photo blog recap of our Blue Danube river cruise

m2g

We took our first Tauck tour in September of 2018 on the West to East, Prague-Budapest river cruise.

Before we went I found it very difficult to grasp what the experience would be like and whether we were good candidates for such a tour, since we'd previously only done independent travel.

Thus, I've been doing a recap of our trip keeping in mind the things I wish I could have known and pictured before we went. I'm also happy to answer any questions.

I had some particular concerns about accessibility, and almost canceled our trip in advance after receiving cautionary and even discouraging responses on this forum. So if anyone has questions about mild mobility issues for this tour, I can address them from the standpoint of my own experience, which, happily, was much more positive than what the responses on the forum would have promised.

Cutting to the chase, our experience was A++ and we remain in awe of how beautifully Tauck plans and executes their travel experiences.

Here are the posts so far - I will be taking a few weeks off the recap to cover something else on the blog but will pick up with the rest of our tour after a few weeks. We flew in early to have some extra time in Vienna and Prague so some of those posts are not from the tour but are relevant to the experience if you haven't already visited those cities. Hope these are helpful:

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/10/06/prologue/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/10/13/when-words-fail-and-pictures-too/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/10/20/or-as-i-call-it-the-noshmarkt/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/10/27/reasons-to-get-in-and-out-of-bed-in-vienna/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/11/03/a-night-at-the-staatsoper/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/11/10/prague-ability-100/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/11/17/king-of-the-castles-cesky-krumlov/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/12/01/never-say-never-two-loners-join-a-group-tour/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/12/08/traveling-with-the-herd/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/12/15/pack-your-bags-prague-to-regensburg/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2018/12/22/an-der-donau/

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2019/01/05/engelhartszell/

BSP51

Thank you m2g. Can’t wait for your next post of the remainder of the trip.

AlanS

Very nice blog about a great tour! We used PragueWalker's services for an excursion to Cesky Krumlov also- concur they are great outfit.

Terry from Boone

Thanks so much for a great series of blogs about this cruse. As first time group travels planning on this cruse in May we very much appreciate your insights.

Sandman1

Have to compliment you on the best blog I have seen posted to Tauck forum in the past years. I follow the forums often and found your blog both entertaining and informative. You have a real talent and I applaud it!!

m2g

@ BSP51, @Terry from Boone and @Sandman, thank you so much all and am so pleased that you enjoyed the blog posts. I do an annual book retrospective each January so that will occupy the next few posts (I post once weekly on Saturdays; the pay isn't high enough to do it more often than that;-)

I will put up a reminder here when I've returned to the river cruise posts. And just fyi for everyone, everything I post is just my own opinions, I am not promoting anything or anybody (except maybe Tauck and my dear husband for taking me on the trip) and I receive no remuneration or advertising benefit for anything I post. Oh, and there may be the occasional chicken as that was actually the catalyst for starting the blog ten years ago and the reason for the polloplayer.com handle:-)

Terry from Boone

m2g wrote:

I do an annual book retrospective each January so that will occupy the next few posts (I post once weekly on Saturdays; the pay isn't high enough to do it more often than that;-)

We're waiting patiently (?) for the conclusion of your book review series. Our cruise is approaching and we're anxious to see your coverage of the places that will be on the beginning of our westbound cruise.

Terry

AlanS

I was mostly interested in your photos- we could swap photos and no one would know the difference!

However, today I spent a little time actually reading the blog, some of it to my wife. We both had to laugh- there are some uncanny commonalities between us- I'm a professional navigator (really) and routinely ignore Google Maps, Waze, etc. "Recalculating" is often heard in our car when I ignore the electronic guidance, because "It is trying to take us the long way!" My better half is sometimes directionally challenged- she will point to the right and say, "turn left here." I rely on cardinal headings, she on landmarks. We also loved your remarks about about meeting, dining with, and talking with strangers. By the end of the tour, some have become great friends.

Oh, and don't fret about your appearance wearing a VOX- the locals know you are tourist regardless. My hearing has been declining, but (arguably) not to the point of needing hearing aids. A few years go I discovered that a regular corded stereo headset or earbuds can be used with most brands of listening device (VOX, Whisper, etc.). So, instead of the supplied single ear piece, I use a headset- but I always tell the guide I am indeed listening to him/her and not tunes. My next experiment will to get a Bluetooth device for the VOX so I can use it with my new cordless, noise-reducing headset. : )

Claudia Sails

Alan you're a hoot. My husband is great at knowing NSEW directions but can't make 4 consecutive right turns and realize he went in a circle. I'm the opposite. So much fun on RV trips.

Don't your new headphones have a standard audio plug? Bought my husband New Bose noise canceling headphones for Christmas that have both old style plugs and bluetooth. Made sure of that before ordering.

m2g

Hi @AlanS. I know, there were too many books this year! I have two, or three at most, more posts to dispose of them and then will head back to the river cruise. Some of my blog followers are really into the annual book recap so I have to see it through.

Since you're going Westbound does that mean you're starting in Budapest?
Will you be staying at the Ritz-Carlton?
If so, try to stop in at Café Kör, just a few blocks away. It doesn't look like much from the outside, or, for that matter, the inside, but the food is great and it's not just a tourist place. We literally went twice one day!

The bridges are so lovely.

And do try to go take a look at the Four Seasons. If you are doing the night at the Acadamia, it's just across the street and supposed to be amazing inside. We admired it from outside but didn't go in and then I saw an article online listing it as one of the most beautiful hotels in the world.

I still think about Budapest every single day. Lovely city.

Nice to know other couples have navigational adventures. I remember driving once during rush hour in Paris (long before GPS) desperately trying to get back into the city for a performance of the Bolshoi Ballet (this was before they regularly toured in the US) and I'm kind of amazed our marriage even survived that little episode. I was "navigating" and he was driving and, well, mistakes were made...

Happy to answer any questions about the cruise and I promise to head back to it as soon as possible.

AlanS

Claudia Sails wrote:

Alan you're a hoot. My husband is great at knowing NSEW directions but can't make 4 consecutive right turns and realize he went in a circle. I'm the opposite. So much fun on RV trips.

Don't your new headphones have a standard audio plug? Bought my husband New Bose noise canceling headphones for Christmas that have both old style plugs and bluetooth. Made sure of that before ordering.

Yup, but don't want to mess with a cord (on my new Bose) plus I plan to use the Bluetooth transmitter with the TV too! : )

The Bose are really pricey but they have the most comfortable over-ear cushions and best noise canceling I've ever experienced!

Claudia Sails

Pricey yes. Got a pretty good deal from Costco right after thanksgiving. He loves them and they're more compact than old set. Kinda wish I'd bought myself a pair.

AlanS

m2g wrote:

Since you're going Westbound does that mean you're starting in Budapest?
Will you be staying at the Ritz-Carlton?

Speaking of Budapest, the bridges, and the Ritz-Carlton- we spotted this place near the Chain Bridge on the Buda side of the river. This is where the non-Tauck travelers stay. Obviously, it ain't the Ritz! : )