As I usually do, before making reservations for any European trip, I study a map to see where I’d like to go. Sometimes I am not aware of towns or attractions near where I’m traveling to, so a map can help identify those in short order.
The European map came in handy again recently when I booked a flight between Chicago and Munich, the first of what was to be a two-part air journey between Chicago and Budapest. When I discovered the Munich to Budapest air fare would be about as much as the Chicago to Munich fare ($746.00), I quickly gave second thoughts to how I would travel there. And who wouldn’t.
I didn’t want to drive through three countries (Germany-Austria-Hungary) because of gas prices, and my unfamiliarity with the laws and the roads. A bus would take too long, but a train, despite a journey of some seven hours, 22 minutes, would be economical and fun. And I had not ridden those rails before. In fact, Hungary was an altogether new adventure for me.
Munich’s Hauptbahnhof
RAIL COST WAS NOMINAL A check at www.raileurope.com‘s new website quickly showed that a one-way trip to Budapest’s Keleti Station would cost only $171 U.S. dollars 2nd class ($269.00 first class), and once on board I could sleep or relax from my Atlantic crossing. With the new Rail Europe website, all I had to do was key in my departure and arrival cities, and up popped the cost for the date I wished to travel.
I would arrive Munich via Lufthansa at 5:55 a.m. and have plenty of time to travel on the S Bahn (covered by my Rail Europe ticket) from Munich Airport to the main Munich train station (Hauptbahnhof) to catch Train #63 at 9:27 a.m. to Budapest.
The flight over was uneventful, and the plane landed a few minutes early. Not having been in Germany since the spring, I was craving a croissant made the way the Germans make it, so I waited at an airport restaurant, indulging in coffee and croissants, until 7 a.m. and a Deutsche Bahn office opened to have my train ticket validated (you must validate tickets purchased in the U.S. prior to boarding a train in Europe).
I made a small deposit to reserve an assigned seat in first-class just to be sure. If the agent tells you the route can become crowded with passengers, paying a little extra for a reserved first-class seat can save you from transferring to second class if all the first class seats are taken.
LARGE MUNICH STATION DEPARTURE BOARD The large train departure board in Munich’s station is fascinating to watch, as new train numbers with boarding tracks pop up every few minutes, and people rush to that platform to board. My train’s notice appears on the board, I see my train roll into the station, and I board car #262 and settle into a comfortable, high-backed leather seat. The train, headed by an electric locomotive, the locomotive of choice in Europe, grabbed onto our string of passenger cars and eased us out of the station on time. Nothing new there—Europe’s trains are almost always on time.
Outside of Munich proper, I look out the window and guess we’re traveling between 95 and 100 miles per hour. I’m likely accurate on this, as European trains can move. A short time later the conductor confirms the train speed at 160 kilometers or 100 miles an hour. One reason trains can travel so fast is that the European track system is much stronger and can hold up much better at high speed. European rail lines have been investing heavily in their train tracks and facilities for years and years, and this is the payoff.
After a while, I note that the heat in the car is a bit excessive, but the conductor enters the car soon enough and announces the heat will be adjusted; it was. By 10 a.m. a porter with a trolley of beer, sandwiches, candy, rolls and chips arrives in the car to ward off any hunger pangs of the passengers.
As we near Salzburg, I can start seeing the snowed-covered Alps that I’ve come to be fond of; I see the Festung on the top of the hill in Salzburg, but only for a moment as the train rolls on. We’ve changed conductors since entering Austria. By the time we arrive at Linz the train is 8 minutes late, and continues to be behind schedule for a while.
Dining in the Speisewagen
TRAIN IS NEARLY FULL Looking around at the seats and the various cars, I found that 90% of the train was full, and all but about 10 first-class seats had been reserved. If the seat is reserved in the first-class section, a small stub will be attached to the seat with the person’s name on it as well as their boarding and departure stations.
Walking up through the train to the Bord Restaurant, I found it not crowded, and serving Hungarian-style food, including goulash and Hungarian beers. The service was fast and the price was very reasonable.
We roll through St. Polten 10 minutes late, and by Vienna we are 17 minutes late and running into fog. I don’t remember if we arrived late in Budapest, but we were nearly on time nevertheless. The Budapest train station was massive, with a large arching trainshed, similar to many large city trainsheds in Europe.
The trip was as advertised, it allowed me to catch up on my sleep from the flight over, and it allowed me to get into the “European mood” for my travels for the next two weeks. I also saved a lot of money. And in this current rough economy, that’s a good thing.
One of my favorite things to do when planning a European trip by rail is to pull out my European rail route guide and investigate the towns and topography of the area through which I’ll be traveling.
