Despite the intense heatwaves and droughts pummeling Europe this summer we did manage a pleasant cruise on the Danube though we missed Nuremburg altogether, but hope to visit on a Christmas cruise someday which would be fun.
Our trip started in Prague, in the Czech Republic, one of my bucket-list cities, and it did not disappoint! One of the few cities not bombed during WWII, Prague is infinitely walkable with all the European cobblestone charm we have grown accustomed to. We arrived a few days early so we could spend some time exploring the city on our own before meeting up with the cruise crowd.
Our hotel, the Imperial Art Deco, is an exceptional tribute to art deco located within walking distance from everything and tragically located next door to the Palladium Shopping Center…though we did limit ourselves as there is too much to see beyond a retail fix for a deprived expat. It turned out to have many retail shops that we haven’t seen in a while (living in the countryside does limit our options). We found the Adidas Store, Marks & Spencer and a lovely bookstore where I purchased – Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” – I always like picking up books by local, famous and usually deceased authors.
Just opposite the square from the shopping center is another eye-catcher known as the Municipal House – the name seems rather misplaced if you ask me; I picture more of a boxy-boring type building with a rundown public pool; but it was intended as a public communal house and represents civic pride. I do wonder if this is where Frank Lloyd Wright got his inspirations as the geometric patterns are very similar to some of his work.
Municipal House
The Municipal House is located next to the Powder Gate Tower, one of the original city gate towers that is the beginning of the promenade that takes you into the Old Town Center. The tower got its name as it was used centuries ago to store gun powder (because in Europe you were always defending yourself against someone!).
The Powder Gate Tower
The gothic architecture with emphasis on clock towers and story-book baroque styles is a melting pot that works. We climbed the Old Town Hall built back in 1410 that gave us great views of Prague and the Church of our Lady before Tyn.
Church of our Lady before Tyn
There is a bit of a steam-punk vibe at the Old Town Center with the famous Astronomical Clock that displays a rooster and the 12 apostles swirling around in procession, though I especially liked the skeleton (death) holding the hourglass; he is a reminder that life is fleeting in a creepy sort of way. If you get there 15 minutes before the hour, then you can get a spot that becomes increasingly overcrowded and then you have to jockey for a position away from tall people.
The Astronomical Clock in the Town Center
We decided to stop into Mama Lucy for lunch that was right around the corner. This is a lovely, cozy restaurant sporting Czech food. I had the stew in the bowl which was pretty traditional and filling. All in all I would describe traditional food as hearty with a german flare to it. We topped it off with Apple Struedel for dessert.
We visited the Mucha Foundation Art Museum to view the works of Alphonse Mucha – the grand daddy of art nouveau. I mean really – the influence of his work is off the charts. The museum itself is a palace so you’re getting a lot of sugar-shock-eye-candy rolled into one. I plucked yet another art book for my collection and entertained the cashiers with my poor pronunciation of his name – which is pronounced “moocha” but with a guttural “ch” – we had a good laugh.
A fitting venue to an influential artist
Sadly Mucha was arrested by the Nazi’s and though he was eventually released, due to being thoroughly traumatized by his captors, he died not long after. There are simply too many stories of this nature, especially in this part of Europe.
We spent some time at coffee shops, people-watching and browsing the stores; there was a clock shop that had some nice vintage-style clock watches, that you actually have to wind up! The design takes you back to some gothic fantasy world.
One day, looking for a place for lunch, we stumbled across the El Gaucho restaurant, serving Argentinian beef. We still have difficulty finding good steak options outside of Bordeaux or Paris; we still haven’t cracked the code on that one. I have to say this steakhouse outranked anything we have had so far in Europe; and to top it off with a fabulous Malbec – magnifique!! That meal turned out to be a leisurely respite that added to our already increasing levels of delight that reveals itself around every corner of Prague.
In the evening, we decided to attend a more intimate concert venue at the Klementinum Mirror Chapel (Mozart had apparently played there) where they played the Four Seasons with a fantastic violin ensemble that concluded with a mind-blowing pipe organ rendition of Toccata and Fugue. The baroque style added to the overall charm and while the chapel was full, it was not overwhelming like a large venue would be.
