Budapest to Oktoberfest!

Back in Septemeber of 2014 (pre-blogging), Esther and I went with 16 friends on an AmaWaterways river cruise from Prague to Paris.  It was a fantastic cruise, but it was made even more memorable by our stay in Munich before starting the cruise.  Eight of us (the Munich 8 – you know who you are) went to Munich so we could experience Oktoberfest, and we were blown away by how much fun it was.  We knew we would have to go back!

The Munich 8 from our 2014 trip.

So we did, this September, with a group of 20 (including us), on another AmaWaterways cruise – The Melodies of the Danube.  The cruise began in Budapest and ended in Vilshofen, Germany, with options for post-cruise extensions in either Prague or Munich. The choice was easy for us, and our entire group of 20 did the Munich extension, and of course, Oktoberfest.  

The AmaWaterways trip began in Budapest, and Esther and I flew in on Friday, a couple of days early because we had heard such great things about this city.  A few others in our group also arrived a day or two in advance.  We stayed at the Marriott right on the Danube River, and would recommend the hotel both for the rooms and its location. The hotel is on the Pest side of the river, and we walked around for a couple of hours the next morning.

A view of the National Palace (now an art gallery) across the Danube River on the Buda side, taken from the roof terrace at the Marriott.  

The beautiful Chain Bridge across the Danube, linking the Buda and Pest sides of the city.

St. Stephen's Basilica, named for the first king of Hungary.  Construction started in 1851 and took 50 years - just a bit longer than our house in Wilmington.

In the afternoon, we took a private tour to a little town outside of the city called Szentendre, on the Danube River.   Unfortunately, it rained most of the day, but this was the only day during our entire vacation that our weather wasn’t just about perfect.  Szentendre is a popular weekend retreat for city dwellers, and has lots of artists and galleries.  We visited the National Wine Museum and Labyrinth Restaurant for a wine tasting, which was held down in the underground cellars.  We had a delicious cabernet sauvignon that we liked so much, we bought a bottle for each couple in our group.  It really was a charming little town, although the rain dampened the experience.  We did manage to snack on langos, a deep fried flatbread with cheese and garlic that was really tasty.

Typical cobblestone street in Szentendre.

The label from our favorite wine in Hungary.  Good luck finding it anywhere else.

Enjoying my langos in Szentendre.

For dinner that evening, we met up with Bob and Karen, Jim and Ellen, David and Susan, and Doreen and Jay, and had a traditional Hungarian dinner at the Hungarikum Bisztro.  The food and service were both excellent.  After dinner, a few of us tried our luck in a casino located right next to the Intercontinental Hotel.  Esther and I got our chip for our collection, and won 78 euros to boot!

Dinner at Hungarikum - from bottom left, clockwise - Bob, Tom, The Boss, Ellen, Jim, Jay, Doreen, Susan, David, and Karen.

Sunday was the day to board the AmaSerena, a river cruise ship which holds 164 passengers at full double occupancy.  Since we didn’t need to board until after lunch, some of us walked over to the Buda side of the river, which is the hillier side.  Buda Castle, a castle and palace complex, sits at the top of the hill above the Chain Bridge.  We took the funicular (I love a funicular) to the top and strolled around the Royal Palace, Sandor Palace (the official residence of the President of Hungary), the Fisherman’s Bastion, and Matthias Church.  All are worth seeing. 

The funicular to Buda Castle at the top of the hill.  Notice that the first part of funicular is FUN?

The views across the Danube from Buda Castle are terrific - the Chain Bridge with St. Stephen's Basilica beyond.

The Hungarian Parliament Building - just a stunning piece of architecture, this is the largest building in Hungary and the tallest building in Budapest.  It's even more spectacular at night - keep reading.

The Fisherman's Bastion, so named because a guild of fishermen were responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the Middle Ages.  It actually has seven towers.

Matthias Church, built in the 14th century - note the tile roofs.  Also where our AmaWaterways tour guide was married. 

Back on the ship, our group of 20 was able to find a group of tables together in the dining room and began to meet one another.  AmaWaterways has been voted Best River Cruise Line by travel agents, and two of the main reasons are their food and their service.  I think our entire group would agree that the staff on AmaSerena were simply outstanding.  Another great feature is that wine and beer are included with lunch and dinner, and the wines at dinner are always representative of the region you are in at the time.