Thus, when I recently organized a trip to Oberammergau, Germany from the Black Forest village of Villingen-Schwenningen, to visit the Passion Play theater and interview some of the play’s directors, I was delighted to see that I’d be changing trains at Pasing, a suburb of Munich, then heading south into the Alps. Pasing station is undergoing a major remodeling around the platform area, and it needs it. Hopefully by now the station is done and the passengers can more easily maneuver on the platform.
The schedule called for me to arrive Pasing at 11:20 a.m. on an Intercity Express from Ulm. Then a Regionalbahn train left at 11:39 a.m. for Murnau, which was slightly under an hour trip. At Murnau, I took the last leg of the trip to Oberammergau. End of story? Not quite, because the fun in travel is actually traveling, not going just from point A to point B.
WHAT THE FUN IS The fun is waiting for the train, watching the other passengers and seeing what pulls up at the station when its your train. The fun is checking out the cars and seating arrangements, finding the diner and having a meal, or watching the scenery go by. And that’s where my research came in. I knew that the fun part of this trip—any train trip in Europe–is watching the scenery, and I was in for some spectacular scenery.
Not far out of Pasing I could tell the tracks were heading southwest, and towards the Alps. Actually, on a very clear day, you can see the Alps from Munich itself, but I hadn’t been able to see them when I flew in until the very last moment before we touched down. Now, however, it was a beautiful clear day, but it wasn’t until about Murnau that I could see the landscape starting to suggest something big was going to happen.
At Murnau the track split, with one line going to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and then onto Innsbruck: that would have been an awesome route to follow. The other line made a large loop, ending up in Oberammergau. Had the line been straight, the schedule for that segment of the trip would have been much less than the allotted 40 minutes. After Murnau, and a quick on-board lunch that I had packed, the track started to conform to the undulating hills.
Oberammergau Mayor Arno Nunn is in charge of the world-famous Passion Play 2010.Sit back and relax with a cold beer under a tavern umbrella.
MOUNTAINS LOOM LARGER We rolled further south, and there finally the mountains appeared and were growing bigger at every turn in the tracks. Our regional train, with a loud squeak for a horn, signaled for road crossings and little dirt paths that wound up into the foothills. Colorful mountain flowers along the way were welcoming enticements to follow the increasingly curvy path to my destination.
Small, interesting German villages, rich green forests, rolling meadows and the looming Alps were all reasons to continue the journey and discover what Oberammergau had in store. A word of caution: don’t step off at “Unterammergau” when you want to get off at Oberammergau. The town names, when you aren’t German and the conductor speaks fast, can be very similar!
At Obergrammergau the track abruptly ends at the station–there’s one track in–and it’s the same track out of the station. From there, you can walk into the center of town, or get a bus or cab. This little city, where the world-famous Passion Play is held every 10 years, is usually very active and touristy. But you feel like you’re in a “real” German town when you’re finally relaxing with a cold beer at a small tavern under the shade of an umbrella, and the Alps rise majestically above you. That’s living, that’s Germany, and trains will take you there. Next time, try the “small rail routes.”
Photos courtesy Croatian National Tourist Office Home page photo by Mario Romulic & Drazen Stojcic
If you like to explore ancient history when you travel to Europe, the island of Korcula is your cup of tea.
The Croatian island of Korcula has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and traces of life from the past have been uncovered at many places on the island. The oldest finds were stone knives from the Neolithic age found on the islet of Badija near Korcula.
The richest discovery is the Neolithic site Vela spilja (Large Cave) at Vela Luka. Here, archaeologists have uncovered several layers of prehistoric life with fire sites, shards of ceramics and graves dating back 5,000 years before Christ.
Many Neolithic stone piles from this period—cult places and gravesites—have also been found over the entire island. The island was inhabited by the Greeks in the 6th century before Christ, first at Vela Luka.
Milan Babic
Later, on the other side of the island, in the area where Lumbarda is today, Greeks settled from the island of Vis (Issa), founding a separate settlement referred to in the inscription “PSEFIZMA” originating in the 3rd century before Christ, which was discovered at the end of the 19th century.
In the 1st century before Christ, the island, like the whole of Dalmatia, was conquered by the Romans, who called it Illyricum. In the 7th century A.D., the Slavs-Croats made their way to the Adriatic coast and formed their own state, which was first a principality and later became a kingdom, with the crowning of the first Croatian King Tomislav in 925. Korcula was also included within the borders of that state.
The Roman population fled from the Slavs to the islands of Brac, Hvar and Korcula, and after the situation settled, the majority returned to their original places of residence, while the rest assimilated with the settlers.
In 1,000 A.D., the Venetian Doge Petar II Orseolo took over the Dalmatian cities and islands, and thus Korcula also fell under Venetian rule. It was here on the nearby isle of Majsan that the Doge set up camp to lead the campaign against Korcula and Lastovo, which offered some resistance, but he quickly conquered both islands.
