July 2012. Grand European Tour with Viking River Cruises

By Heather Hapeta, travel writer and group escort

We arrived in Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, on time, and quickly transferred to Viking Njord (for only its 5th trip since being launched in April 2012) to drop our bags and go exploring. We did a group trip on a boat then began exploring on land, then back to the Viking boat to unpack and explore our floating hotel. We all loved being able to unpack and know we didn’t need to use our cases for 2 weeks! (See our itinerary here)

Next morning, we sailed to Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite the light rain (which was to follow us for much of the trip but didn’t affect all the plans made by the Programme Director – who was a ball of dynamite) we toured this fascinating network of windmills and other ingenious flood management technologies. After lunch aboard, some of us enjoyed games of sjoelen (Dutch table shuffleboard) and sample Dutch cheeses and jenever, a juniper liqueur – I was not very good, but Ngaire proved to be good – and competitive!

Many of the places we stopped at and explored were UNESCO World Heritage sites which gives you an indication of the level of history we were exploring this included the Dom, Germany’s largest cathedral and even some of our cruising on the Rhine is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We had walking tours ( and free time) daily and each day we had food from the region and often demonstrations about local culture or activities – this included music, dancing and one night  we also learnt about the region’s glassblowing traditions during a live demonstration.

Two of us were keen photographers (and nature lovers) and I know it will take ages to sort through my five and half thousand plus photos: I’m sure Margaret has even more!

Würzburg’s Bishops’ Residenz, one of Germany’s largest and most ornate baroque palaces and another UNESCO World Heritage Site was popular and some of the group just loved the optional excursion along Germany’s “Romantic Road” to Rothenburg, which features a turreted city wall and lovely Gothic and baroque architecture.

Bamberg, with its medieval city centre, was a great walking tour which included a visit to the magnificent 11th-century cathedral, reworked in late-Romanesque style in the 13th century, and the very picturesque city hall built on a tiny island in the middle of a river – I loved the free time here and it was fun to run into a parade. I hadn’t been aware of the delicate lace-making tradition here – seems most of the group wasn’t too keen on the smoke-flavoured beer: as someone who can’t drink alcohol I can’t comment on the wines and other drinks … needless to say, our group loved the local wines and the fact that they were part of each meal – unlike ocean cruises where you pay for every drink.

Next day, after breakfast, we disembarked in Nuremberg for a tour then free time exploring the Old Town area while the next day had us in the wonderfully preserved medieval city of Regensburg – a popular stop for us all. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has structures dating back to the Roman times; 13th- and 14th-century patrician houses; and the splendid St. Peter’s Cathedral.

Then, Passau’s narrow streets and Italianate architecture was also a popular visit – especially listening to a concert on Europe’s largest pipe organ in St. Stephan’s Cathedral, while the abbey at Melk,- a 900-year-old Benedictine monastery featuring Austria’s finest Italian baroque architecture – was fascinating and we spent quite some time wandering the abbey and its gardens.

Vienna – what can I say: a fabulous city: the Opera House, St. Stephan’s Cathedral and Hofburg Palace, cafés and museums and classical composers – this city has it all!

Slovakia’s charming capital is Bratislava with medieval fortifications at Michael’s Tower, a baroque Jesuit Church and Gothic St. Martin’s Cathedral. This is also home to several baroque palaces from the Habsburg Dynasty.

Our last day was arriving into Budapest – I have now decided that the only way to arrive here is by river, at night. Magic. Magic. Magic. The lights of the city were fabulous. Next day, once again our kiwi group chose the “up close and personal tour’ of the area. This meant we had a local guide and used local transport to visit parts of the city – meaning we often saw different things to those on the bus tour but did see places ‘up close’ just as locals did. I think we were offered this type of tours three times and we choose them each time!

On our last night of the cruise we had a traditional Hungarian farewell dinner followed by the best music of the trip – the quartet were fabulous especially the pianist and violinist.)

After breakfast, we head for the train station for a 7-hour journey to Prague, Czech Republic: our accommodation there was perfect – only moments from the famous Old Town landmarks. We did a city tour and visited Prague Castle where we watched the changing of the guards before having lots of free time to enjoy the summer sun and great sites (and sights).

For all of us the river cruise was a first, and Viking was a great way to start. The luxury of unpacking and then travelling in a 5-star hotel was perfect. The staff was attentive and friendly, the tours informative, lectures interesting, and the food perfect! What surprised us all was the quietness of the travel and no rocking of the boat – most of us loved the docks too, fascinating … all 60 odd of them.

Another bonus our group had was a tall strong man (Richard) to help with our luggage – and to reserve a particular table for dinner!

From early morning to late at night we had something to do … even if the ‘something’ was relaxing over a book as it was for some! As travel writer I will have many stories to write about this great trip with 50 Plus Travel – thanks Anna for creating such a wonderful company that has provided many people with fabulous memories such as we six have added to our memory banks, a Grand European Tour indeed.

So, if you are considering a river cruise, I say consider no more – book your cruise now and enjoy – I’m not surprised this is the fastest growing form of travel and that Viking are adding more ships to their fleet next year … and that they are a booking out quickly already!