MAIN–DANUBE
CANAL
DANUBE
DANUBE
MAIN
CZECH REPUBLIC
GERMANY
AUSTRIA
HUNGARY
Prague
Budapest
Nuremberg
Vienna
Passau
Regensburg
Krems
C r ui s e
O ve r night in Po r t
GETTING THERE: The 8-day Christmas on
the Danube voyage sails from Budapest
to Regensburg, or vice versa.
From $3,495pp in Standard stateroom
While a yuletide theme pervaded our cruise - the
public areas of our longship, Viking Egil, were dotted
with Christmas trees and decorations - it never felt
over-bearing and one-dimensional. Indeed, our
itinerary had enough to occupy and cheer anyone
not remotely fussed by the festivities. Guided walks
of Regensburg and Passau brought the fascinating
history of these postcard-pretty Bavarian cities to life.
We enjoyed an outing to one of the rustic,
centuries-old heurigen (wine taverns) nestled on
Vienna's leafy outskirts. As we sampled the fruity,
locally-produced tipples, Marek, a charismatic veteran
musician, regaled us on his accordion with Austrian
folk songs and other more famous tunes, notably
"The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss.
We heard more Strauss - and renditions of Mozart
and other great composers - in Viking Egil's Lounge,
a cosy spot for live music, mingling with fellow
travellers and culturally-immersive presentations.
One evening, the ship's jovial German-born hotel
manager, Michael, provided an entertaining insight
into his nation's language and sense of humour, while
another afternoon, the endearing program director,
Edina, spoke about life growing up in Communist-
era Hungary. Another onboard highlight was a
dance lesson where two professionals performed the
classic Viennese ballroom waltz, and guided those
passengers brave enough to attempt the sweeping,
graceful turns themselves.
Sometimes it was lovely just to have some down-
time, either relaxing in our comfortable veranda
stateroom, or strolling, well wrapped-up, on the ship's
open-air Sun Deck.
Our morning's sailing through Austria's misty
Wachau Valley was most enchanting, with
panoramas of ancient terraced vineyards, clifftop
castles and quaint medieval villages. Deepening
our appreciation of this UNESCO World Heritage-
listed region was Edina's commentary, plus a tour
of Göttweig Abbey, a beautiful baroque monastery
tucked in the wooded hills above the Wachau town
of Krems, another port of call on a convivial cruise
that will linger long in the memory.
This page,
clockwise,
from top left:
Itungarran
Kürtöskalács
chimney cakes,
Christmas markets,
Christmas on
board Viking
Opposite:
Regensburg
Christmas
market trophy
VIEW ITINERARY
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