Following this, the rulers of Korcula changed frequently: the Venetians were replaced by the Zahumlje governors, then by the Austro-Hungarian kings, before the Venetians took over again, and from 1413 to 1420 the island was under the Dubrovnik Republic before again falling under Venetian rule in 1420, which lasted until 1797. When Napoleon brought down the Venetian Republic, Dalmatia was under Austrian rule for a short time before the French arrived.
From 1804 to 1805, Korcula was under French, then Russian rule, before the French again took control from 1897 to 1913. The English became rulers of the island to 1815, when the Vienna Congress set out the new borders of Europe.
Today, Korcula is just a scenic three-hour drive or short ferry ride from Drubrovnik, and the island is known for producing some of Croatia’s finest wines and best olive oil. The southern coast offers many scenic drives with secluded beaches that are great for swimming. Korcula town’s ancient walled center has picturesque stone streets and round towers.
For more information about Korcula and other Croatian destinations, go to www.croatia.hr/en
With trendy Croatia one of the top travel destinations these days, I learned quickly that everyone wanted to go with me when I visited this small southeastern European country, tucked between Bosnia, Hungary and Slovenia.
Who wouldn’t want to go to the country that invented the sophisticated cravat, the forerunner of the modern tailored necktie and bow tie, or was now producing a truckload of good white wines, or was bounded by the romantic Danube? Although this land still bears the scars of the Bosnian War which affected the region between 1992 and 1995, the country is gradually moving on.
The warmth of the Croatian people, the abundant agricultural possibilities of the land, and the natural beauty of the country’s rocky mountains and green woodlands are only now being discovered, and touted in national tourist publications.
Some eye-opening travel gems await those who venture into the awakening interior.
National Theater in Zagreb
CONTINENTAL CROATIA AND ZAGREB Croatia is shaped somewhat like a horseshoe, with one side extending 1,100 miles along the Dalmatian Coast, with seaside Dubrovnik at one end and Croatia’s third largest city, Rijeka, at the other. The entire country of 4.2 million people is only as large as West Virginia, or just 21,829 square miles.
While I wasn’t going to where most tourists journey—the coast and the Adriatic Sea— the interior of the country presented its own set of unique opportunities for exploration. I started my venture at the capital, leafy-green Zagreb, which sits on the historic and political threshold between Eastern and Western Europe.
Sitting on the Pannonian Plain as well as on the edge of the Dinaric Alps, this Hapsburg-inspired city has been inhabited for centuries by people coming from all over Europe, thus insuring a rich cultural heritage. It is the home of Croatia’s parliament, government and its president. It sits next to the lush, forested slopes of Mount Medvednica, often referred to by the name of its summit, Sljeme.
The city’s elegant facades, a horseshoe of green spaces—eight green squares created by Milan Lenuci in the 1880s— and a growing contemporary scene, are attracting the curious traveler; more may come soon as well, as Croatia and thus Zagreb are poised to join the European Union in 2013. Known as Vienna’s little sister, Zagreb is smallish—about one million residents—which makes it easy to walk around without a car, meet the populace, and indulge in the city’s cultural and historical attractions, and growing nightlife. I did a little of each.
Palace Hotel, Zagreb
FLIGHT TO ZAGREB My flight on Lufthansa from Frankfurt landed at Zagreb airport outside of town, where I hopped a cab to the Palace Hotel, located in an Art Nouveau palace in the center of the city. It was the first hotel in Zagreb, opened in 1907, across from a beautiful green park and where the likes of Orson Welles and actress Sophia Loren have stayed. I figured I was in good company.
Finished in elegant woods, the hotel’s lobby is inviting, and glass cases filled with historical artifacts give the visitor information about the history of this four-story gem. Zagreb was on the route of the famous King of Trains, the Orient Express, where Hercule Poirot solved his most famous case, where Alfred Hitchock’s The Lady Vanishes was staged, and on which James Bond rode from Istanbul to London in the movie From Russia With Love. Everyone loves a train with a good mystery, and Zagreb uses these connections to promote its mystique as a city. The train station is just a few blocks from the Palace Hotel, and an old black steam locomotive decorates the lawn on one side of the station.
Like all major cities, Zagreb is divided into areas, but the Upper Town (located on a hill) and the Lower Town, where streets are laid out in a simplistic and government-mandated style, are two that most visitors will learn quickly. You could cover the town’s main attractions in two days, but a third day will offer the best impression of the city.
Zagreb’s main square, referred to as Jelacic plac, is a large, busy place with adjacent Ilica Street housing many shops. Croatians use the main square, just down from the hillside settlements of Kaptol and Gradec, to make connections with friends, to catch one of the many street trams pulsating here and there on tracks that run through the streets, or use the square’s large clock as their time-keeper. There are 37 clocks like this throughout the city, all maintained by the sixth generation watchmaker Lebarovic Dalibor, who has manufactured more than 200 public clocks in this country.