Klementinum Mirror Chapel
It was a lovely way to round out the evening with both substance and style, add a vibrant sunset over the square as we walked back to our hotel – you simply couldn’t ask for a better experience.
Sunset in the Town Square
We rounded out the end of our stay by meeting up with the Uniworld River Cruise tour group at our hotel and were bussed to the Prague Castle complex (a ways away and up on the hill so it was a good option), with the unmistakable St. Vitus Cathedral sitting on its imperious perch overlooking the city. This is the largest castle complex in the world, you could spend a few days wandering the grounds but we stuck with an interior tour of St. Vitus. Like the rest of Prague, the structures here are a mix of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. Inside St. Vitus there are massive crystal organ pipes – what music those must make! There is also a stained glass window made by Mucha himself – what a fitting tribute to one of the most influential artists of all time (I don’t think I’m exaggerating here when you think of how his art still resonates today).
Prague Castle with stained glass by Mucha
We split off from our group as we wanted to visit the baroque library at the Strahov Monastery that wasn’t too far. Our guide directed us to the tram (that was free for the over 65 crowd), and within ten minutes we entered the monastery. This complex is also a cabinet of curiosities with shells and artifacts on display in glass cabinets including journals dating back centuries. Though you can’t go into the library itself, your eyes are free to wander the interior and gather inspiration from its embellishments and the penmanship of its ancient tomes. It was worth the diversion and was our “getting off” point in this part of the city as we were now on the other side of the river yet still up on an incline. We wandered down the boulevards taking in the views of the city on a perfect late-summer day.
The Library at the Strahov Monastery
We arrived at the rather crowded Charles Bridge, the only pedestrian bridge in the city, that also doubles as an occasional Hollywood film set. Did everyone decide to visit this bridge all at once?!!
Charles Bridge with the Prague Castle in the background
After a rather long walk, we decided to take a tea respite inside the Municipal House Cafe. All I could do was sit, stare and take in my surroundings; the level of detail and expression the artisans lovingly conveyed swoons from floor to ceiling. You are not spared; every inch is precisely calculated for effect yet with a disciplined level of restraint.
The thorough enjoyed our stay in the heart of Bohemia and given the chance would visit here again, I wouldn’t mind doing a repeat of everything we did!
Our final day we were greeted by the staff at Uniworld where we disembarked from Prague on our way to Passau which actually turned out to be Engelhartzell as the cruise ships were pretty jammed up in Passau. We were originally booked for Nuremberg but the river levels were too low to accommodate the ship hence all the jockeying of the river cruises.
After a three hour journey we arrived at the lovely, brand new S.S. Emilie. The theme for this ship is Klimt and the ship is graced with his art along with art deco themed furniture and lounges. Our room was nicely roomy (after months in our RV I think we would have been happy with anything bigger!!). Again, tastefully done with a marble bathroom and plenty of closet space.
S.S. Emilie
These ships pretty much accommodate you 24/7 with bars bookending each end of the boat that include water and coffee stations. You have robes, slippers and can even book a masseuse. It also has a nice gym that I actually used and was able to experience going through one of the locks while I was on the stationary bike. It was nice cruising by some of the story-book villages while getting a work out in.
Bob decided to go for a bike ride in the morning from Engelhartzell to Passau. It was cold and windy and I decided that doing 20 miles in those conditions would have been less than pleasant. I instead enjoyed sailing along the Danube and tracking his location where I waved from the windy deck when he stopped for a break.
Otherwise the weather was pleasant; cool mornings and warm days.
We remained docked in Passau for the evening and I decided to take the trip to Regensburg, Germany to visit the Thurn and Taxis Castle that is still inhabited by “royalty.” Bob decided to have a leisurely day on the boat.
The castle itself was yet another multi-room baroque gem inhabited by generations of royals who still live there, collect art and ride golf-carts into town. Though they have royal lineage, they are no longer recognized as such by the state so carry “faux” titles and remain part of the gin palace crowd.
