7:00 – All bags had to have coloured tags and be placed outside the cabin doors.
This meant an early start and breakfast. Some people were making their departure arrangements; some were taking the extension to Prague by bus. We were going home to Melbourne, but our flight was not until 7 p.m. Continue reading
Budapest is Eastern Europe’s liveliest and most cosmopolitan city. We did a guided tour of the city sights, including the Royal Palace of Buda, the hilltop castle complex with Fisherman’s Bastion and the Matthias Church, and the Chain Bridge linking Buda and Pest.
Today’s stop was Vienna, the “City of Waltzes”. We explored Austria’s capital, starting with a drive along the Ringstrasse, where we saw Vienna’s world-famous Opera House, Burgtheatre, Spanish Riding School (not the actual horses), Town Hall, St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Hofburg Imperial Palace.
A new country today – Slovakia. Set on the crossroads of ancient trade routes in the heart of Europe, Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, embodies various cultures – primarily Celtic, Roman and Slavic.
Cobblestone streets and graceful arcades welcomed us in the beautiful city of Passau, but we opted for the tour to Salzburg in Austria. Others took the optional trip to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, while the rest took the walking tour of Passau, checked out the old town’s narrow alleys, and saw the hilltop Oberhaus Fortress from the town below.
Situated within Austria’s wine–growing region, Melk is home to an imposing 900–year–old Benedictine Abbey. It features Austria’s finest Italian baroque architecture, ornate gold leaf walls, 640ft Imperial Corridor and fresco ceilings.
Today, we went through the final stretch of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal to Kelheim and entered the River Danube. We later saw Regensburg, one of Germany’s best-preserved medieval cities.
Known as the “Pearl of the Romantic Road”, Würzburg is surrounded by sloping hills covered with vineyards.
This morning we cruised through the Main-Danube Canal to Bamberg. We explored this UNESCO World Heritage city with our guide. Boasting one of Europe’s largest intact medieval town centres, Bamberg is bursting with character and charm.
Miltenberg is a picturesque village on the Main River, which creates a realistic feeling of Bavarian life in medieval times owing to the Old Town being lined with well-preserved half-timbered buildings. This was a late sleep-in day, as it is a long journey from Rudesheim.
