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Blue Danube with Oberammergau 2022
We are scheduled westbound 5/30/22, coming in early in Budapest. Anyone else arriving early that wants to meet?
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We are arriving early and would love to meet.
We are on this trip in August…we will be interested in your comments when you return. Please post. Thanks!
We are on this trip that begins July 20 in Budapest, and are arriving July 18. If anyone else is arriving early, we'd like to know. We're also interested in reading comments from those who take this trip earlier in the year.
We are doing this trip beginning in Munich. We leave Friday!! We are arriving a day early and also staying an additional day in Budapest. I will post comments when we get back.
We are on the west bound trip, arriving in Budapest on June 12. Would love to hear from those on the earlier trips about their experiences.
First update on our trip - we left May 27th on Lufthansa headed for Munich. Masking was required on the flight because Germany still requires masks on public transportation. Seemed like most everyone complied. CDC cards were not checked. We arrived in Munich the day before our tour began and did some sightseeing on our own.
There was a packet of information waiting for us at the hotel (we had to ask for it). You will want to make sure you have it because there are papers you will need to complete for the tour director. Our tour director said he would inform us when masking was required, but did recommend that we wear masks when around others. On his last tour, he had 8 people (all asymptomatic) test positive for Covid the day before their flight. At least half of our group (of 36) are wearing masks on the bus. On our first full day, we had a tour of Munich, mostly by bus and then walked to the Marienplatz where we had some free time.
We left later that day for Ettal where we stayed at the Hotel Blaue Gams. Our tour director told us it was not a top hotel, but we really enjoyed it. The grounds were beautiful and there was ample seating if you wanted to spend some time outside. There were great views of the Ettal Abbey from the hotel grounds. We had an excellent dinner there - service (especially restaurant servers) was very good.
The next morning it was off to Oberammergau - only about a 10 minute drive. Our tour director provided a brief walking tour, primarily to orient us to the town and where meeting points would be. We then had free time to shop, explore, and get lunch. I thought finding a place for lunch might be difficult. The first place we tried was fully booked, but then we came across a smaller restaurant that had immediate seating. We did do some shopping. We met our tour director at the bus where we could leave purchases or anything else we did not want to take into the theatre. And then it was off to security for the play. We were asked to have both our ticket (provided earlier that morning) and our passports. Men and women went through separate lines for a "pat down"security check. They also took a brief look at my purse (which did meet size requirements someone reported on another thread). All in all security was pretty easy. We met at our designated gate and when the doors opened, our tickets were checked and then we went to our seats. Our group was in the center section, rows 13 and 14 - really great seats. We were provided with the translation for the play. Some people read along, and others decided to just watch and read through it later. I think that is a personal choice. After our meal break (which was a buffet back at our Ettal hotel) we went through security again and watched the second half of the play. The hotel loaned us blankets, but most people sat on them as it wasn't very cold and the seats got pretty hard after an hour or so. The music is absolutely incredible, and the play itself is excellent - sometimes very intense.
The next morning there was a short tour of the Ettal Abbey and then we headed for our ship, the MS Joy. We joined about 65 others Tauck travelers who started their tour in Prague - so there are about 100 guests on board. So far (this is only Day 2 on the ship), we have found service to be very good and the food excellent. Arthurs is open for lunch with reservations. There is a buffet at breakfast and lunch. Items off the menu are also available for breakfast. There were three choices for dinner last night plus some other options that will be available all the time. Masks are required when going through the buffet lines and encouraged at other times. We visited a home this morning and another abbey. We are back on board and headed for the sun deck to take in some of the views. I will try to post some pictures later.
What a great review from a seasoned Tauck traveller, thank you. It looks as if the first few river cruises that had complaints have been noted and improved by Tauck as best they can during these difficult times.
Great review! When I read the first line, I thought it was going to start out like our horror story!
Great review - thanks. We are going on the Oberammergau tour//Ultimate Alps & Dolomites in Sept. I loved reading about how much you loved the music & the play. Our tour also starts in Munich - can you please tell me which hotel you stayed in and any other info about it that may be helpful to us- we are flying in 2 days early. Thank You
Thank you for the detailed review. We leave soon for Munich. Our cruise will be on the Rhine, but all of your info on the Munich and Oberammergau days was very helpful. I'm glad there was a tour of Ettal Abbey before departure for the ship. I hope they will include that for us as well.
We stayed at the Westin Grand - rooms were fine. Food was good - not great. The Marienplatz was not within walking distance of the hotel. On our pre day, we took a taxi to the Residenz Museum, then walked to Frauenkirche and then to the Marienplatz. We took a taxi back to the hotel from there. If you plan what you want to see in the area, you can manage walking between places and just take the taxi to and from the area. As I mentioned, most of Tauck's city tour was viewed from the bus window but they did give us a good amount of time at the Marienplatz following the tour.
Sugarcreek, if the Ettal Abbey tour isn't offered, several people walked from the Hotel Blaue Gams and went through the Abbey on their own. The tour did not provide time to go in the gift shop - several people who visited on their own enjoyed the shop.
Thanks for the information. We'll find time to visit the Abbey. I wonder way Tauck selected a hotel that was not more centrally located in Munich. When I looked up the location, it did seem a ways out. We have a pre-day too and want to visit the Alte Pinakothek art museum, so I will follow your advice on the taxis.
Thanks - we are on a different tour for the Passion Play and a different hotel in Munich - ours is city center - I appreciate the info anyway.
