Amber Cole

I recently had the opportunity to sail on the Avalon Impression along the River Danube.  We started our sailing in Vienna and sailed west to Grein where we met with the Count of Clam and viewed their impressive family castle!  Then it was on to Linz where we had our choice of excursions including the chance to go the Cseky Krumlov in the Czech Republic or Salzburg, Austria - home to the Sound of Music!  

Our next day we stopped in Melk and toured the impressive Melk Abbey in the morning and then sailed at lunch to Krems where we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the Wachau Valley-both vineyards and stony towns alike!

We stopped in Bratislava, Slovakia and were able to tour the old town including the coronation route that used to be walked by the leaders of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Then it was on to Esztergom, Hungary where we saw the largest Cathollic cathedral in Hungary and watched a joust in Visegrad in the afternoon.

But the highlight was the night we left Esztergom, we sailed into Budapest around 9pm.  All the beautiful sites were lit up, the bridges over the Danube sparkled with their lights and we could see all the other river cruise ships.  While it was cold, it was 100% worth it!

And we ended our sailing in Budapest, the capital city and home to so many famous baths and lovely markets where you can buy embroidered goods, huge varieties of meats and sweet to spicy Hungarian Paprika!