Day 11 Krems and the Wachau Valley

Cold and clear day with a maximum temperature of about -2.

Alan and I were ready early this morning so we went for a walk in the back streets of Krems before our excursion to the Gottweig Abbey, which is a Benedictine Abbey high on a hill overlooking the Wachau Valley.  We were treated to an organ recital of Christmas music in the church there, and it was just lovely.  We drove back to Krems and spent an hour or so wandering through the picturesque shopping area.  Krems is over 1000 years old and the centre was lovely with a long and winding shopping area and interesting back streets.

We set sail  at about 1.15 and headed into the Wachau Valley, which is a world heritage area with lovely old villages, wine making communities and castles or ruins high on the hills.  We sat for a while on the sun deck  but could barely move with the amount of clothes we had on.  The scenery was magnificent though.

We enjoyed having a more relaxing day and are looking forward to a trip to Salzburg tomorrow.

Day 10 Vienna

No snow today, apart from a few flurries but it was quite cold with the wind.

We've had a good day in Vienna.  We did a tour this morning which involved some driving and some walking. We drove to St Stephens Cathedral and walked to the National Library.   We rejoined the bus there and drove around the ring road looking at various landmarks.  We finished at the Christmas markets at the City Hall Square, where there were some very nice traditional Christmas goods for sale.  There  were also some rather good looking cakes and pastries but we kept walking.

Then it was back to the boat for lunch before we did a tour to the Schonbrunn Palace and more Christmas markets.  We visited a dozen or so rooms of the palace and they were quite spectacular.  It's interesting how you just go from room to room -  no hallways. There were passages behind the walls for to keep the servants out of sight.  The markets there had very good products as well, and we succumbed to the temptation of a hot chocolate.  Blame it on the cold.

Tonight we attended a "Vienna Concert" at a beautiful concert hall, and it was most enjoyable with music (including by Mozart and Strauss of course) as well as some ballet dancing and singing.  We had debated about going as we're tired after a big day, but are glad we made the effort.

Day 9 Bratislava

We have had SNOW today - in fact it's has snowed almost all day.  Magic. The maximum temperature was -1 so it wasn't terribly cold.

We did a walking tour of  the old town of Bratislava this morning and ended up in the Christmas markets.  It's a lovely place and not overrun with tourists.  The tour was about 1 1/2 hours and we had plenty of time to wander around on our own before heading back to the boat for lunch.

This afternoon we did a bus tour to the Princely Castle of Schloss Hof which was a 45 min drive in Austria.  We had a tour of part of the restored area.  We also had a schnapps tasting - Alan enjoyed that much more than me.  In fact he got 2 serves as one sip was enough for me.  Uniworld laid on this tour  as compensation for having to leave Budapest early.  We got back to Bratislava late afternoon and wandered back around the markets, enjoying the lights and atmosphere.

We have really enjoyed having a snowy day even though I ended up on my rear end in the snow on one occasion.  Snow is forecast for tomorrow as well!!!

Day 8 Budapest and beyond

Overcast, cold and snow flurries.

We did a tour of Budapest this morning which took in both Buda and Pest.  We finished at the Christmas markets.  Alan and I walked back to the boat to get some exercise and fresh (very) air.

We were going to spend the afternoon sightseeing but we had to sail early afternoon as one of the locks we have to sail through will be closed from 6 am to midnight tomorrow and we obviously don't want to be held up that long and cut short the rest of the cruise.  So we'll just have to come back another time to see Budapest properly.  We went up on to the "sun deck" in the snow while we sailed out of Budapest and got some lovely views of the city.

Quiet restful afternoon followed by the Captains reception and dinner.  There's snow on the deck and we're expecting more snow tomorrow.  We're sailing in the darkness and its so smooth.

Day 7 Prague to Budapest

We had an early start today with a 7.30 train from Prague.  It was a good trip - nice and warm looking out on the snowy countryside.  We arrived at Budapest at 2.30 and checked in on boat and did a bit of exploring the boat, and then of Budapest.  We found one Christmas Markets and it was interesting to see the different things on sale.

Not sure how regular we will be with blogging over the next week as the Internet on MVP Beatrice is a bit dodgy but we'll see how we go.

We're looking forward to the next week.

Day 6 part 2

We then headed back across the Charles Bridge, explored the area around the Jewish Quarter, and around Wenceslas Square, where our hotel is.

We came across filming of a police show (we assume).

Interesting potato chips

Wenceslas Square

Day 6 Prague

Another cold and clear day, with a maximum of -4.  We are coping well with the cold but its a hassle wearing so many clothes.

We started out about 9 and headed to the Old Town Square, where it was much less crowded at that early hour.  We went to the top of the tower of the Old Town Hall where the astronomical clock is.  We got great views over that part of the city.   We missed the lift so had a strenuous climb!

Astronomical clock

Castle from Tower

Church of Our Lady before Tyn and Powder Gate

We headed off across the river and climbed to the Prague Metronome and walked on through some quiet gardens to the Palace.