When we did Ultimate Alps & Dolomites years ago we stayed at the Four Seasons in Munich. It was on the Maximilianstraße just a short walk to the Hofbrauhaus, Victualienmarkt, the Residenz, and Marienplatz. They had the largest and best breakfast buffet we have ever seen before and since.
A few pictures from our trip. The first ones were taken at the Residenz Museum in Munich - the Antiquarium and a close-up of sea shells in the Grotto.
The next ones are the Glockenspiel and the Frauenkirche. We took the picture of the church from the tower in the New Town Hall. One of the nice things about this tower is there are no steps - you access the viewing area by elevator. (Sorry about the sideways pictures)
These pictures are of the Ettal Abbey (taken from our hotel grounds) and also ones in Oberammergau. There is the theatre and also the stage for the Passion Play (taken from our seats prior to the play beginning). There is also a picture of the cemetery of the St. Peter and Paul Church - this is near where the first Passion Plays were performed. And finally, one of the interior of this same church.
And one more of the Sun Deck on the MS Joy.
I'd like to share our story about the Passion Play. We went to the play on the Tauck Germany tour in 2010. As you can see by the pictures, the seating area is covered whereas the stage is not. It does, however, have a moveable roof that can be rolled out in bad weather.
The play is presented in two sessions - one before dinner and one after. For our performance the day began beautifully. So the cover for the stage was open. As the afternoon progressed, the day got a bit more overcast. By the time we were at the Last Supper, it was very dark and it began to hail (golfball sized hail). It came down so hard that the actors didn't know what to do. The chorus was peering out from the wings taking pictures and Jesus and the Apostles were looking for guidance. The hail was bouncing off the stage into the first rows of the audience!
They halted the play and vacated the first rows and brought in the EMTs to treat the people who had been hit by the hail and gotten bloodied. After the hail stopped, the stage crew came out with large brooms to sweep away the hail. All this took about a half an hour. When it was done, the play resumed until the normal break for dinner.
We went away and came back after dinner to a theater with the roof over the stage in place (we had been told that they were unable to move the roof while people were in the theater). Now imagine. It's evening. It's dark. The wind is blowing outside. There is thunder and lightening. And we're getting to the crucifixion. Nature provided the most perfect effects for this part of the play!
We were fortunate to have been part of one of the most unique presentations of the Passion Play.
Great travelog and photos, cvc...I copied it and sent it to our group going in August. We've debated doing a walking tour of Munich and rethinking it now and just see some of the highlights. Thanks for sharing your observations especially about the play! Kathy, that had to be so dramatic when you went! Wow!
I have a question for CVC. Since we will be returning to the states early July from Munich, I was wondering how did you complete the covid testing? We will be staying at the Weston Grand Munich. Great photos. Thanks for sharing.
Things could change by then- you might not need the test, but don't worry if you still need to be tested. On both tours we did this spring, our Tauck TD made arrangements or provided points of contact for those doing a post-stay who needed later testing. Unless you are traveling to another city, don't worry about it. We stayed an extra day at the end of Jordan & Egypt, but were leaving early in the morning for a private excursion. We arranged with the doctor to be tested even earlier.
Thank you, cvc, for the detailed reports. They are most informative and helpful. We are leaving in a week and a half for the westbound Heart of the Danube with Oberammergau play, which is the first trip for this tour. We have a couple of days in Budapest before the tour begins. If anyone has information about what to do in Budapest, we will appreciate it. I'll try to post during or after the trip to help others on future trips. Also, if anyone has comments on MS Joy, please post them. If anyone is on the trip beginning July 20, we are interested in hearing from you and meeting you on board the ship.
Besides the Passion Play, Budapest was our favorite part of the tour. Our hotel was on the Pest side. We had Covid for part of the time, but could take walks outside if we wore masks. It's enjoyable just to walk around. We walked to the Shoes on the Danube Promenade. The Parliament was very near so we walked around the Parliament but did not take a tour of it (2nd picture). Once we tested negative, we also went to St. Stephan's Basilica, the Dohany Street Synagogue (third picture) and the House of Terror. The Synagogue was beautiful. We are not Jewish so found the museum very interesting as it explained some of the beliefs/customs. I wasn't at all sure what I would think of the House of Terror, but it was a moving experience. They had recorded stories from those who had lived through those times throughout the building - really an oral history. There are also written sheets in most of the rooms that explain what you are seeing. We also went to the Great Market Hall. It looks like you will visit Heroe's Square and the Fishermen's Bastion as part of your tour. There are great views of the Parliament Building from Fishermen's Bastion - that's the last picture I posted. Have fun - I think you will love Budapest!
MMMJRH - we also booked a one-hour evening cruise that would take us by the Parliament Building as well as some other sites. We thought seeing some of those places lit up after dark (we booked the 9PM cruise) would be really cool. Unfortunately, we had to cancel that because of our Covid.
We too toured the synagogue in our free time and were so impressed. Wished we had longer but had to run back to the hotel to head for the ship. The great market is interesting - designed by Eiffel. Food shopping on the lower level is good for paprika. Souvenirs upstairs a bit tacky and disappointing. Our ship was docked really close to the market so an easy walk between the two.
Thanks to cvc and Claudia for the very helpful information. The pictures posted by cvc are great. We plan on visiting some of these places. We also have booked through Viator a half-day wine-tasting tour to Etyek.