LIVE Tauck: Amsterdam to Budapest 6/29/19-7/15/19

[HBCcruiser]

We did the walking tour of Nurnberg which was ok. Our tour guide walked way too slow for us but it was nice to see the town. She did a nice job of showing us all of the damage done to the town during WWII and the rebuilding that occurred after the war. All of the shops were closed so no shopping for us. Boo!

 

 

[HBCcruiser]

At noon we watched the clock tower do it’s thing. Called a glockenspiel- Very cute. It lasts about 3 minutes. 

 

Tauck gave us $20 Euros each to get lunch on our own. We headed to a pub for lunch. Our new found friends tried the pork knuckles which they said was great. We had some of the sausages and a salad. 

 

[HBCcruiser]

Back at the ship we heard  a great talk about the big locks and man made canal linking the Danube with the Main and Rhine. Really great! Experiencing those huge locks was incredible! To see you floating a ship over a freeway like an overpass is truly amazing! Photos don't do it justice! 

 

[HBCcruiser]

[HBCcruiser]

Dinner was a mix of good and bad. The appetizer was supposed to be grilled foie gras but it was terrible! Nothing like what I’ve had previously.  Everyone at our table sent it back. The main course, veal tenderloin, was good. I’d rate it an 8 out of 10 forks. The chef on this cruise tends to over salt  and over sugar food IMO. We have been asking for low salt options. We never had to do this on our last Tauck River Cruise. I think it’s just the chef. 

Dessert was wonderful! Crepe Suzette! 

 

[HBCcruiser]

After dinner the crew put on a little show. Cute! My new Australian friends introduced me to a nice drink called the Aperol Spritz! Yum!

 

[HBCcruiser]

Day 9: Regensburg. We are a little tired of doing Paula’s and cathedral tours so we are going to do our own thing today. Shop!

 

[HBCcruiser]

Starting the morning off right!

 

[Rnause1950]

Looking forward to your report on this trip.  We did the reverse trip with Tauck a few years ago, Budapest to Amsterdam, and loved the entire experience.

 

travel safe

[OnTheJourney]

17 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

Dinner was a mix of good and bad. The appetizer was supposed to be grilled foie gras but it was terrible! Nothing like what I’ve had previously.  Everyone at our table sent it back. The main course, veal tenderloin, was good. I’d rate it an 8 out of 10 forks. The chef on this cruise tends to over salt  and over sugar food IMO. We have been asking for low salt options. We never had to do this on our last Tauck River Cruise. I think it’s just the chef. 

Dessert was wonderful! Crepe Suzette! 

 

 

The "good and bad" was our experience as well....a few times anyway. I felt that lunch was the best meal of the day. Were really surprised that after dinner, waiters never once came over and asked if we wanted coffee, No big deal but just unexpected. Truly we had significantly better dining room service on the bigger ocean ships. Loved the trip as I've said here several times, but still don't feel that, on the whole, it's quite worth the high cost compared to other cruises. 

[HBCcruiser]

We had a great day shopping and did a ton of walking! Pretty town! Had lunch with our new friends from Australia. Super fun group! Our waiter was... interesting🤣 We’ve decided that German customer service is quite different from the US. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2019 by Host Jazzbeau
dups deleted

[HBCcruiser]

We passed under some low bridges. Wild!

 

The staff said there are low water areas and that our itinerary was changed to allow the boat to dump it’s water in ballasts and lighten its load. We were able to spend more time in town but had to be bussed to the ship which was 45 min away. Not too bad but they are expecting the water levels to get worse in the summer months.

[HBCcruiser]

Sorry about the duplicate photos. Bad WiFi here messing things up. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

Sorry about the duplicate photos. Bad WiFi here messing things up. 

 

De-duped for you.

[HBCcruiser]

Day 10 Passau:

We had perfect weather! We walked around town - so beautiful- then watched an organ concert at the cathedral which was awesome! We saw the mixing of 3 rivers - note the water color change and crossed into Austria. The water is a light green. So pretty!

 

[HBCcruiser]

[HBCcruiser]

Tauck hosted s fruit party in the afternoon. We also got to see the NEW yet unfinished Tauck ship pass us. It’s just a hull. Weird!

 

[HBCcruiser]

[laverendrye]

15 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

We had a great day shopping and did a ton of walking! Pretty town! Had lunch with our new friends from Australia. Super fun group! Our waiter was... interesting🤣 We’ve decided that German customer service is quite different from the US. 

 

 

Can you elucidate on how your waiter was “interesting” and how German customer service differs from that in the US?

[Senga]

I’d love to know if the pastries in your Passau pictures were from the ship or a Pastry Shop in town.  If it’s a Pastry Shop, I’ll be searching Passau high and low!  😜

 

I understand your comment on German waiters being “interesting”.  I too find many quite abrupt which can easily be misunderstood as rudeness.  On the other hand, some American servers have been accused of over familiarity or being too casual!

[Roland4]

4 hours ago, laverendrye said:

Can you elucidate on how your waiter was “interesting” and how German customer service differs from that in the US?

 

Servers in Europe in general, and Germany in particular, are paid a living wage, and tipping is not common. For the most part a "tip" is leaving the "odd" change to the nearest Euro, or at best 5%. The result is that servers tend to be more "business like" in that they take the order, deliver it promptly, and move on, with none of the "fawning" chit chat common to most North American restaurants/bars. It's not rude, it is just efficient. Another thing that is different is that, by and large, most meals are paid in cash and every server carries a large wallet. Where a credit card is used, they also carry the card terminal with them. We travel extensively in Germany and find it is just easier to pay cash in restaurants, unless one is in a higher end establishment. But then, the food is usually better, and cheaper. in the "Bier Stubes".

[HBCcruiser]

Ok so the waiter- he told he was still drunk because he celebrated a birthday with friends the night before 😳. He also forgot to bring soup to someone in our group then got upset when we asked him to remove it from our tab. He said he’d rather just bring the soup. We told him that we had to leave. He then started complaining about other wait staff who were supposed to bring the soup and said he’d have to pay for it. We wound up leaving him a large tip which more than covered for it. Just an odd experience.

 

The bakery was in town. You will walk right by it! So yummy! 

[HBCcruiser]

Dinner last night. Bavarian meal. It was good! 8 out of 10 forks. 

[HBCcruiser]

[HBCcruiser]

Day 11:

We are touring the Abby today then it’s our Vienna Galla night! Everyone is wondering if they will fit in their dress! Me included!🤣🤣