Dinner was followed by an “Illumination Cruise,” an evening trip down the river to see Budapest at night.  This is a truly beautiful city, as the pictures show. 

We watched people waltz in the courtyard of this building on our second evening in Budapest.

 

The Royal Palace at night.

The Liberty Stature, or Freedom Statue, built in 1947 in remembrance of the Soviet liberation of Hungary from occupation by Nazi Germany.

As promised, the Parliament Building at night - even more beautiful in person.

On Monday morning, we had a bus and walking tour with AmaWaterways.  Highlights included the Great Market Hall, Heroes’ Square, the National Opera House, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and a return to Buda Castle.  

The exterior facade of the Great Market Hall.

Inside the Great Market Hall, we saw lots of stalls with fruits, vegetables, meats, clothing, and of course, souvenirs. 

The National Opera House.

Heroes' Square, which has statues of the Seven Chieftains of the Magyars, other important national leaders, and their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

Our very patriotic Hungarian guide - AmaWaterways always has great guides.

We had a very patriotic Hungarian guide who took great pride in telling us about all the things discovered by, invented, or developed by Hungarians.  Who knew the Hungarians were responsible for Vitamin C, the ball point pen, digital computing, the do-re-mi musical scale, Rubik’s Cube, and color TV.  They also invented the coffee machine, but the Italians stole it. Hungary is also the 8^th leading medal winner in Olympic history, and has had more Nobel Prize winners per capita than any other country.  By the time the tour was over, we were convinced that Hungary is the greatest country of all time!  It got to be our running gag through the rest of the trip; for example, we would go through a lock on the river and one of the group would say “You know that Hungarians built the first lock, right?” or on the way to Oktoberfest in Munich:  “Actually, Hungary had the first Oktoberfest, but the Germans stole it from them.”

We set sail heading west on the Danube upon leaving Budapest.  Our group of 20 had a reservation at the Chef’s Table, a separate dining room on the ship with a special menu created especially by chef.  It was outstanding, with several courses exquisitely presented and paired with white and red wines.  We highly recommend this, unless you are Bob and Karen.

The main courses - grilled perch with crayfish, porcini ravioli and Japanese glazed short ribs - delicious!

Fabulous dessert, and the ice cream was made on the ship.

The Chef, Maitre' D, and Ellen and Jay.

Our first destination along the river was Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.  We had a walking tour with a very entertaining guide, who delivered some great one-liners about her country’s politicians and history with a perfectly straight face.  I loved Bratislava – the weather was perfect, the old town architecture was impressive, and we enjoyed walking around after our tour was done.   Like so many places in Europe, an impressive castle stood above the city.  Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, only four years after becoming a democracy following years of Communist rule.

Bratislava Castle on the hill above the city.

Our tour guide was very interesting - and hilarious.

St. Martin's Cathedral - dates back to 1204, the largest and one of the oldest churches in Bratislava.

A beautiful lady on the mall.

The main square in the old town section of the city.

Apparently, this statue - called Cumil - is one of the most popular tourist attractions in town.

This one is called Schoner Naci, a famous resident of the town.  A lot of goofy tourists pose with this one too.

One of the cool things about river cruising for a retired civil engineer are all the fascinating bridges.  This is the world's longest asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge with one pylon and one cable-stayed plane.  They also call it the UFO bridge due to the shape of the restaurant at the top of the pylon.

We left Bratislava and continued up the river, arriving in Vienna, Austria later that evening.  On board activities included an ice cream party and reception for returning guests, and tea time in the lounge.   After dinner, we boarded buses and headed for a local tavern on the outskirts of Vienna for wine tasting and accordion music.  Our group contributed to the audience participation portions of the entertainment, and the bus ride back to the ship was a little rowdy. 

From left - Eileen, Susan, David, Ellen, Jim, Jeff and Barbie enjoying the wine and entertainment. 

Doreen tries to learn to yodel with the accordion player.

Barbie's turn to stand up in front of the crowd.

I got my picture taken with the waitress instead of the accordion player.  Better choice.

