So its been a busy year but I’m finally getting around to sharing how we spent last Christmas, and New Year which was onboard the Scenic Jasper, we joined the ship in Amsterdam and over the next 15 nights we made our way to Budapest.
After joining the ship and spending the night onboard, our first excursion was heading out of town to visit the villages of Alkmaar & Schermerhorn, home to authentic windmills dating back to the 16th century, this was an early morning start but allowed us to be back onboard so that we could head off to Cologne.
In each new location we took a guided walking tour, run by local guides and if time permitted we did other activities. Some highlights include a tour of Schönbrunn Palace and private classical evening concert at Palais Liechtenstein in Vienna and Ben’s favourite the ‘Best of The Sound of Music Show’ performed in the rolling hills of Salzburg.
In between we cruised along the Rhine–Main–Danube all the way from the Netherlands to Hungary, sometimes our ship kept sailing and we would meet it at the next port, once we even rode bikes alongside (and then far far behind) from Melk to Dürnstein.
Our 15 Day Itinerary
- Day 1 & 2 – Amsterdam
- Day 3 – Cologne
- Day 4 – Rüdesheim
- Day 5 – Miltenberg > Wertheim
- Day 6 – Würzburg
- Day 7 – Sailing day
- Day 8 – Nuremberg
- Day 9 – Regensburg
- Day 10 – Salzburg
- Day 11 – Melk > Dürnstein
- Day 12 – Vienna
- Day 13 – 15 – Budapest
Every where we went we visited the Christmas Markets and we drank lots of gluhwein as well as trying our all sorts of local food and drinks. On Christmas eve there was a themed PJ party which we were well prepared for. Ben was in high demand for a sing and a dance each night and we met some great friends who we enjoyed discovering each new city with and ringing in the New Year in Austria together.
We finished our cruise in Budapest, we spend the first day exploring the city on our own, hiring scooters and speeding around checking out both sides of Buda and Pest. Then a day at Szechenyi Baths and after we went ice-skating at the City Park Ice Rink, a public ice rink located between the Heroes’ Square and the Vajdahunyad Castle. It was an amazing opportunity to visit so many countries and learn so much about the history in these new destinations, overall I think we might be a little bit younger than the general cruise demographic but I’m sure it is something we’ll return to in the future.
Our Awesome Adventures 