My husband and I cruised from Bavaria to Budapest along the Danube visiting traditional Christmas Markets. These magical markets were towered over by castles and cathedrals. Throughout the trip, we had amazing guides that taught us about the arts and culture of these different destinations along the Danube.
We arrived in Nuremberg and headed to the river cruise port. Due to an unusually hot summer and exceptionally low water levels, our ship was not able to meet us in Nuremberg. We met at the port and transferred by bus two hours to Vilshofen. We had been alerted to this likely itinerary change last week and, after reading the proposed itinerary revision, I was actually hoping a bit that we would get this newly revised itinerary. Much as I love Nuremberg, missing this starting point to the cruise has allowed us to see other areas of the Danube in more depth. In particular, a full day visit to Bratislava, Slovakia has been added! In addition to this providing a taste of a new country (the only one I haven't been to on the itinerary!), I've heard such fantastic things about Bratislava's similarity to Prague that I can't wait to see for myself!
Once in Vilshofen, we checked into our cabins and then headed back outside the ship where a tent had been set up for a Vilshofen Oktoberfest celebration! We were greeted with pretzels and beer (juice for me) and a fantastic Bavarian musical group. They led us in toasts, songs, and some lively dancing to start our cruise off on an energetic note! A four course dinner followed our Oktoberfest celebration and now we have a bit of time to explore our beautiful ship that has been decked out for the holidays! Gingerbread house on Amalea (Mary Curry)Dinner on the Amalea (Mary Curry)
