A Day in Salzburg Austria

On Saturday, October 26th, we'll have an optional tour of Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart made even more famous by "The Sound of Music".

The group going on this optional excursion will leave the ship at 8:30 AM, after an early breakfast, and drive about two hours to Salzburg while the ship continues on to Passau.

Upon arrival there will be a two-and-one-half-hour guided walking tour of Old Town Salzburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

Included in the walking tour will be:

Residence Square & Fountain

Mozart Square

Old Market

The walking tour will conclude with lunch at 1 PM, followed by a couple of hours of free time to explore.

Salzburg Cathedral Dome

At approximately 4 PM the group will depart by bus and drive to Passau to rejoin the ship.

The price for this excursion is $110 per person.

For more information on Salzburg, see their tourism web site here.

Prague Extension

Our optional three night extension in Prague, the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic, begins upon departure from the M.S. Crystal on Monday morning, October 28th.

This extension starts with a guided tour of Nuremberg that includes the major World War II sites, as well as a stop at the Nuremberg museum.

In the afternoon the group will transfer to Prague, which is approximately 190 miles ENE of Nuremberg (about three hours by bus).

Upon arrival in Prague the group will check into the hotel and will be on their own for dinner.  The hotel currently planned is the Andels, a four-star hotel  (web site here) in the 5th district, known as Smichov.  Located on the west side of the Vltava river, the area is described as

an upscale neighborhood with newly renovated buildings, hotels and the large Novy Smichov shopping center. Trendy restaurants and nightlife abound.

on the praguenet web site.  The hotel is less than two miles from Prague Castle, and just over a mile from the Charles Bridge.

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Tuesday, October 29th will feature a full day guided tour of Prague, including the castle.

Wednesday will be a full day on your own in Prague.  Departure for home will be on Thursday morning.

The price for this extension is $699 per person, double occupancy.  There is an additional $199 supplement for single occupancy.

The Danube River

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe (the Volga is the longest).

Danube River map from Encyclopedia Britannica

The Danube begins in Western Germany, in the Black Forest Mountains, and flows for 1,770 miles to the Black Sea. 

It's known by different names in the nine countries it travels through:

Germany	Donau
Austria
Slovakia	Dunaj
Hungary	Duna
Croatia	Dunav
Serbia
Bulgaria
Romania	Dunarea
Ukraine	Dunai

Source:  www.britannica.com

Our Itinerary (preliminary)

Mon, 10/21	Board MS Crystal
Tues, 10/22	Budapest city tour
Weds, 10/23	Morning walking tour of Bratislava Evening on your own in Vienna
Thurs, 10/24	Morning  Vienna city tour, afternoon on your own
Fri, 10/25	Durnstein morning visit on your own Afternoon visit to Melk Abbey with organ concert
Sat, 10/26	Optional excursion to Salzburg Afternoon guided tour of Passau
Sun, 10/27	Bavarian tour of Regensburg with sausages tasting
Mon, 10/28	Transfer to Munich airport for homebound flight or Transfer to Prague

Welcome to the blog for our 2013 trip, a week long cruise on the Danube River from Budapest to Nuremberg.

 

We'll depart from Newark's Liberty International Airport on Sunday, October 20th and return from Nuremberg on Monday, October 28th, 2013.

Along the way we'll make stops in Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Durnstein, Passau, and Regensburg.  

Welcome aboard!