The main square, featuring a large statue of Croatian hero Ban Josip Jelacic, has been the commercial heart of the city since 1641. It is so large that fairs used to be held here; the buildings around the square date from the 19th century, and feature Biedermeier, Art Nouveau and post-modernism architectural styles.
TWIN-SPIRED CATHEDRAL The city’s twin-spired landmark structure in the Kaptol neighborhood is the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary, created by Hermann Bolle in the 19th century after an earthquake badly damaged the original church. In the 15th century it was the furthest outpost of Christianity. Beautiful marble side altars, statues and pulpit adorn the inside, as does the life-like tomb of Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac by Ivan Meštrović. You can’t miss it: it sits dead-center in front of the church near the choir.
While you’re there, notice the adjacent overpowering bishop’s palace with large turrets on the corners. The accompanying lawn features large colored Easter eggs during this season. Not far away, the fortified 13th century Lotrscak Tower in Upper Town, signals 12 o’clock by loud cannon fire and trailing white smoke, as it has every day since 1877. The bells of the stone tower used to summon residents back into the town gates at night before they closed. After watching this display of time-keeping, wander a few steps down the hill to the family-owned Pod grickim topom restaurant, where you’ll be treated to large portions of pork, beef and spaetzle while overlooking the city.
A funicular, the shortest in the world at 216 feet in length, takes you up to Upper Town in 55 seconds. Departing every 10 minutes, it accommodates 28 people each trip. Once powered by steam, the brilliant blue funicular pre-dates horse-drawn trams by a whole year.
At colorful St. Mark’s Church in St. Mark’s Square, you’re in the heart of Upper Town; the square used to be Gradec’s main market area. The 13th century Church of St. Mark’s is a Romanesque structure with Gothic arched ceilings and 15 Parler family statues that stand in the southern portal. The colorful roof is decorated with coats of arms of the triune Kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, as well as the city of Zagreb.
BUSTLING DOLAC MARKET The Dolac open-air market is a must-see, must-do free attraction. Close by the Cathedral, sun-ripened fruit, fresh fish including octopus trucked in from the coast overnight, colorful vegetables and hearty meats, nuts and fragrant spices are sold every day of the week. Known as the “belly of Zagreb,” the market dates from the early 1900s.
Croatia is a religious country, with about 77% of the residents Roman Catholic. The Upper Town is entered via the Kamenita vrata or the Stone Gate, which is the only city gate still remaining. It was built in the Middle Ages, and today acts as a Christian way station for anyone wanting to give thanks, or to make requests. The small chapel inside, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, patron saint of Zagreb, houses a painting of Mary miraculously saved from a fire in 1731. At all times of the day, this small chapel—complete with several wooden benches— attracts worshippers and the curious.
Stop by Zagreb’s oldest pharmacy on Kamenita ulica (Stone Street) where you’ll discover a two-story white building which has housed this business since 1355. And built along the former Medvescak Creek is Tkalca, Zagreb’s colorful downtown street where you’ll find a plethora of nightclubs, small boutiques, traditional shops and cafes. Stop by the Bulldog, an upscale downtown bar where the drinks flow until 3 a.m. from Wednesdays to Saturdays. The decor features aviation and nautical themes, with propeller-shaped ceiling fans, and there’s a mezzanine observation level. A bowl of shelled peanuts to accompany a cool drink doesn’t cost much, either.
SAMOBOR If you’re heading into the countryside, Samobor is one of Croatia’s best-preserved villages. The light rain and mist which covered the surrounding hills and the Gradna River that flows through them, presented a magical Sunday morning welcome. Local villagers presented their farm-fresh cheeses and honey in the market square, and smiles and free samples were plentiful, as merchants waited until the packed-to-the-rooftop Catholic church let out.
Many other locals were sitting in the Slasticarnica U Prolazu restaurant, having their Sunday coffee and Samoborska Kremsnita, a custard-colored 3 in.-high cream pastry square, a rich-flavored local tradition. Others were strolling down the path on the outskirts of town near the river, enjoying the budding of colorful flowers and trees, and soaking up the fresh fragrances of spring.
Samoborska Dremsnitz – a delicious dessert
At the Town Museum, check out the intricately-woven folk costumes. Another option is a woodland stroll to the hillside park of Anindol that will take you to the ruins of Samobor’s 13th century castle, which you can see on the hill as you drive down the narrow road into town.
Samobor is also noted for Bermet, a local version of vermouth. This fortified wine, flavored with citrus fruits and aromatic herbs, goes well with crackers and the local Mustarda, a rich brown mustard with a fruity tang. Both the Bermet and Mustarda have been made for generations by the local Filipec family. A tour of their small facility and their shop, guarded by the family dog, will add extra interest to your visit.