Regensburg isn’t a city to do in an afternoon; there are many nooks and crannies, lovely shopping streets and eating venues along with a lot of history during the war. There were massive deportations of Jews to Dachau and heavy bombing from allied forces nearby, though they spared the medieval center of the city including the massively gothic St. Peter’s Cathedral that was built in 1280. The city was also one of the homes of Oskar Schindler.
Out and about in Regensburg
I decided to go shopping at a local shop and checked out the cuckoo clock selection. I found a small battery operated one, lovingly carved from the local Black Forest Wood. I grew up with a cuckoo clock and I found this one to have all the German charm one could ask for. It now keeps me company when I’m working in the office while providing fierce competition to the robins in the nearby trees.
While we were in Regensburg, the boat had sailed back to Engelhartzell which turned out to be a longer return drive for our group. That has been the one flaw with the river levels being so low is that we shouldn’t have had to bus to Regensburg but we were “rolling” with it. The silver lining was experiencing the manic autobahn and the beautiful countryside along the way. And there were a lesser amount of people on the tours which made maneuvering simpler.
The following morning we visited the Burg Clam Castle, still inhabited and having survived Nazi occupation by providing the troops with food and shelter – acting as a sort of hotel, which helped keep the family intact and the castle from being blown into oblivion. It currently doubles as a concert venue where Sting and others have performed over the years. Many of the owners of these massive estates have had to find alternative forms of income in order to survive.
Clam Castle and getting a history lesson from the Count
On another interesting note, the grandfather was good friends with Archduke Franz Ferdinand and they traveled the world on hunting trips (very evident by the copious amounts of animal trophies); Franz was famously assassinated and that incident was what sparked WWI.
The ride through the Austrian countryside had all the charm you could imagine in a sort of Sound of Music vein; you could just see the Alps on the horizon and I adored the gardens and the towns we passed through on the way to and from the boat.
We sailed for Linz that afternoon, spending a leisurely respite on the top deck or the lounge, drifting by the verdant landscapes and witnessing the charm of European villages under a canopy of blue skies.
The following morning we visited Linz. The location is known for the Monuments Men discovery of priceless artwork the Nazi’s hid in the nearby salt mines and also boasts the largest cathedral in Austria. The cathedral is known as the “New Cathedral” as it was built in 1924…but it looks old. (Footage of the cathedral is in the blog reel).
It is also the place where Mozart wrote the Linz symphony and we wandered through his “haunts” on our way around notable sites including monuments to Jews that were forced from their homes (very sad as they are more like epitaphs).
Area the Mozart composed the Linz Symphony and a sad tribute to the Jewish residents
The rain was starting to really come down and we thankfully made it into the cathedral which was impressive even by cathedral standards
We rounded out the morning by having a coffee and Linz Torte – apparently rather famous in this region in a cozy cafe before “wading” back to the boat to dry off and grab some lunch. We were able to decompress the rest of the afternoon and pack for the following morning as we were transferring to the S.S. Beatrice for the remainder of the cruise; with the water levels at historical lows the S.S. Emilie (sadly) could go no further.
We loaded up the bus and were off to Durnstein to board the S.S. Beatrice for our final leg to Vienna; This would be the least favorite part of the trip as I would have preferred to not have to pack again and be bussed around but we, again, rolled with it. We bid farewell to the crew who did a fabulous job looking after us.
On the way we visited the massive Melk Abbey which was quite impressive, and spent lunchtime in the charming village just below the abbey. We certainly got our steps in. We tried the wiener schnitzel and sausages but found it to be rather bland which is not surprising – this area really isn’t known for its cuisine.
Melk Abbey and the charming city center
We continued our journey to Spitz in the Wauchau Valley which is the wine region of Austria and a UNESCO World Heritage site. We walked along the promenade and visited a shipping museum, pretty much killing time as the Beatrice had not yet arrived at the port.
The Wauchau Valley
We finally made our way to the boat and were given a larger stateroom to match the level of stateroom cost we had on the Emilie which was nice. The ship disembarked during dinner and we cruised down the river to Vienna.
The lovely weather continued, though the mornings it was downright chilly so we had to layer up to ward off the cold. But by late morning it was glorious. After breakfast we went on a walking tour of Vienna which we found to be quite the sprawl, with a mixture of grand architecture that couldn’t make up its mind. And there is no lack of palaces and the requisite endless gardens to stroll in.
