River Cruise - Budapest to Nuremburg
24 October 2016
We joined our Scenic Spaceship – The Scenic Jewel today and were immediately impressed by the light due to the floor to ceiling windows in the lounge area. The crew were friendly and courteous and we were swiftly shown to our cabin.
We were accommodated in a Royal Suite 317. The suite consisted of ample proportions – king sized bed, double wardrobes plenty of under bed room for suitcases. The bathroom was large with a full sized bath and a separate large shower with rainforest showerhead.
There was also a separate lounge with work area, table with chair for a relaxing refreshment and also a sofa. A large wall mounted TV offered TV, music, on-demand movies, route information and internet. The Internet was provided for free, but reception was sporadic especially when cruising and not in a main city area.
We also were able to enjoy daily canapes in our cabin as part of the cabin offering, as well us unlimited drinks options throughout the cruise in the public areas. Drinks from the mini bar were charged separately.
Next to the lounge area was a large picture window with the ability to have the upper part of the window electronically lowered to offer an outside feeling. Also next to the bed was a balcony that was both inside and outside if you chose again to lower the upper large window.
The ship also offered the lounge with bar, all day tea and coffee facilities and light refreshment opportunities at breakfast and lunch. The Crystal Dining Room offered breakfast, lunch and al a carte dinner,
To see pictures of the cruise ship, the cabin etc and the stops along the way, check out my photo blog here.
Day 1 – settling into the cruise, immersion and overview and followed by a lively local folk show of dance and music.
Day 2 – Budapest, Hungary – we enjoyed a four hour city tour which took us to the twin cities of Buda and Pest taking in the impressive Parliament building, Hero’s Square, Geerlart Hill and the Royal Palace area along with St Mathias Church. A beautiful city with lots to offer. Check out the Pinterest link to see images of this stunning location here.
Day 3 – Bratislava, Slovakia
We enjoyed a short walking city tour to see the beautiful historic ‘Old City’ of Bratisalva. The guide talked about the ancient and recent history and a lot about how the city had been affected by floods and also how they had been under siege by Napoleon. One small interesting aspect was how some buildings had been damaged by cannon balls. When the building was rebuilt it incorporated one of the cannon balls into the façade construction.
The city is quite compact and has a range of very interesting buildings, museums and also a very beautiful castle. Being on the Danube, it was an easy walk from the ship to the centre and offered ample opportunity to enjoy a stroll in your free time.
In the afternoon, we were given an option to take a 45 minute drive to a small town called ‘Senkvice’. We were then greeted by a lovely lady Dr Anna, who spoke several languages and was keen to show everyone her very local Slovakian home and hospitality. We were treated to local cheeses, apple cake, savouries, tea and also home made white and red wine. The husband was on hand to make sure everyone had their fair share of the wine. A very hospitable family who were keen to share their family history and also to tell us what it was like to live both under communisim and in the present day. Really enjoyable and if you are making Bratislava as one of your stops, then I highly recommend taking this tour.
Day 4 - Vienna, Austria
We were provided with another city tour as part of our Scenic included excursions, As the docking area is some distance from the city we were taken by coach and given a bus tour of the main central area within district 1, This was the previous Royal Hapsburg district and makes up the most beautiful and majestic district of Vienna. After our bus tour we were dropped in the centre and embarked on a walking tour to see the Royal Palaces, The home of the Spanish Riding School, The Hotel Sacher, where the famous Sacher Torte was 'designed' and also to another famous coffee/cake stop 'Demels'. We had an overview of the central shopping areas and St Stephen's Church. To be honest, Vienna has so many breathtakingly beautiful architectures and buildings that it is hard to know what to take a photo of. Many of the buildings date back hundreds of years and were rebuilt after the second world war. The city is stunning and the different architectures all complement each other perfectly. Many regal style buildings and parks are adorned with fabulous statues and amazing gold facades. You can really gauge the Royal Hapsburg history from the Austro-Hungarian Empire days and the history is full of Franz-Joseph 1st and also Queen Marie Theresa, who is famous for bearing 16 children, many of whom were married off into the various royal houses of Europe to cement their power base. Maybe the most famous of her children was Marie-Antoinette of France.
If you’d like more information or would like to book your river cruise then please contact me:
http://agents.mtatravel.com.au/stephen/contact