Just west of Samobor are the Samobor Hills, a group of forested smooth-topped mountains which make great one-day hikes. The highest point is the 2,883-foot-high Samoborsko gorje, a two-hour walk from Soiceva kuca, a popular restaurant and recreation spot.
VARAZDIN If you have time to explore Croatia further, a trip to Varazdin near the Slovenian border is worthwhile. With its 18th century Baroque churches and the oldest rathaus in Europe, Varazdin is a jewel. First founded because of its Stari Grad, a well-preserved 16th century castle, the town today evokes “oohs” and “ahhs” as visitors discover the Baroque facades. On a clear, sunny day, the town is spectacular.
The city, in fact, was the capital of Croatia in 1756, but fire destroyed 50% of it 20 years later. This gave the city a chance to rebuild in Baroque style, and thus today Varazdin enjoys the benefits of tourism. The city first came to light in 1181 in a document sealed by King Bela III of Hungary. It was granted the right as a free royal city 33 years before Zagreb, the locals are fond of pointing out.
The Town Hall (Gradska Vijecnica) has been the seat of the city’s town council since 1513, making it one of the oldest buildings of its type in Europe. You can sit out in front of the hall on the main square to soak in the sun, or have a coffee, or watch the changing of the guard by soldiers in their tall, black-tasseled hats between May and September.
Zlatko Puntijar shows world’s smallest Croatian recipe book at Stari Puntijar Restaurant
The Cathedral of the Assumption with its magnificent interior became the seat of a diocese in 1997, and is noted as the first Baroque structure in town. Known for its acoustics, the cathedral is used during the Varazdin Baroque Evening Festival in September, where both domestic and foreign soloists and ensembles perform.
Take your camera with you to this picturesque town. The Varazdin countryside produces “Varazdin Sauerkraut” (sour cabbage), pumpkin seed oil, honey, goat and sheep cheeses, and fruit wines with a low alcohol content.
SLAVONIA BROD Stretching to the southeast of the country, Slavonski Brod, on the north bank of the Sara River, and bordering Bosnia, features the star-shaped Brodska Tvrdjava (Brod Fortress). With bastions and moats designed to protect against Ottoman soldiers, this huge embattlement could accommodate 4,000 soldiers. The local peasants built the fortress under a forced work program.
The town features the remains of a number of industries, including a large factory where Croatian steam locomotives were once manufactured. Past examples of the plant’s engines dot the factory entrance.
Memorial dedicated to Bosnian war victims
OSIJEK Moving further into the interior of Croatia and to the east, the city of Osijek is the largest town in Slavonia. Located on the Drava River, the town was founded by the Romans in the first century AD, and after a number of battles, Osijek became the administrative center of the rich agricultural region of Slavonia.
During the battle for independence, it came under siege for several months. A long promenade leads along the river to a large modern suspension bridge which connects Gornji Grad to Copacabana, the town beach.
Close by Osijek is Kopacki Rit Nature Park, a large tract of marshland with many varieties of birds. Located between the Drava and Danube rivers is part of a region called Baranja, with abundant fertile farming land.
For an excellent meal, stop at the cozy restaurant Kormoran, located in the park. Some foods are especially prepared in a large black caldron over an open wood fire, and served at your table. You won’t go away hungry.
CROATIA’S VINEYARDS If you enjoy wine, and touring vineyards, Croatia is “ripe” for the picking. Many of the wines I tasted—both reds and whites— were excellent. Croatia’s vineyards started around the 6th century B.C. in the coastal regions, and as far back as the 2nd century in the interior.
I especially liked the white wines such as Grasevina (pronounced: gra-she-vi-na), a wine cultivated in the countries along the Danube. Light and refreshing, it tastes different than Riesling, and can have slightly different flavors based on soil and sunlight. A bottle of Grasevina found its way home with me. Ice wines are also popular here, and are often awarded gold medals in competition. A 2009 Pinot Crni with 16.5% alcohol content also was a good wine, perfectly balanced.
Many of the vineyards I visited offer richly decorated banquet halls, capable of serving complete multi-course meals for up to 100-150 people, along with a variety of wines from their cellars. Winery Kutjevo, with the oldest wine cellar in southeastern Europe (dating from 1232); Belje, the biggest; and Ilocki Podrumi at Principovac all offer a variety of excellent wines. You might find bottles from these vitners in the U.S., although not much is exported.
Croatia is making a solid effort to produce and distribute their many wine varieties, and Zagreb hosts an annual Wine Festival that’s a great wine-tasting opportunity and is packed with visitors.
I found continental Croatia refreshing because of its simplicity, its natural beauty, its tasty foods and wines and its unassuming people. I expect Croatia’s interior to be one of the “hot” travel destinations in the years ahead.
As they say in Croatia, “Zivjeli” — a toast to your good health!