We stopped by the Lippizan stables and watched them march out for a local show and then strolled to the commercial center with every shop imaginable, contrasted by the massive gothic St. Stephen’s cathedral that sits in protest of the more modern surroundings. We had lunch back on the ship and spent a leisurely afternoon winding down the final part of our cruise. The S.S. Beatrice is lovely but a bit dated in some ways but we were also spoiled by the S.S. Emilie that I could spend even more time on if given the choice!!
We had a grand farewell dinner, spending time with fellow Americans as there were not any other notable groups from anywhere else. We bid our farewells the next morning as everyone went their separate ways.
Bob and I checked into the Indigo Hotel nestled in downtown Vienna to spend a few extra days touring the city on our own.
We started with a jaunt to the Natural History Museum where we spent a fair amount of time marveling at the dinosaur exhibit and the other prehistoric artifacts they had lovingly preserved. The building itself is like a grand palace and we were blessed with a display of bubbles in the courtyard outside the museum.
A grand courtyard to play with bubbles
We grabbed some lunch (Chinese food as we have been deprived) and made our way to Burgartten to the Imperial Butterfly House. This turned out to be one of my favorite parts of our tour of Vienna! They house dozens of exotic butterflies that sometimes swarm you as you walk around this exotic, tropical Art Deco greenhouse, and you can watch them hatch as well. What a delight that turned out to be!
Feeding butterflies!
That evening we had booked a concert at the Royal Vienna Hall in Salvatorsaal, a smaller chapel-type not far from us and much to our surprise we were the only ones attending. Walking under a full moon through the neighborhoods that had now lit up with locals, we made our way to a cluster of nearby churches. They run these concerts all the time and being off-season I guess there weren’t a lot of takers and it was a bit surreal listening to the solo pianist, in a bucolic setting lit with over 200 candles giving a superb performance as if it was his last. We were entertained for about an hour and this was also one of the highlights of our stay.
Lovely intimate evening in Vienna listening to the music of Hans Zimmer
We rounded out our final day at the Belvedere, yet another sprawl-of-a-palace that houses famous art collections including works by Klimt including “the kiss.” While we expected “selfie hell” while gazing at the artwork, it wasn’t overly crowded and we quite enjoyed our time strolling about. Klimt used a lot of gold leaf and his works are a bit more 3 dimensional than one realizes – and they are huge. I got the impression that he introduced the idea of mixed media in his artwork.
The Belvedere and Klimt’s iconic painting “The Kiss”
We headed back to the hotel by way of the open air Naschmarket with an array of fresh food, bars and souvenirs catering pretty much to the tourists and the locals to pick up food on the way home.
We really did make the most of our time despite the weather hazards causing some deviations.
My final takeaway:
I absolutely loved Prague and would go back any day to spend a couple of days just wandering its forever revelations; there is also the new Dan Brown book “Secrets of Secrets” based around Prague that makes going back even more enticing. Uniworld’s S.S. Emilie is an astounding piece of architecture, maintained to white-glove standards and all the amenities you could possibly ask for including filtered and sparkling water in the bar area that pours from a brass beer tap! Our evenings were spent in the elegant dining room amongst our fellow travelers, and if we had any free time, we sat up on the deck and watched the landscapes of Europe float by.
The art museums of Prague and Vienna immersed me into another imaginative sojourn, revealing famous artists and their histories and influence. What revelations!
The intimate music venues in Prague and Vienna rounded out what you would expect in this part of Europe where so many great musicians originated from.
While the palaces and castles can become a bit of a blur, (especially when you live in Europe), strolling through gardens any day is always a feast for the senses. Throw in some butterflies in the Burrgarten Imperial Butterfly House and the experience can’t be more delightful!
Top that off with a full moon reflecting off the Danube and you can understand where artists and musicians get their inspirations from.
Doing a river cruise really is a great way to experience Europe at its best. Final reel below:
And if you’re looking for something to take home, you have plenty of options.
Lederhosen anyone?