The next morning we had a Vienna city tour.  Vienna was the largest city on our trip with a population of over 1.7 million, and it felt like it.  A much more busy and crowded place, filled with incredible architecture and so much to see.  After the tour, we walked around the city for a few hours.

One of the entrances to the Hofburg Palace in the center of the city.  This place is huge - we would return in the evening for the Mozart and Strauss concert.

The architecture and statues on the buildings are so impressive.

We passed the Spanish Riding School, and got to see some of the famous Lippizan stallions led from their stables.

The Holy Trinity Column on the Graben in downtown Vienna, inaugurated in 1693, also known as the Pestsaule, or Plague Column since it was erected after the Great Plague epidemic of 1679.   Glad we don't have one of these in Washington, DC.

St. Stephen's Cathedral, built in the 15th century.

The inside of the cathedral is just spectacular, like so many churches and cathedrals in Europe, especially when you consider when they were constructed.

The Boss and I at the viewing platform on top of St. Stephen's Cathedral.

We had lunch at a small stand in the square - bier and brats.  What could be better?

Apparently the Austrians have a mild identity complex.

After dinner on the ship, we went back into the city for a concert at the Hopsburg Palace, which we felt we must do since Vienna is the music capital of the world (with apologies to Nashville).  Our guide on the way to the concert delivered a brief lecture on the most famous composers to live and work in Vienna, which included, of course, Mozart, and Johann Strauss I, and his son Johann Strauss II.  Although the venue was not impressive (folding chairs in a large ballroom rather than a theater), the music was excellent (some even recognizable to those of us with little knowledge of classical music).  They even threw in some musical humor to go along with a quartet of opera singers.

The concert hall inside a wing of the Hopsburg Palace.

The orchestra played selections from Mozart, Johann and Josef Strauss, among others, including the Blue Danube Waltz.

Two of the four opera singers that accompanied the orchestra on most of the selections.

The following day we sailed into the Wachau Valley of Austria, and made our first stop at Weissenkirchen.  Some of our group opted to do a bike ride along the Danube, and the rest of us joined the tour to Durnstein, another of my favorite stops on the trip.  Durnstein is famous for holding Richard the Lion Heart of England prisoner in its castle in 1193 after a dispute with King Leopold of Austria during the Crusades.  It may have been the most picturesque village we saw, with the castle ruins on the hill above the town, the abbey with its beautiful blue tower, cobblestone streets, and surrounding vineyards.  The tour included a wine tasting in the abbey, so you know why we skipped the bike ride.

Bob and Karen opt for the bike ride.

The castle ruins above the village.  King Richard the Lion Heart was a prisoner here during the Crusades.

The medieval village below the castle ruins, and surrounded by vineyards.

In Durnstein, like many towns along the river, they keep track of the devastating floods that occur all too often,

Doesn't look like much has changed in the last 1000 years or so.

Typical house in the village.

The Wachau Valley is famous for its apricots, and they make all kinds of products from them - the apricot liqueur and apricot brandy were big sellers.

The courtyard of the Durstein Abbey with the blue tower above, on another picture perfect weather day.

Wine tasting at the Abbey - those rolls were fabulous, and the wine was OK.  

Upon returning to the ship, we had a relaxing two and half hours of cruising through the valley with a warm sunny day.  Many of the group gathered on the top deck to enjoy the weather, lunch and the company.

This is the kind of scenery river cruising provides, something you can't get on an ocean cruise.

Views like this were common during our sail through the Wachau Valley on the Danube.

Relaxing on the top deck of AmaSerena with food, drinks and friends.

The Blonde Bombshells!  Ann, Ellen, Karen, Doreen and Marilyn Monroe.

The ship docked again in Emmensdorf, where we had the choice to visit the Melk Abbey and ride the bus to Ybbs, or ride bikes from Emmensdorf to Ybbs, or just stay on the ship and sail to Ybbs.  Once everyone was back on the ship in Ybbs, we sailed on to Grein.

Ellen, Jim, Mike and Keith get ready for the 17-mile bike ride to Ybbs.

Melk Abbey - beautiful building and gardens, but the tour was a little dull.

The inside of the abbey church was unbelievable - heard a lot of "Wows!" as people entered - alas, no photos allowed.

