River Cruising 2022
Leaving Budapest
Today we joined our riverboat which will be travelling on a small section of the Danube westbound to Vienna. River cruising is a fantastic way of touring, without having the hassle of packing & unpacking. Our vessel has 80 cabins - accommodating over 150 passengers with almost 50 crew members. Cabins are located on 3 different decks. The cabins on the middle & top decks all have beautiful floor to ceiling windows with Juliet balconies. I’m very impressed with the size & luxurious features of the cabins; definitely in line with hotel bedrooms found in an equivalent 4* hotel. The cabin layout has been thought through carefully with plenty of space to store suitcases etc.
There are 2 dining rooms & several lounges including the whole of the top-deck being a sun-deck with loungers & even a hot-tub…!
Tomorrow brings our first port-of-call; Bratislava, Slovakia.
Bratislava, Slovakia.
We arrived into Slovakia’s capital city Bratislava early this morning. The first thing we spotted from our window was a tall observation tower - This is called the “UFO Tower. “ -Apparently over 95 meters tall - your tickets take you straight to the top in 45 seconds via a speedy elevator!
After our ‘full English’ breakfast we headed out to explore. Like many cities Bratislava has an ‘old town’ and a newer part too. The old town is very pretty; cobbled streets, & houses dating back to medieval times. There are lots of quirky statues in this part of the city - making it a very interesting place to explore. Good fun on foot - but we noticed that there was also a tourist land train circling around & also the hop on / hop off buses were operating tours too. Bratislava Castle sits high on a hill overlooking the old town & is reached by quite a climb with various steps & pathways. It’s worth the effort when you reach the top & you’ll be rewarded with views across Bratislava & of course too - The River Danube. We returned to the ship for lunch . Full board is included on these river-cruises with usually all drinks (including a full selection of alcoholic drinks too) also being included during these meal-times . The food on board has been of an excellent standard - with plenty of choice at lunchtimes, & a four course a la carte meal is served in the evenings. This ship is not a good place for anyone on a diet ?? • however anyone with any food intolerance is treated very seriously- even with a separate welcome meeting on day one of the cruise so that any worries could be addressed.
This afternoon our ship left Bratislava behind & continued our journey meandering along the the river Danube….
Our next stop: Melk, Austria.
This morning when we woke, our ship was already docked close to the pretty town of Melk. About 20 mins walk from where the ship was docked; Melk is as picturesque as you might imagine any Austrian little town could be … cobbled streets, ornate coloured houses with flower boxes on their window ledges, pretty fountain in the main square. Just lovely! Towering over the town of Melk is the magnificent “Melk Abbey” painted in mustard & yellow. The grandeur & scale of this beautiful building is hard to describe but it is a UNESCO site & listed as one of the most beautiful churches in the world. Church feels the wrong word to use - it’s so huge - more like the size of a cathedral. Definitely worth a visit. ..and if you can’t manage the steep hill & many steps to reach it, then taxis are possible. The chapel inside with its huge dome, gold decorations & ornately painted ceilings cannot be described here - but suffice to say it was quite an amazing sight. Next stop: Dürnstein. Austria & The Wachau Wine Valley This afternoon we cruised along the famous winelands region of Wachau on to Dürnstein. This hamlet of tranquil Austrian life can be found adjacent to the Danube. Surrounded by lush, terraced vineyards … It is described as a “place where the soul can breathe” ….. !
Life is so busy at home … Sometimes we just need to feel peace & tranquility. Today I found it here; in Dürnstein.