Grand European River Cruise

Posts from our Grand European River Cruise are complete. This post provides an outline what we experienced and links to posts about each stop.

We disembarked the Skadi and started our "post"-extension for two nights in Amsterdam (which were not nearly enough).

We saw 19 windmills and guides explained how an entire family would live inside and were required to keep their windmill in working order.

A walking tour and a drive to my favorite palace of the trip. Actually a hunting lodge on the edge of a secluded grove, it was just gorgeous!

Today our journey to see the Marksburg Castle in Braubach is the highlight of our day – with a scenic cruise along the Middle Rhine River.

Wertheim is a tiny little town of 54 square miles that is squeezed into a triangle at the "Mainspitze", where the Tauber flows into the Main.

The wall around this town was amazing. We walked along the cobblestones and admired the gothic, renaissance, and baroque houses and fountains.

We spent nearly 5 hours on a walking tour of Bamberg, exploring the well-preserved buildings along the city's winding streets.

Even though we chose a tour that didn't delve too far into history, the tour took us by sites that weren't easy to see or hear about.

Today we'll go back in time on a walking tour. Untouched by bombing during WWII, Regensburg is one of Germany's most well-preserved cities.

A bus ride through the Bavarian countryside took us back into Austria, to a place with lots of flowers and rows of different-colored houses.

We walked through this colorful town with lovely facades to St. Stephen's Cathedral for a concert on Europe's largest pipe organ.

With several hours in Melk – where the Danube and Melk Rivers converge – a visit to the renowned 900-year-old Melk Abbey was a must-see.

This post begins with a tour of Schönbrunn Palace and ends with a slideshow that lasts as long as one of my favorite songs from the past.

Our guided bus & walking tour took us along Ringstrasse, thru Heroes' Gate, Heldenplatz Square, Joseph Square, St. Michael's Square & more.

The views leaving Budapest & Tea Time w/Apple Strudel made for a pleasant 24-hour trip to Vienna for a fabulous concert at Palais Auersperg.

A bus tour of Pest started our day, then we crossed over the Danube to the Buda side. Later... a Budapest thermal bath... ahh... relaxing...

We settled into our cabin and explored a bit. After dinner we were treated to a scenic evening cruise to see the lights of Budapest.

Our road trip thru the Czech countryside brought us to the Sedlec Ossuary. Decorated with human skeletons, it sounds gruesome, but it wasn't.

We continue our day in Prague with a visit to the John Lennon Wall, the Prague Castle Complex, Lobkowicz Palace and a whole lot more!

We were a tad overzealous with three excursions today, but we have to see as much as we can while we're here! This post covers the first.

Although a nap sounded good after our long flights (it was 3am at home), we took a short walk to Old Town to acclimate to our new timezone.

This is an introduction to our Grand European Cruise with our itinerary, and our thoughts behind doing as much as we can while we're here.