Rhine / Main / Danube River Cruise (Regensburg to Budapest)

As the pre Christmas weather gets colder we glide downstream on the final segment of our Magnificent Europe Music Cruise continues towards Budapest as we new enter the Danube River.

Danube River

The Danube is a pretty amazing waterway. Eighteen countries make the Danube River Basin the most international river basin in the world as well as holding the record as the second longest river in Europe.

As you know from the last post, the dry European autumn resulted in very low water levels that were only just navigable in our replacement ship, Tapestry. We now know that the drought isn't entirely responsible for the low water levels - they're also caused by stream capturing. When the Danube headwaters supply less than normal water volumes, this water oozes away noisily into underground channels called the Danube Sink and ends up in the Rhine catchment.

Sinkhole in the Danube near Immendingen

The first stunning site we visited along the Danube was an Austrian Benedictine abbey. Located above the town of Melk on a rocky outcrop it is one of the world's most famous monastic sites.

Melk Abbey

Due to its fame and academic stature, it managed to escape dissolution in the late 18th century, threats to its existence during the Napoleonic Wars, and survived Nazi Anschluss.

Melk Abbey library

Sailing through the picturesque Wachau landscape midway between the towns of Melk and Krems keep us captivated although most of us didn't venture out onto the sun deck to take photos.

Wachai Valley

Plenty of ancient monasteries, castles and ruins combined with the cultivation of vines to gaze in awe.

Monasteries, castles and ruins

Our highlight filled day in Vienna, Austria, included a glimpse of the Spanish Riding School stables and a couple of the famous Lipizzan horses.

Lipizzan horse

Surrounded by the classically magnificent landscaped garden is the equally magnificent Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. There are 1441 rooms - we got to see inside 40.

Schonbrunn Palace

This was the summer residence of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and is arguably one of the most beautiful and majestic baroque buildings in Europe. The palace became the property of the new Republic of Austria at the end of WW1.

Schonbrunn Palace in summer

The Mirror Room, with its fine ornamentation, was mainly used for social events and public audiences. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played his first royal concert here (aged 6) in front of the royal family in 1762.

Inside Schonbrunn Palace

André Rieu and his orchestra performed in Australia in November to December 2008. The concert theme is 'A Romantic Vienna Night' and the set comprises a life-size reproduction of the Schönbrunn Palace facade.

André Rieu's Schönbrunn Palace set

During our tour of Vienna we were constantly reminded about the world famous New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic which is broadcast to an estimated audience of 50 million. The following clip shows the  last encore is traditionally Johann Strauss I's Radetzky March, during which the audience claps along under the conductor's wry direction.

New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic

Instead of experiencing the Vienna Philharmonic first hand, we were treated to a Strauss & Mozart Concert in the Wiener Kursalon - the very place where Johann Strauss used to direct his orchestra. 

Wiener Kursalon

The Salonorchester Alt Wien is one Vienna's best-known interpreters of classical Viennese music. This orchestra regularly presents a program of waltzes, polkas, arias and piano concerto melodies for visitors. Though not pitching the performance to classical music aficionados we thoroughly enjoyed the program's variety as well as the fun.

Strauss & Mozart Concert featuring Salonorchester Alt Wien

The final city and our destination was Hungary's capital, the beautiful Budapest. The winter weather was now affecting our tourist activities. The time we could comfortably spend outside exploring was now getting quite short and the fog surrounding the city was pretty constant. The normally panoramic views from Gellért Hill was a case in point.

Night view from Gellért Hill

Budapest's yellow line is the oldest underground transportation line in continental Europe (second oldest in the world) and still retains much of its old-fashioned charm.

There are many ways to travel through Europe, but the intimate, stylish, and sophisticated experience of this river cruise will be hard to beat.

Tapestry at her berth in Budapest

So how to sum up a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest? Historic, breathtakingly, serene and tranquil travel with all the comforts of a luxury hotel including first class dining! It will be hard to beat.

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