This is where the monks get their carry-out. 

The view from the abbey - another glorious day along the Danube.

After dinner on the ship, we had a short walking tour in Grein.  I have to admit, this was one of the very few times I was not impressed with the local guide, and after standing in the square for about 20 minutes listening to her recite some uninteresting facts, Jay and Doreen, Mike, Karen, Esther and I slipped away into an open restaurant across the square and sat at the bar.  Keith and Betty showed up after they finished the tour by seeing the oldest theater in Austria – so we missed the most interesting part.  Several of us stopped in to the last open bar we could find on the way back to the ship for a nightcap.

The oldest theater in Austria - but some of us weren't patient enough to finish the tour.

Instead, we got a little local culture.

Closing down the last open bar in Grein - Jack, Mike, Suzanne, Doreen, Jay, Esther, Karen and some chubby guy.

The next day the ship was docked in Lind.  Esther and I selected the all-day Salzburg tour option – how can you go to Austria and not go to Salzburg?  Some people did a Lind city tour, some did bike riding again, and some opted for a trip to Cesky Krumlov, a medieval town across the border in the Czech Republic.  On our way to Salzburg, we stopped in the town of Mondsee in the Lake District, one of the most popular resort areas in Austria, due to the 76 lakes clustered in and around mountains.  Mondsee is famous as the site of the wedding church in The Sound of Music.    

St. Michael Basilica, the church used in the wedding scene of The Sound of Music.

The town of Mondsee was charming, and we had perfect weather as usual.

The town is located on the shore of the lake of the same name, Mondsee.

Then it was on to Salzburg, the birthplace of Mozart, for a walking tour followed by free time.  Salzburg is a beautiful city on the Salzach River, that was a major Roman settlement as early as 15 BC.  Our tour included the Mirabell Gardens (also a location used in The Sound of Music), the Old Market, and the streets of the Old City.  We ended our tour near the Salzburg Cathedral, where a small Oktoberfest-type festival was in progress.

View across the river to the Old Town, with the castle on the hill above.

The Getreidegasse, the main street through the old town, with the wrought iron guild signs on the buildings.

This one does not date back to Roman times.

Mozart's birthplace, also located along the Getreidegasse.  There is a museum here but we didn't go in.

A mini-Oktoberfest was in progress around the Salzburg Cathedral.  We spent a little time in a beer garden to practice for the real thing in Munich.

Of course there was a funicular up to the castle, but surprisingly enough, I didn't go up.  Opted for the beer garden instead.

We passed through Linz on the way back to the ship.  Linz is the third largest city in Austria and is notable as the town where Adolph Hitler spent most of his youth before moving to Vienna. That evening, we had the Chaines des Rotisseurs dinner on the ship – AmaWaterways is the only river cruise line inducted into La Chaine des Rotisseurs, one of the world’s most prestigious culinary organizations.

We sailed from Austria to Germany overnight and docked in Passau the next morning, a city known for its location at the confluence of three rivers: the Danube, the Inn, and the Ilz, on the border with Austria.  Highlights of the walking tour included the old town with its cobblestone streets and St. Stephen’s Cathedral.  Some opted instead to do the hike to Passau Castle. 

The cobblestone streets and Baroque architecture in the Old Town area.

Typical street in town looking down towards the Town Hall and the river.

The front facade of St. Stephen's Cathedral. 

The churches we saw on this trip were amazing - and this one was no exception.  Dazzling.

The world's second largest pipe organ.  Interestingly, the largest is in a church in Los Angeles.  Who would want to do a river cruise in LA?

The Town Hall building - note the flood elevation marks on the right of the building wall.

The view of the Passau Castle Hill from the square in front of the Town Hall.

Our afternoon was spent with a scenic cruise from Passau to Vilshofen, our last port.  Many of our group took advantage of the fabulous weather and watched the scenery go by from the top deck.

The Boss briefs some of the group on disembarkation procedures during our afternoon sail. From left: Susan, Betty, Keith, David, Doreen, Jay, Mike, Ann and Esther.

We arrived in Vilshofen, and had the opportunity to walk around the town on our own. Oddly, most of the shops and restaurants were closed on this Saturday.  

The church at the end of the main street in town.