For more information about travel to Croatia, go to: www.croatia.hr/en
By Don Heimburger Photos by the author or as noted
ON BOARD THE PREMICON QUEEN, MELK, AUSTRIA—What comes to mind when someone talks about the most beautiful waterways in Europe?
There is the Rhine, the Elbe, the Mosel, Main and others, of course, but the Danube seems to conjure up visions of romance, adventure and even intrigue.
The 1,771-mile-long Danube, originating in the Black Forest and flowing through 10 countries to the Black Sea, is Europe’s second longest river (Russia’s Volga is the longest). A third of the river flows through mountains, and the remainder through hills and plains.
So here I am, a passenger on the Premicon Queen, a floating five-star hotel, which caters to travelers who appreciate the finer comforts of life and who can afford the time to enjoy them. It’s said to have more room per passenger than any other river cruise ship, at 484 square feet per passenger.
BUDAPEST IS ORIGINATING POINT Operated by the popular Cologne-based KD Cruise Company, the five-day trip starts in Budapest and ends in Regensburg, Germany, a distance of 452 miles. And in those miles, as well as in the total miles of this majestic river, I think of all the cultures, towns, traditions and people this river binds together. This thought continues to hold wonder for me throughout the cruise, as we float from country to country and city to city.
Seeing these things all come together on the river—on a luxury ship—is a satisfying way to relax, with plenty of time to think, dream and melt your stress away.
Billed as the world’s most modern twin-propeller cruiser, the 800 KW Premicon Queen features two mini suites, 30 junior suites, 16 deluxe suites and four queen suites. The rooms face the water so travelers enjoy the river from the comfort of their own suite. The crew speaks both German and English.
Deluxe suites, with 237 square feet of space, feature an upscale interior, marble bathroom with shower and panorama doors which when opened, turn the suite into a loggia. Queen suites have a separate living and sleeping area, marble bathrooms with shower and tub and French balconies as well as a walk-on balcony with two seats. Even a butler is assigned to your cabin for any extra help you may need.
Rooms feature individual temperature control, television (with a channel showing a view from the front of the ship), telephone and wireless internet access. Bathrooms had both 110 and 220 volt outlets. Room service was also available.
The Premicon crew
OCTOBER TRIP A couple of days devoted to touring Budapest are in order if you’ve never been to this city of under two million people. A city tour by a Cityrama bus (www.cityrama.hu), with a German/English-speaking guide, is a must if you aren’t familiar with the city. Purchase of a Budapest Card is also a good idea if you want to scout out the city on your own. It offers free services or discounts to more than 100 attractions from museums, baths and restaurants as well as public transportation.
Be sure to see the Westminster-style Parliament building, the Chain Bridge (especially at night), Heroes Square, the Palace of Art, the Transport Museum (Europe’s oldest), maybe the zoo, and take the funicular to Castle Hill. For fun visit the Great Market Hall, Statue Park and perhaps enjoy a nice relaxing stroll through Margaret (Margitsziget) Park, located on an island and reachable by tram. While in Budapest, visit the famous Szechenyi Baths in the City Park and eat at the upscale Gundel Restaurant nearby.
The Premicon Queen has arrangements with Hilton to provide lodging at the point of departure as well as the end point on cruises so passengers can spend extra time visiting these cities before and after their cruise.
My October cruise avoided the large tour groups that typically crowd Europe’s rivers and land excursions, so there was not a crush of visitors to deal with. But some of the nicer, warmer weather was gone as well. It’s a tradeoff sometimes.
After a day and a half of visiting the sights of Budapest, it was time to find my ship. Approaching the dock area near Budapest’s Parliament Building where it was waiting, two eager young men greeted me and carried my luggage to my room—no back strain there. After a tour of the room by one of the crew, I’m off to explore this 442-foot by 37-foot wide boat. I’m surprised it’s just a bit over 5 feet deep, but later on the trip I note some areas of low water on the river and understand why this is necessary.
The captain, Stamen Dimitrov, who has been piloting ships for 19 years, will tell you the 106-passenger Premicon Queen can travel at nearly 14 miles an hour and has space for a crew of 60. Cruise Director Doris Moser, Hotel Manager Thomas Boge and Restaurant Manager Oliver Schulz, are on board to oversee virtually your every whim. When you figure the passenger count to the crew, you can see that it’s a win-win situation for the passengers, especially if you like attention.
SUNDECK GREAT GETAWAY When the weather is warm, and there’s no precipitation, the 10,764-square feet of space on the top sundeck is the place to be. With comfortable lounge chairs, a tai chi area, shuffleboard, chessboard and putting green—as well as waiters ready to take your drink order—passengers have a number of distractions. In colder weather, you can use one of the large blankets supplied by the ship to stay warm.
