Review of "Romantic Capitals" Paris to Prague - Part 1

MCD

    I enjoyed this tour very much. Our three Tour Directors, Katalin Gyorffy, Sophie Strasser and Elwira Burdzy, and our Cruise Director, Kristyna Drobna, were outstanding.    It was my third time cruising on the M.S. Savor, and I enjoyed everything about the ship.  For the first time, based on comments in the Forum, I tried a Category 1 cabin.   I found it to be more than adequate, and the savings that resulted from not having to pay a solo supplement more than paid for my business class airfare.  

I lost out on my pre-tour free day in Paris because my flight from Boston was cancelled after it had pulled back from the gate, due to a malfunctioning part.  There were no replacement parts in Boston.   I was one of the fortunate few who were able to reschedule the same flight the following night.  (A woman whom I had met on a previous trip was also taking this tour and was on the same flight, but her rebooking the next day was on a connecting flight through JFK.)

As a result, I did not have much time in Paris.  I had been to Paris several times before, most recently in June, so missing the day did not impact me as much as it would have if I had been in an unfamiliar city.   I was disappointed in the location of the Hotel du Collectionneur, in the 8th arrondissement, which was not not close to much that interested me.  I overheard someone complaining that the hotel did not have a restaurant that was open for dinner, but that did not affect me.  The Tauck pre-opening visit to the Musee de Cluny was worthwhile, and the boat ride on the Seine was relaxing.   During our only free afternoon, a friend and I walked around Parc Monceau, which was close to the hotel, and then to the Galeries Lafayette.  We had a light supper in an outdoor cafe on the way back to the hotel.  (My iPhone tells me that I walked 5.8 miles that day.)

We had a smooth train ride to Luxembourg City, where we arrived shortly (as in a matter of hours) after the new Grand Duke had assumed the the throne.  The city was all decked out with flags and flowers, but our walking tour was re-routed because of festivities.  Even on a day without a celebration, coaches cannot enter the city center, so we all took a free public tram ride 3 stops from the train station to get to the area of our walking tour.  After a few hours spent in the city, we had to walk about a mile to get to where the coaches were parked.  On our ride to the riverboat, we stopped at the American Cemetery, where over 5,000 soldiers and airmen, including General Patton, are buried.  We were given free time there, and a rose to place on a grave of our choosing.  I always find visits to military cemeteries to be quite moving.

Our time on the riverboat struck me as more relaxing than past river cruises.   Our stops in the German cities and towns were usually only for a few hours, and included both walking tours and free time. It’s difficult to pick a favorite town, but if I had to, I think it would be Rothenburg (home of the original Katie Wohlfarth store, which is an experience in and of itself) or Bamberg.   They, as well as most others, sported half-timbered buildings and cobblestone streets.  At almost every — if not every — stop, Tauck offered the options of an energetic walking tour (which I always chose and did not find to be difficult), a regular walking tour, and a slow-paced tour for people who had mobility issues.  I thought that that was a great idea.   I would say that each of my walking tours had about 15 people on it.  

We had two dinners at castles — Shlosshotel Kronberg and Lobkowitz Palace in Prague Castle.  Both included musical entertainment.  After dinner in the Lobkowitz Palace, we were given the opportunity to view a portion of the family’s art collection, all of which had been seized by the Nazis and recovered piece by piece following the war.  We were provided with an audio guide to the collection, and then, on departure, were given a book autographed by a Lobkowitz family member.  Because so many people ask about dress codes, I will add that more than half of the men wore sport jackets or suits to the fancy dinners.