A Customizable River Cruise Sees the Old World in a New Way
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We found our middle ground floating down the legendary Blue Danube with Avalon Waterways, a river cruise that offers excursions for different travel styles. If your crew spans multiple generations, you know the struggle of coming to an agreement on the day’s activities. This way, we wouldn’t have to; we were each able to explore on our own terms. The excursion choices read like a personality quiz: Classic, Active or Discovery.
Rather than choose just one path, I sampled all three. Read on to discover how it all played out — from bike trails to baroque boulevards, and with a Count’s handshake high in the Austrian hillside.
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Classic: Guided City Walk of Bratislava
Bratislava’s Backstreets from Cobblestones to Castles
Like most days of our trip, deciding between excursions was the hardest part. Take a half-day walking tour? Get creative with an oil painting workshop? Hike up to a castle? The walking tour was the slower choice, but it would also help me get my bearings in Bratislava, which I knew would come in valuable later. Plus, something about wandering through the Slovakian capital’s cobbled lanes called to me.
With personal earpieces, we could drift along at our own pace, tuning in to the guide’s stories as we got lost in the details of the Old Town — the green patina on bulbous spire of the medieval clock tower, the kaleidoscopic stained-glass windows inside St. Martin’s Cathedral, the quirky apothecary of the town’s oldest shop.
After the tour, we reconvened for coffee at Konditorei Kormuth, where the most impossibly perfect cakes you’ve ever seen are served on fine porcelain beneath a Habsburg daydream of sparkling antique chandeliers and ornate frescoes. With the rest of the day at our leisure, we all had different ideas. Some chose to peruse luxury boutiques while others were lured to a local tasting room.
Stepping out to the pastel facades of the baroque main square, the towering Bratislava Castle taunted me from above. Now fueled by coffee and a pistachio cake I’ll never forget, I set out to conquer the hike I’d passed up before.
So I went rogue, climbing to Bratislava Castle solo with plenty of time to explore the museum and castle grounds. Descending the red-carpeted grand staircase at golden hour, I had a moment of Cinderella anxiety. Was I out of time? But then I remembered that river cruises are different, and departure wasn’t until very late in the evening. The schedule wasn’t just flexible — it was a full-on choose-your-own adventure. Following the fading blue light through the old town’s lantern-lit streets on my walk back to the ship, I finished the day with a camera roll full of photos and zero regrets.
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Active: Bike Tour of the Wachau Valley
Wachau Wine Country on Wheels
We clipped in for our full-day bike tour just after breakfast, the surrounding landscape still cloaked in morning mist. Our local guide — a former world-champion road cyclist — set a steady pace as the Wachau Valley unfolded around us — the sun flashing golden between budding spring trees and waking villages that seemed untouched by time.
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As we reached Dürnstein, half of our group peeled off to explore the town while the remaining four of us chose to pedal on towards wine country. As we passed the iconic blue tower of the Abbey church, we rounded a hairpin turn along a steep canyon cliff to reveal the best view of the day: a winding road descending into the panoramic valley below, framed on one side by endless terraced fields and on the other by the snaking Danube River glittering in the sun. We coasted down into the vineyard, the cobblestones rattling our tires and the cool air roaring in our ears. As we whizzed past row after row, a wooden sign with a crest reading “Grüner Veltliner” grabbed my attention. I loved how each section was labeled by varietal.
Back on the ship, I combed through my windswept hair before making my way to the dining room for what had become our anticipated evening ritual: exchanging stories from our very different days, from cooking lessons to symphony concerts, over regionally inspired food and wine. One of our group — the unofficial wine connoisseur — asked for the bottle to snap a quick picture. Sure enough, it was the same Grüner Veltliner I’d passed earlier. Legs still humming and cheeks sore from smiling, it tasted even better than I imagined.
Discovery: Meeting the Count of Clam Castle in Grein
A Royal Encounter Among Rolling Hills
There’s something very fairytale-esque about being welcomed to a castle by the actual Count. Clam Castle isn’t just a tour — it’s a storybook chapter that’s still being written. Overlooking the hills of Grein, this medieval fortress has been in the same family for over 500 years. The Count himself greeted us, not with fanfare, but with warmth and wit as he led us through halls lined with armor, oil paintings and the hunting trophies of centuries past. He shared tales of sieges, restoration efforts and the courage of his grandmother who single-handedly saved the castle from Soviet conquest in the second World War. It was intimate, strange and utterly unforgettable — like stepping into living history, where the past still takes afternoon tea in the drawing room.
After the tour, we were welcomed into the salon for a performance by a live harp duet while we enjoyed a tasting of Gräflich Clam'sches Burgbräu, the beer brewed on-site since 1550, and Château Clam, the castle's signature wine. Standing in this historic room, our whole group having chosen the same excursion that day, it dawned on me. Some of us travel to move, some travel to learn, and some just want a good glass of wine. With Avalon Waterways, we did it all. What started with a group chat and a lot of conflicting opinions ended with some of the most memorable travel days I’ve ever had.
When your group vacation turns into a battle of bucket lists, it’s time to call in a pro. Contact our travel agency to plan your perfect vacation.
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