Saturday, we pulled our luggage several miles from Hotel
Astoria to the boat docking location. It
was a warm day so several walk breaks were needed to cool down. Only at the last quarter mile did Randy
figure out how to hook the backpack to the pulled luggage, reducing
discomfort. An onboarding bonus was
running into Alan Doyle prior to boarding via the gangplank. Very personable.
The cruise on AmaWaterway’s AmaCerto boat was much more
upscale than anticipated. On checking into our room a bottle of tasty wine was
delivered to our room. We each had a
glass then we went for a walk around Margaret Island. The island had a soft 5K running track around
the island that was very busy with runners and bikers, somewhat like
Manhattan’s Central Park. We parked
ourselves on a bench and watched the world go by for about an hour then walked
around a third of the island.
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| View from Margaret Island of the connecting bridge. |
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| Das boat. |
Upon returning to the boat we saw the first of a common
theme – a killer buffet was available for onboarding guests. We had a nosh and realized each had a half
sandwich from last evenings’ dinner that now seemed destined for the trash can.
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| First of many killer noshes and the obligatory glass of wine. So, so good. |
Most of the passengers are here because of Alan Doyle, and
heavily from Canada. Lucky for use we speak Canadian, Eh. There is a small
group (16 of about 120) who just happens to be on this ride and didn’t have any
idea who Alan Doyle was. Hope they like
the music. These rooms are huge compared to our past riverboats. The meals are high class, with dinners having
4 to 5 courses. The chefs try to have
local foods depending on which country we are in. People don't dress up as much as expected. Wine
and beer were available with all meals plus at a daily happy hour, therefore we
consumed too much. Morning yoga was
available but never went. The
boat had a top-side pool. We were the
first ones in and almost the only ones that went in. Most of the
time it was either closed because the walls were folded down to go under a
bridge or it was just too cold outside.
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| Why yes I'll have more wine. |
Sunday: we did a spectacular evening cruise around
Margaret Island, past the brightly lit Parliament, Castle Hill and docked next
to the Central Market.
Monday: bus trip
around Budapest covering all the same stuff, and the guide added a lot of
details. 4pm
was time to cast off. That
evening was the first Alan Doyle concert and was the usual greatness.
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| First of 4 concerts. |
Tuesday: woke up at Bratislava, Slovakia, and did a 2-hour
walking tour. The guide was very proud of his city's heritage. Unlike
Budapest which goes back only to the 1700s and 1800s, Bratislava has
buildings going way back to the 1200s. Some
unique sculptures. Peeping Tom coming
out of a manhole. A little character was
built into a small recess in the building.
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| The peeping tom. |
Wednesday: city tour of
Vienna. The
UNESCO protected inner city, district 1, is lined with huge 1 family mansions
of Old. In the afternoon, we went to
Albertina Museum to see some impressionist paintings.
$50 fine for not cleaning up after your dog. Love it. They had a designated graffiti area
along the Little Danube and none elsewhere. Bill joined a
mother and her niece for an evening symphonic concert in one of the personal
homes/mansions. The
ballroom held 400 seats. They
were playing Mozart and Strauss. They got back in time for the last third of
Alan Doyle's second concert.
Thursday: early 8a
start for an all-day tour involving 4 hours on a bus - neither of us was into
it. Both
decided to stay on board and sail down the Danube. This area was listed
as the most beautiful section, with small medieval towns in areas dating back
to the crusades. Lock gate doors drop
down into the earth to open. Different
than the clamshell gates in France.
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| When first entered into a lock. |
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| And 20 minutes later. |
Moved on to Grien. Castle
walking tour by a real cutie. Her
favorite word was to say caboose to describe the last person in line. The tour
ended with champagne and
local folk dances by a senior group in the castle.
Friday: we sailed overnight
to Linz. We did the morning city walk
tour. Gas cost €1.30/L. After a brunch
aboard our boat, I took a bus to Salzburg. Famous for birthplace of Mozart and
salt mines. Hence, its name. For the
Salzburg hour free time, I hiked up to the fortress for some photos and back
down and then had a beer in an outdoor Biergarten. And then a second beer. Why not; it’s a sunny day.
The Captain invited us to do shots with
him. Cool factor.
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| The Captain walked around, looking for us so he could do shots with us. I feel so honored. |
Saturday: not enough sleep. Morning tour walk. Then nap and sailed to Vilshofen, Germany. Sunny and
warm. Free time walking around the small
town. We began packing to leave the next
morning. Our packed luggage needs to be put
outside our room by 7:30a tomorrow for our 8:30a bus departure to Prague. There was a “Goodbye on boat” happy hour. Then we went onshore under a tent for more
beer, pretzels, and a polka band. At 7:45
pm our last dinner was at the Chef’s Table at the back of the boat. Bill’s neighbor broke her water glass and spilled
water and shards everywhere. She was
embarrassed, but no biggie except for my slightly wet crouch. Most of us at the
Chef’s table were pushing to get through the 5-course dinner since the last Alan
Doyle concert would begin right after dinner.
We skipped out to get great seats – winning!
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| Ross and Karen from Windsor, ONT. Shot was taken at Chef's Table. Good people. |
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| And the last concert is a wrap! |
One guy commented on Bill’s extensive wardrobe. Really??
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| Fan crush #1. |
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| Fan crush #2. |
Sunday: move the clock ahead one hour due to European
daylight savings time. We
were up at 6:30 am to shower, have some breakfast and finish packing. The bus left at 8:31 am - a rare one minute
late. All times are given for when the
bus leaves, not a rough estimate on gathering time. Partway to Prague we took a break for a
chilly walk around something burg. Named
after the river. Usual medieval city. We were going tired of seeing and hearing
about old cities. Info overload like at
a museum. Bill
was doing his best to catch up on sleep during the bus ride.
More Riverboat Pics are here.
