Cruise on MS Amadagio Along the Danube River For An Exciting European Tour

Story and Photos By Rachel Rome

Cruising the Danube River on a riverboat is an increasingly popular way for touring Central Europe. Glide past castles, capitals, and scenic countryside from Budapest to Regensburg. My weeklong cruise on the MS Amadagio, a sleek, modern luxury riverboat, featured first-class hotel amenities. In ports from Budapest to Nuremberg, we enjoyed walking tours, easily exploring Gothic cathedrals, shops, museums, cathedrals, synagogues, and shopping districts. Our ship docked in city and town centers so we started tours at the dock while cruising during mealtimes allowed us to enjoy passing scenery from the lounge, dining room or sun deck. With a maximum of 150 passengers, disembarking and embarking took minutes as we strolled off ramps from the ship to land.

The MS Amadagio, launched in April 2006, offers deluxe cruising on European rivers and waterways – is like a first-class hotel on water. The spacious main lounge and Panorama Restaurant are lined with floor-to-ceiling windows. On board we enjoyed gourmet cuisine, great regional wines and nightly entertainment including a hilarious crew show. This riverboat holds 150 passengers, boasts an English-speaking crew, supervised by Captain Gerald Faas, Hotel Manager, Cordula Deeken (very cordial!), and Cruise Director, Gunther Bayer. For more information, or to book a cruise, call Central Holidays at 1-800-935-5000 or go to www.centralholidays.com.

Gunther arranged half-day city walking tours with local guides, sightseeing excursions and nightly entertainment on board. From Budapest, Hungary, we cruised through beautiful countryside, the unspoiled Wachau Valley, locks, saw the Alps in the distance, and dozens of hilltop fortified castles – including Durnstein’s fortress castle where King Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned in the 12th century. In Vienna I toured the Jewish Museum, the Mozart House Museum, watched the famed “dancing” Lippanzer stallions practice in the Hapsburg Palace; the opulent Hofburg (Hapsburg) Kaiserappartements, the Sisi Museum (Empress), and the Silver and Porcelain Collection; dancing along the same Salzburg streets where Maria von Trapp strummed her guitar – these are a few of my favorite things.

My riverboat trip began in Budapest. Along with new friends I‘d met on the airport van, we headed into the city for lunch. Strolling up the main shopping street on the Pest side, we explored Baroque cathedrals and local shops, and then ate Hungarian goulash in the Papaya Restaurant. After the end of our self-guided tour, we headed back to the MS Amadagio, unpacked then attended the welcome dinner -- delicious cuisine, and regional wine. Later, Gunther gave one of his nightly orientation and port talks.

That night, we sailed past Budapest’s illuminated castles and cathedrals. Next morning, we docked at Bratislava, Slovakia. The former Hungarian capital for 250 years is where many Austro Hungarian monarchs were crowned. It boasts many Renaissance, baroque and rococo buildings, the Old Quarter, Hrad castle, and the 14th century St. Martin’s Cathedral (Dom) is a gothic masterpiece. That evening, on board, the modern chamber music group “Aphrodites in Bratislava” entertained. Then, we cruised to Vienna, Austria.

By morning we arrived in Vienna. Once the center of the Hapsburg Empire, a walking tour included Hofburg Palace, the Vienna Opera House, Ringstrasse and awe-inspiring St. Stephen's Cathedral. We shopped in the Karntnerstrasse and savored sachertorte (chocolate covered pastry) or apfelstrudel in a neighborhood cafe. I watched the Lippanzer Stallions practice, then to the Jewish Museum. That night, heard the Vienna Boys Choir. Fantastic!

Next day, after cruising through the scenic Wachau Valley, we arrived at charming wine-growing Durnstein, known for its baroque Stifskirche with its blue façade, golden cathedral and the ruins of the castle where Richard the Lionheart, King of England, was imprisoned in 1192.

Back on board we cruised to Melk for a guided tour of the magnificent Benedictine Abbey, one of Europe’s largest baroque monasteries, with a rare books library, a museum featuring art spanning a thousand years and a famed cathedral. The view from the hilltop Abbey is sensational, with a broad panoramic view of the Danube River and countryside.

Sailing upriver on the Danube River, I relaxed on a deck chair on the Sun deck, watched passing scenery, gabbed with friends as fitness fans walked laps on the track and some hardy Australians soaked in the Jacuzzi. Another morning, we watched gorgeous Wachau Valley countryside. One sunny morning, our ship crossed Europe's Continental Divide, a testament to the engineering feat of the Main-Danube Canal. This canal, coupled with an extensive lock system, links the Danube River to northern rivers, allowing river navigation from the Black Sea to the North Sea, a 2170-mile length.

On to Linz and Passau, Germany. After breakfast some boarded a bus to Salzburg. Our guide took us to The Sound of Music sites and through the cobble-stoned streets lined with boutiques, coffee houses and Mozart museums. Other passengers stayed on the ship to cruise through Upper Austria to Passau, Germany, a well-preserved town with medieval towers and cathedral, situated strategically on the Danube River, where Inn and Ilz Rivers join.


After cruising through the Danube Gorge’s scenery and the final stretch of the Main-Danube Canal, we docked In Regensburg, one of Germany's best-preserved medieval cities and hometown of Joseph Raztinger, the current Pope Benedict the XVI. Our walking tour included architectural highlights, the Old Town Hall and the stone Porta Pretoria-gates to an ancient Roman fort built in 179 AD. We stopped at new memorial to the Jewish Community on in the main square. One Hebrew word is carved in it -- it means “East.”

Our final port stop was Nuremberg. A tour included ornate Gothic churches and elegant patrician houses. We also visited World War II sites outside the center. Nuremberg's medieval and modern traditions include spice cookies Lebkuchen, toy making and metalworking. This stop was our last night, and we attended the Captain's Gala Dinner.

Next morning I left for home while others went on to Prague.

For More Information

The MS Amadagio offers fine cuisine, hotel-quality service and spacious cabins on a small ship. The price for the mid-November 2006 cruises on MS Amadagio - Cruise & Land was $2,399. In addition to the Danube River cruise, Central Holidays offers many other “Enchanting River Cruises” itineraries throughout Europe. For more information, or to book a cruise, call Central Holidays at 1-800-935-5000 or go to www.centralholidays.com.