When departing Budapest at 10 p.m., I wasn’t really sure we were leaving the dock since the ship’s motors were so quiet. After devouring the chocolates on my pillow placed there earlier in the evening by the maid, and after a comfortable night’s sleep in my room trimmed in rich dark wood paneling, I was ready for breakfast, served at the rear of the ship. With glass on all sides and rear of the restaurant, passengers are able to enjoy a wide-screen view of the river at the stern.
If you enjoy variety in your meals, the Premicon Queen will likely satisfy you. Breakfast consisted of a number of different juices, jams, breads, meats (ham, salami, veal liver pate, bacon, sausage), cereals, egg selections, as well as hot drinks, milk (3.5%, 1.5% or .03%), vita drinks such as green and yellow tea, and cheeses (Emmentaler, Tilsiter, Gouda, Edamer or Buttercheese, Brie and others).
In addition, oatmeal, fish, fresh fruits or dried fruits, danish pastries and more await you, and that’s just at breakfast. Did I mention the champagne? Early birds could start their day in the Steamship Salon with a limited breakfast menu until the ship’s main restaurant opened at 7:30 a.m.
One evening for dinner guests were offered appetizers of beef tartar with dark bread and pickles or queen’s salad, or warm potato quiche. That was followed by a pure carrot ginger bisque soup with sevilla orange segments, and a main course of seared plaice fillet on lemon pesto, pancetta and rice souffle, or oven-roasted tenderloin of veal with truffle essence and a baked potato. Dessert was either tiramisu, green tea sherbert, seasonal fruit salad or a selection of cheeses. Oh yes, there was also a vegetarian dish.
Executive Chef Rainer Buss was always busy in the kitchen with his crew preparing new entrees, and Oliver Schulz the restaurant manager was eager to please, inquiring about the food, making sure passengers were well attended to, and sending the wine steward over to help guests make a wine selection.
Wine selections were sometimes a bit hard to make just because of the wide selection. My notes indicate that at one evening meal, passengers could select from two types of Hungarian bottled wines and four types of open wines, two from Germany and two from Austria. Descriptions of the wines and their origins was printed in the menus.
LOCAL CUISINE FEATURED As the Queen floated down the Rhine between Hungary, Austria and Germany, the meals were often especially chosen to coincide with foods from that area. As an example, near Passau the evening meal selection included beef roulade with gravy, red cabbage and potatoes. A Bavarian crème with blueberry compote, a most delicious combination, celebrated the end of the meal.
As you can guess, meals were served with elegance and flair, and the portions were plentiful. More than once I was glad the ship was as large as it was so I could take an after-dinner stroll. But then came the “midnight snack,” usually served around 10:30 p.m., in case you were still hungry. This usually featured finger sandwiches, fruits, desserts and other tempting treats too good—and presented too elegantly—to pass up. Coffee and tea time was also a daily ritual between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. in the ship’s Theatron, as was a cocktail hour at 6:30 p.m. every evening. Dinner began at 7 p.m.
The ship’s library was small but had an interesting selection of books on history, travel and novels, as well as some board games. Guests can walk to the clubroom where fine cigars and premium whiskeys are available, or relax in the contemporary steamship lounge.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES, ENTERTAINMENT With wellness a big item these days in Europe, you can go below deck to the wellness area which includes a glass-encased saunarium, shower temple, a large whirlpool and a variety of cardio exercise machines. On-board staff can assist passengers with advice, acupressure, massages and even Kneipp treatments. A color and face consultation for women was also offered by the salon attendee.
Of course, complete make-up, hair styling and well-being sessions were available with an appointment during the cruise. This section of the ship on the lower deck was attractively decorated and inviting.
After dinner, passengers were treated to the on-board Bulgarian orchestra Rococo, featuring Bulgarian singer Rumy Key, a popular radio and television star. The orchestra also performed at dinner in the restaurant one evening. Also, slide presentations were given by Cruise Director Moser in the lounge, detailing the history of towns the ship was about to visit. These were informative sessions where guests could glean a lot of valuable information shortly before the ship docked in port—I know I learned a lot of information that helped me plan my historical treks through the towns. City maps were also provided for passengers.
The Queen also offers a number of off-ship land tour packages at the various ports where time allowed. Thus at Vienna, where we docked at 8:30 a.m., passengers had until about 10:45 p.m. The ship offered a shuttle service to the city center (Albertinaplatz) for those who needed a ride only. Individual tours were also available designed especially for passengers, such as private tastings with famous winemakers and helicopter excursions. All tours were arranged in small groups with a personal travel guide and minivans.
In Bratislava, passengers were offered a tour of the traffic museum, and they were taken there by an old-timer red bus. Another tour offered—which looked like a lot of fun—was entitled “Cooking at the Flowers Restaurant,” a unique, high-class Mediterranean-style restaurant with a glass roof, located in the historic Erdody Palace building. At Melk, Austria, a three-hour tour about wine growing and the wine culture of the region was available. All land excursions were extra fare, but you can also go on your own.