The town was quaint, but deserted on this afternoon except for a few of us tourists.

Had to walk through this tunnel to get from the ship into town.

The highlight of the Vilshofen stop was the Oktoberfest party on shore for AmaSerena guests only, hosted by the mayor of Vilshofen.  By this point in the cruise, our group had become good friends and we enjoyed the party music, beer and audience participation.  It was another good practice run for the real thing in Munich.

The band provided lively traditional German music.

Me and Monica, our Cruise Director, and the Captain.

Party time with (left to right) Cathy, Eileen, Jay, Doreen, The Boss, Cathy, Barbie, Paul and Jeff.

The rest of the group (left to right) - David, Bob, Karen, Susan, Keith, Betty, Ellen and Jim.

Betty got to dance with the mayor.

One of the band members tries to teach us a German folk dance - total failure.

The reward for humiliating myself was a kiss from the Beer Queen

After the Oktoberfest, we had the Captain’s Gala Dinner, our last one on the ship.  Bob and Karen and Keith and Betty were invited to the Captain’s table, and it was apparent that the pre-gaming at the Oktoberfest party had everyone in a jolly mood.  

The Captain's Table on our last night on the ship - Bob is second from left, Keith is back left, Betty is on the Captain's right, and Karen is on his left.

The Captain and Karen got along famously.

We said goodbye to the AmaSerena and its amazing staff the next morning and boarded our buses to head for the post-cruise extension in Munich.  We stopped along the way in Regensburg, a town on the Danube that was reportedly first settled in the Stone Age.  Like many of the other places we visited during the cruise, the medieval center of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage site.   The city is well-preserved as it was one of the few places not significantly damaged by bombing in World War II.  The Stone Bridge across the Danube was originally constructed in the 1100s, and was used by the Crusaders.   The Regensburg Sausage Kitchen claims to be one of the oldest restaurants in the world, operating since the Stone Bridge was built.  And of course, no city in Europe is complete without its cathedral, and the Regensburg Cathedral was another impressive structure.

The medieval city of Regensburg, on the Danube.

The Stone Bridge, currently being restored, dates back to 1146.  Have I mentioned that we had unbelievable weather for the entire cruise?

We had another wonderful guide for our walking tour - she was acquainted with Pope Benedict XVI, who was a professor of theology at Regensburg University before he became Pope.

This is one of the oldest towers in the city, which were built by the wealthiest families in town - the richer the family, the higher the tower.

The Regensburg Cathedras - ABC, another beautiful church.  Founded in 1275 and completed in 1634.  Considered the main work of Gothic architecture in Bavaria.

The Regensburg Sausage Kitchen, operating since the 12th century.

You don't miss an opportunity to eat at one of the oldest restaurants in the world, and the sausages were outstanding.

We departed from Regensburg after lunch and had a two-hour bus ride to Munich, where we checked into Le Meridien Munich, a very nice hotel located right across the street from the main train station.  Our entire group gathered that evening for a dinner at the Georgenhof Restaurant, owned by Melissa Lamy, the younger sister of one of Esther’s high school friends in Wurzburg.  The wiener schnitzel and pork roast were the most popular dishes.

Esther and Melissa, the owner of the Georgenhof.  

The next day, Monday, was our Oktoberfest day. We began with a morning tour of the grounds to get a little history and perspective of the event.  Oktoberfest is the world’s largest Volksfest (People’s Fair), that runs from mid to late September until the first week of October.  It began in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig I to Princess Therese.  Today it attracts over 6 million visitors, who drink over 7 million liters of beer.  Do the math.

All 20 of us, ready to party!

This group was made up of slightly more mature and better behaved individuals than our group.

The grounds are filled with rides and attractions as well as food venues of every kind, but the main attractions are the beer tents.  There are 14 large tents, which means they hold between 2,000 to 11,000 people.   

One of the main avenues through the grounds.

There is actually a genuine flea circus at Oktoberfest, where fleas pull wagons and play soccer.  Probably more fun after a few beers.

Typical rides and attractions on the grounds - very creative decorations and displays.

The Hofbrau tent is the second largest at Oktoberfest.

The large Lowenbrau tent has its signature lion that roars and lifts a stein of beer every few minutes.

