Christmas Market river cruises Have you seen advertisements for Christmas Market river cruises in Europe? And have you thought "I wonder if I would enjoy one of those"? And, if so, what excuse could I come up with to justify it? Or have you thought, "who wants to go on a cruise about Christmas"? It's hard enough to ignore Christmas at home. But if you did want to go, how … [Read more...]
5 Interesting Facts About the Douro River Valley in Portugal
The Douro River Valley Before we went to the Douro River Valley in Portugal with Viking River Cruises this is what we knew about the area; it's pretty and there are a lot of wineries. We were right. But Viking has this insidious way of actually teaching you all kinds of stuff while you think all you're doing is having fun. (Could someone please put them in charge of the … [Read more...]
The National Tile Museum in Lisbon with Viking River Cruises
Why you should visit the National Tile Museum in Lisbon Viking River Cruises knows that one of the first places you should visit when you arrive in Lisbon is the National Tile Museum. We didn't know that so we had been bumbling about for 4 days before meeting up with our cruise. We had been admiring the tiles of Lisbon but didn't know a thing about their origin, history or … [Read more...]
Porto with (and without) Viking River Cruises
Porto Porto was where we first boarded the Viking Torgil to begin our cruise of the Douro “River of Gold” in Portugal. It’s also where the cruise ended. This post is a combination of places Viking River took us and a few we found bumbling around on our own when we stayed for an extra day after the cruise ended. Porto is an ideal location to begin a Douro River cruise … [Read more...]
Out of the mouths of (cruise) babes
First timers on a Viking River cruise On our Viking River cruise on Portugal's River of Gold we were lucky enough to have two friends joining us. (Yes, we actually have friends.) Neither friend had ever taken a river cruise before so we wanted to get their impressions of the Viking River experience. After you’ve done several cruises it’s all too easy to get spoiled and only … [Read more...]
Regensburg isn’t regular
Well then, what makes Regensburg irregular? (Not in that way!) It's one of Germany's best-preserved medieval cities, the old city center is a UNESCO World Heritage city of "Outstanding Universal Value" and Regensburg was once the home of retired Pope Benedict XVI. And, for something that might actually be of interest to our readers, it's home to Germany's oldest restaurant, … [Read more...]
Dear Abbey (the one in Melk, not the advice columnist)
Perhaps you've heard of Melk Abbey so if someone says "Melk" your brain probably tosses in the word "Abbey" Kind of like hearing "Marco" and immediately thinking "Polo". Blonde's brain also reacted only in terms of "Melk Abbey" with no clue of the history behind it or of the town below it. On a Viking River Romantic Danube cruise we stopped to see the Abbey. Blonde had been … [Read more...]
Perusing Pleasing Passau
Before going to Passau with Viking River Cruises Blonde knew one thing about Passau; it’s a city somewhere in Germany. Rather surprisingly, she got that right. But Passau deserves more recognition than merely knowing its country of location. Passau, like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Blonde grew up, is a city where 3 rivers converge. Pop quiz time! What are the three … [Read more...]
German Christmas Markets 101
Blonde recently returned from a Viking River Cruise that visited a variety of German Christmas markets along the Danube. She'd long heard about the German Christmas markets and pictured them as being pretty, twinkly and full of hand-crafted decorations to buy. And, for once, she was right. However, due to overwhelming reader education dedication she decided to create a sort … [Read more...]
What’s it really like to go on one of Viking’s River Cruises?
Viking River cruises review You've seen the ads for Viking River Cruises. Attractive, smiling people gliding past the Parliament building in Budapest as they sip fine wines or check their iPads. It looks serene, elegant and as if it would be nice to be part of one of those groups of interesting, friendly people. And it is. And it's a lot more. After three Viking cruises … [Read more...]