The Danube Waltz on the Viking Ingvi
(62 Reviews)
100% Recommended
Carol Horner
Virginia Beach, VA
Australia, New Zealand, S. Pacific & Japan Expert
By the time I was married, my husband and I decided to purchase our own agency, and we have dedicated our careers to helping people taking fantastic luxury vacations to incredible destinations across the globe. We have instilled a love of travel i...
By the time I was married, my husband and I decided to purchase our own agency, and we have dedicated our careers to helping people taking fantastic luxury vacations to incredible destinations across the globe. We have instilled a love of travel in our children as well, all of whom have studied and lived abroad, and also planned destination weddings. I am a specialist in the following destinations: Australia — I have traveled to this destination three different times, exploring both coasts of the continent. This is a destination that seems out-of-reach for many people, but I help my clients realize that it's not difficult at all to enjoy this trip of a lifetime. The South Pacific — I love to help my clients explore this diverse and beautiful region. I've taken many trips, but my favorite one was a trip to Tahiti with my husband. We stayed in over water bungalows, received breakfast via canoe delivery, and even incorporated a 7-day cruise around the Polynesian Islands into our itinerary. When you book with me, you know that you have an agent who will be by your side throughout the entire experience. I am known for my expert communication skills. I stay in touch with my clients from the first moment they contact me to begin planning until they return home from their vacation. I am extremely accessible. Recently, one of my clients contacted me to say that she left some jewelry at a hotel in Budapest and asked if I could help her retrieve it. I was able to contact the hotel and ask them to ship the jewelry back home, allowing my client to relax and enjoy the rest of her adventure. Life is too short. Take the trip. Buy the shoes. Drink the wine. And contact me to begin planning your next unforgettable trip!
Can Be Reached At
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Carol in Prague with the Castle Hill behind.
The Danube River brings to mind Mysteries of Central and Eastern Europe.Flowing from Eastern Germany south through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and on to the Black Sea, The Danube River is a waltz through history.
Our adventure began flying into Budapest, Hungary a day early to enjoy the flavor of the city and prepare for the voyage ahead.The city is divided in half by the Danube with Buda on the west bank and Pest on the east bank.Much of the history is on the Buda side including the Royal Palace, Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church. The Pest side holds the iconic Parliament Building, Hero's Square and the Hungarian State Opera House.
The following day we boarded the viking ingvi and overnighted followed by a city tour the next day. After viewing many new sights of the city, we set sail up the Danube River with our first stop in Bratislava, Slovakia the capital city. Like many old cities in Europe, Bratislava has its Castle on top of a hill overlooking the city. A beautiful city with a great "old town" including the town square, churches and history everywhere.
Sailing that night, we enjoyed meeting new people over a great dinner and music in the lounge. The next day we arrived in Vienna, Austria. Capital of the Austrian Empire for over 600 years the city embraced power and culture. Palaces, museums and history are everywhere. Even the city hall impressed us as an architectural marvel with many building in the Barogue, Neo-Renaissance, Gothic-Romanesque styles.Mixed with the history of the old town is first class shopping and near-by the famous St. Stephen's Cathedral crowned with a gleaming spire and colorful roof tiles.If you enjoy palaces, there is time in the afternoon to visit the schonbrunn & Belvedere Palaces. After dinner, we left the ship and enjoyed a "Heurigen Evening". Along with other shipmates, we traveled to a winery that included a lovely courtyard with music, food and the latest wines for tasting. We all had a great time and continued to make new friends.
The next morning we arrived in Durnstein, Austria; the best known village in Austria's beloved wine-growing Wachau Valley . Best known for the castle ruins overlooking the village, famous for holding Richard the Lionhearted for over a year.Also the beautiful Barogue monastery with it's powder-blue clock tower. We were treated to an organ concert in the church after which we walked the alleys of this wonderful village.If you like to collect Christmas ornaments from around the world, Durnstein as a great shop to visit. We sailed the scenic Wachau Valley with the hillsides covered with vineyards.We arrived in Melk in the afternoon with the main attraction the Melk Abbey. Melk Abbey is a 900 year old Benedictine Abbey, a stunning example of Baroque architecture overlooking the town from its dramatic hilltop location. The tour is full of history, but the abbey's church is breathtaking.
Linz, Austria was our next port of call. Linz goes back to the 1st century Roman castle-settlement. Linz is today's provincial capital of Upper Austria.Our tour started on a train tram, visiting the modern side of the river than crossing back to the old town. The Neo-Gothic Church was impressive inside and out. They even had a tower you could rent for a week or two for meditation. Nice view put quite. The rest of old town had just recently been repaired and was very active. On a side note, many of the guest took a longer day trip to Cesky Krumlov in the Chech Republic. Cesky Krumlov is a Medieval Bohemian town in excellent shape. That night we had the captains cocktail party and farewell dinner, even though we still had another night to go. We also had a great concert on board themed the Sounds of Europe and Salzburg.
The next morning we crossed into Germany for our final Port of Call Passau. Founded by the Celts over 2,000 years ago, the town is known as the "City of Three Rivers". We did not dock in town as some ships did, but it was a quick bus ride to the heart of town. Our guide showed us the sights and we stopped at the Cathedral for an organ concert. The church claims it has the largest pipe organ in Europe with 17,000 pipes.Afterwards we found a great outdoor cafe and enjoyed a lunch of sausages, potato salad and a cold local beer.
The next morning we were picked up by a private car and driver guide and headed for Prague. On the way we stopped Cesky Krumlov and toured the town enjoying a local Chech lunch. We arrived in Prague in the late afternoon to our hotel in the middle of old town Prague.
We joined a walking tour in the morning meeting at the Charles Bridge that crosses over to Castle Hill District. With many stories along the way, our guide lead us through Lesser Prague to the Castle. Beautiful gardens, huge buildings and the Cathedral. Today the president and government still uses the complex. Making our way back across Charles Bridge with it's giant towers, we toured the old town side with it's large town plaza and Jewish Quarter. We love Prague.