The inside of a typical tent before the serious beer drinking starts.

We had a reserved area for our group of 20 in the Schutzen-Festzelt, a tent with 4400 people, serving Lowenbrau beer.  Our fee included the tour of the grounds, our reservations in the tent, plates of appetizers, two liters of beer per person (a little over a half gallon, or just shy of a six-pack), and their signature dish – a half of a roasted chicken.

The inside of our tent at about 1:00 PM. Most guys wear the traditional lederhosen and women wear their dirndls

Every tent has a band, with a pretty impressive repertoire - over four thousand of us sang "Sweet Caroline" together!

Now, the purpose of this blog is not to embarrass anyone, so I tried to select pictures that show just how much fun everyone had.  Some had more fun than others, but we won’t single Jeff out.  

Esther and Jeff about halfway through their first liter.

Jay looks at home with the German hat and his beer.

I think you can see who the beer drinker in this couple is.

By the smiles on their faces, I would guess Esther and Doreen could be on liter #2.

At first, only Jeff and one other person in our group were up on the benches.

It didn't take long for more to join.

Looks like Bob is pretending to recycle his beer - you were just pretending, right Bob?

Even Cathy, the senior member or our group, gets in the act.

Why do we seem to be having so much more fun than the Germans?

I love the expression on the face of the guy watching Jeff.

Keith loved those girls in their dirndls.

I always like to engage in a little cultural exchange with the locals.

Cultural exchange - Part II.

You get the idea by now, right?

I think it’s safe to say that Oktoberfest met or exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Auf Wiedersehen means "Go sleep it off" in German, and most of us did.

Surprisingly enough, everyone (even Jeff) was up bright and early the next day for our 9:00 AM excursion to Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavarian Alps.  Neuschwanstein is the real-life castle that served as the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle at Disneyland.  We had fabulous weather again, which made the views all the more spectacular.   The castle was commissioned by King Ludwig II and was completed in 1882.  He died four years later.

This is not a postcard - I really did take this picture

This is a view of the Bavarian Alps and the village of Hohenschwangau from the castle.  The castle on the right was built by Ludwig's father and was his childhood home.

Schloss Hohenschwangau - not too shabby in its own right.

After lunch near the castle, we stopped at the Wieskirche (Church of Wies) in the foothills of the Alps.  The church is a popular pilgrimage site because it houses a sculpture of Jesus which was reported to shed tears in 1738.  Our guide said the church wasn’t that impressive, but I guess they are used to all those amazing cathedrals.   

The Wieskirche, located in a peaceful setting in the foothills of the Alps.

Our guide said the church wasn't all that - but it was gorgeous.

This is the sculpture of Jesus that led to the construction of the church to better accommodate all the pilgrims.

 Some of our group left for home the following morning, while the rest of us enjoyed a free day in Munich.  Esther and I walked to Marienplatz, the main square in the center of Munich, where the Glockenspiel is located.  The Glockenspiel is part of the Town Hall building and has 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures that move, re-enacting certain German legends.  We then strolled to the nearby market, and picked up a few souvenirs. 

The entrance gate to Munich's Old Town.

Munich New Town Hall in the Marienplatz.

The bells ring and the figures dance around on the Glockenspiel two or three times a day depending on the season.  We missed the show this time, but saw it two years ago.

A cheese shop in the market. 

 The 10 of us that were left in town on Wednesday evening got together for one last dinner at a restaurant near the hotel.  Ironically, it was the same 10 people that met for dinner in Budapest before the start of the AmaWaterways trip, 11 days previously.  

We always say that it’s more fun to travel with friends.  This was such an amazing trip because we got to travel with old friends and met some great new friends.  

The AmaSerena was a wonderful way to visit so many fascinating and scenic places, with excellent tours, superb food and outstanding service.  The bucket list is still pretty long and we hope our friends will continue to travel the world with us!

In the lobby of Le Meridien
Ann, Barbie, Cathy, Eileen, Susan, Cathy, Ellen, Betty, Karen, Doreen & Esther
Tom, Bob, Jeff, Jay, David, Paul, Jim, Keith  & Mike

As always, your questions, comments and criticism are not only welcomed, but encouraged.