RIVERSIDE CRUISE - NUREMBERG to BUCHAREST

Sorry I have not had time to do posting on 4 nights in Prague and then our Riverside cruise from Nuremburg to Bucharest.
Our room in Prague was HUGE. The Julius Hotel. Kitchen area with dishwasher, microwave and then a sitting area next to that.

The bedroom was large and more closets and drawers than anyone could use. Everything was first class. A his and hers, sink areas in different rooms and one shared toilet. Closets and drawers impossible to fill if we were there for a year!

We did guided tours with an excellent guide. I will post some pictures once I do the write up.

First place we went was to Karlovy Vary. This is a spa town and I had no idea why they were taking us there and it was about a 2 hour drive from Prague. Turned out to be incredible, stunning buildings on a canal one of the most beautiful places we have been. There were running mineral waters running that you could taste. Not tasty at all.



Next day a castle, Karilstejn. Not great certainly have seen better castles.



Then on to Kutna Hora. But overall, the two days were great with an outstanding guide.





Some quick details. Ship is great and the food is fantastic, the staff is outstanding. The tours have been very good with knowledgeable guides. Everyone is happy! Lots of beautiful churches and towns.

HIGHLIGHTS ON THE RIVERSIDE DEBUSSY
Lots of options for tours that included towns and churches. Too many details so will just do the highlights.

Bavarian Home Visit in Germany, Passau .

This picture below was after the hike up to the house then the final steps.



Not what I expected.

Met by the home owner who walked us up a very steep hill then lots of steps to her home. It was at the very top of the hill with medieval type turret. After we finally got there then they had us walk down on the other side of the house to a canal. Beautiful spot with locals walking their dogs. Then a climb back up to their house.



She served us some refreshments then suggested we walk up to the turret. Three levels of windy stairs. We expected a beautiful site but there was a tiny window that you could not reach due to all the items in the small turret area.

Overall, I think it was probably the best excursions even with all the big steps with no handrails. She had tons of energy and her husband was a doctor that had a car he had and old he completely renovated, a Peugeot. They had two dogs that wanted to play with you. Definitely memorable.



MELK ABBEY. The most absolutely stunning Abbey Not supposed to take pictures but Ken took this one before he saw the NO PICTURES sign just a tiny picture of the mist beautiful abbey I



[b]VIENNA - GREAT PLACE TO VISIT.

We went on a tour to the Hofburg Palace that also included the treasury with so many incredible items. More than the brain can absorb, crowns, garments, jewels. It was absolutely amazing. The Hofburg Palace also included the museum of SiSi one of the most famous Queens in history. I have seen three films about SiSi so I found this fascinating. Vienna is a stunningly beautiful,



That night we had a special event in the Belvedere Palace[/b]. We were the ONLY people in the building which was closed to the public. We saw many classic paintings including the original “Kiss” which was on display.



After the paintings and beautiful building we were treated to a classical concert with a quite large group of artists and two incredible opera type singers that were really good. A spectacular night.

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/SqD8X9m0/IMG-0430.jpg[/img]

[b]BUDAPEST
Today we are in Budapest and about half our group is leaving today. We will miss them all the dinners and gatherings have been so delightful. Only about 45 people on board and we were over 50% of the guests.

This is a fantastic product but have confusing rules on the categories of pricing. First level just room and board with the only drinks included water, tea and coffee. Next level board and unlimited drinks, third level the whole package. Room, drinks and excursions. Once you get over that complicated process the food and service is outstanding and the guides and tours have been great.

The staff are mostly the same staff that were on these ships when Crystal owned these river boats. They need to make booking simpler and advertise their product more which is outstanding. So today we said goodbye to about half of our group as we head toward 6 more days onboard ending in Budapest.