HIGHLIGHTS ALONG THE RIVER Along-the-river highlights of this cruise include the Basilica of Esztergom, largest Catholic cathedral in Hungary, the tallest building in Hungary and the 18th largest church in the world. In Bratislava, where we had about 11 hours to explore, we were directed to the Old Town which is adjacent to the Danube. St. Martin’s Cathedral where Maria Theresa was crowned in 1740, is a must-see, as is St. Michael’s Gate, the last remaining portion of the historic city wall; Main Square, the bustling center of the city, Old Town Hall, and Bratislava Castle, the city’s most prominent landmark.
In Vienna, where the ship docked for 16 hours, passengers could spend a whole day and a good part of the evening in town. Highlights of this city are the Opera House, Hofburg Palace area, Schonbrunn Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Albertina Museum, Belvedere Palace, Lipizzaner Museum, the Secession Museum, the outdoor market called Naschmarkt, Liechtenstein Museum, the Sacher Cafe located in the Sacher Hotel, Vienna’s colorful main square called Stephansplatz, the Kohlmarkt (Vienna’s elegant shopping street), and right outside the city by tram, Grinzing, where “new wine” is offered at numerous little taverns and cafes.
The Melk Abbey overlooks the Danube
Further down the Danube, Durnstein, a small village on top of “bird hill,” contains ruins of the Castle Durnstein. Here in 1192-1193 Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner after the Third Crusade. You can snap some fantastic photos of this intriguing small village from the ship’s sundeck on a clear day. In the Wachau area of Austria, Riesling and green Veltliner grape vineyards line the surrounding hills. The leaves of the vines, turning yellow from the fall season, presented an eye-catching picture.
The ancient Stone Bridge crosses the Danube at Regensburg
At Melk, the ship docked for five hours, enough time to make the trek through the small town of Melk and up to the Benedictine abbey which sits majestically on a cliff at the river bend. An important spiritual and cultural center for more than 1,000 years, Melk’s baroque abbey was first the home to the Babenberg family and since 1089 has been a monastery. This enormous structure, built between 1702 and 1736, is now on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. Individual and group tours of the abbey are available.
PASSAU NEXT STOP Passau was the ship’s next stop, and it’s defined by water. Three rivers—the Danube, Inn and Ilz—converge there, making it very picturesque. The Old Town is squeezed between the river banks in a storybook setting. The huge St. Stephen’s Cathedral houses the largest church organ in the world, with 234 stops and 18,000 pipes. Had our ship arrived a bit earlier, a free organ concert would have been on our agenda. Time didn’t permit a visit, but on the opposite side of the Danube was the Vesta Niederhaus, a medieval fortress which at one time formed the outermost defensive wall of the city.
Our last city and stop on the cruise was Regensburg, Germany, originally founded as a military camp by the Romans. It’s an ideal town to explore by foot; 1,300 buildings are listed as being of historical interest, and a good view of the skyline is from the 12th century Stone Bridge which crosses the Danube by means of 15 arches; at one time it was the only fortified crossing of the Danube over its entire length. The streets curve and meander throughout the city center, and it takes some time to acquaint yourself with the old historic district, but it’s an interesting challenge to visit the merchant quarter, the Domnstadt area next to the ecclesiastical buildings, and the other parts of the Old Town. There’s also no problem finding a good hotel here if you wish to explore the city further: the Bayerwald, Furstenhof, Park-Cafe, Lindner Hotel Kaiserhof and Goldene Sonne are several that can make your stay a pleasant one.
With my Premicon Queen trip at an end, I said goodbye to the crew who had made my stay on board a memorable one. It was a river trip to far-off destinations where I had never before been. “Life is a long, wonderful journey,” says the Premicon’s Managing Director Klaus Hildebrand. “To travel is to live, to come to know the unknown,” he says.
That is what this cruise trip was all about for me, discovering people, places and the unknown. It was a fun adventure, and I’m a better educated traveler because of it.
IF YOU GO… Cruising on a river ship is a relaxing way to visit cities and towns; virtually everything is done for you including meals and entertainment—and you don’t have to make your bed in the morning. It can get chilly on a ship, however, so always pack warm clothing. The evening meal is the time when passengers dress up, so a sport jacket and tie are in order for men, and more formal attire for women.
While there are usually no medical personnel on board, the ship is always in contact with the local authorities and can be at a dock within a few minutes. If you take medication, make sure you have enough of what you’ll need for the trip.
It’s not hard to find gifts along the way to take back home, so take an extra bag that can be folded into your main suitcase which you can then bring back with you.
Traveling with friends on a cruise makes sense. You’ll always have someone to dine with, and they can accompany you on the extra land tours.
Cruises are available for 2,3,5,6,7 and 10 nights on the Rhine, Danube and Main, as well as Christmas Journey and New Year’s Eve cruises.
European Traveler 