spend 2 nights in Amsterdam. During that time we plan to visit the Rembrandt and Van Gogh museums, the Sephardic Synagogue and take a canal boat ride at night, as we had done in Venice.

The story and pictures from our cruise are posted on our website:

http://home.mindspring.com/~highlandpark/

[Paulinda]

SJGOCH - I loved your report! Too bad you missed Rudesheim. It's one of my favorite towns in Germany although very touristy!

 

Thanks again.

[Talisker92]

Thank you, but I had been to Rudesheim previously, so it was not too much of a loss

[irwinler]

We're looking at a Vanatage river cruise. Please tell us how you get laundry done on one of those river boats.

NMI

[Talisker92]

We're looking at a Vanatage river cruise. Please tell us how you get laundry done on one of those river boats.

NMI

 

You can have it done by the ship, but we cheated. We had enough clothing for the cruise We spent 2 days in Amsterdam then got on the Star Princess for a 10 day cruise. We did laundry there LOL!!!

[Hydrokitty]

We're looking at a Vanatage river cruise. Please tell us how you get laundry done on one of those river boats.

NMI

 

Been on four Vantage river cruises and had laundry done on all of them! There will be a bag in your cabin with a list of items and prices on it. Just fill out the list, put the laundry in the bag and leave it on the bed. Your cabin steward will take care of it. I know they say 24 hours, but I have never gotten mine back any later than the evening I left it! Everything was cleaned, dried, folded and IRONED! I don't even do that at home! It's not really cheap, but it's not prohibitive either. I find one laundry during a 14 day cruise is fine.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Excellent review! Thank you so much for sharing it!

 

Can you tell me if you were able to add your crew tips to your onboard account? If so, how did you do this? (I have friends that don't want to bring that many Euros with them.) Thanks!

[Talisker92]

Excellent review! Thank you so much for sharing it!

 

Can you tell me if you were able to add your crew tips to your onboard account? If so, how did you do this? (I have friends that don't want to bring that many Euros with them.) Thanks!

 

You can have the crew tips added to your account. You tip the Tour Manager directly. I gave him all my Hungarian money plus some US dollars and Euros.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thank you so much for the help! :)

[Lindypc]

Thanks so much for posting your review, I'm printing it! We're taking this cruise on 11/10 only in the reverse. Sorry about the flooding.

[Wormy53]

I know this is an older post, but just want to thank you for a great report and web site. We booked this trip today. Figured we could go with the suite on a new ship with Vantage! Sounds like you had a great time even with the weather issues. Your continued support of Vantage encouraged me to close the deal. thanks!

[Lindypc]

I know this is an older post, but just want to thank you for a great report and web site. We booked this trip today. Figured we could go with the suite on a new ship with Vantage! Sounds like you had a great time even with the weather issues. Your continued support of Vantage encouraged me to close the deal. thanks!

 

You will have so much fun--as soon as I get my health back, I'm on another one! It was a trip of a lifetime!

[Tyler Twosome]

I know this is an older post, but just want to thank you for a great report and web site. We booked this trip today. Figured we could go with the suite on a new ship with Vantage! Sounds like you had a great time even with the weather issues. Your continued support of Vantage encouraged me to close the deal. thanks!

 

Which date are you taking the River Discovery2 trip? My wife and I are on the June 4th trip from Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

Dennis

[Wormy53]

Which date are you taking the River Discovery2 trip? My wife and I are on the June 4th trip from Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

Dennis

 

10/17/12 - saw on another thread that you were going earlier. Can't wait!:)

[dcruisers]

Comparing Vantage to other cruise lines..as we are researching this same itinerary....do they provide beer and wine for dinner? It appears they do not. Only for the Captains welcome and farewell dinners.

Thanks for the info.