Viking Grand European Must Not Miss

We are leaving on October 16 on Viking's Grand European cruise. Am interested to know what we MUST NOT MISS...

What are your interests?

Hello...we like music and architecture and history...and want to make sure we don't miss anything if at all possible...

The inside of an operating Windmill

Where are your stops . . . those of us not familiar with Viking might be able to give some advice.

If you are leaving from Budapest, be sure to be on the top deck as you are leaving in the evening. It is spectacular. We did the cruise leaving Aug. 28 and it was very cool that night and many people did not come up to see it. They serve the Hungarian apricot brandy to warm you up.

If the chef offers a shopping tour (ours was in Budapest), it's lots of fun and great to meet your chef that way.

We did the Rothenberg optional tour even though we'd stayed there on previous trips and had considered not going. It's such a wonderful picturesque town; I'm glad to opted to take the trip. There was a town-wide fair going on the day we were there which made it even more memorable.

The Cologne beer culture tour sounds corny but is really fun (and you do learn about Cologne beer drinking). Since it's at night you also see the town and cathedral at night.

Having gone 2 years ago with Viking.....miss nothing. If you have a chance to visit the locals homes with a tour....do it!

Loved Amsterdam...even with the smell of pot in the streets and the prostitutes posing in the windows as the church is poised next store. Excellant history!

The end of the cruise was pulling into Budapest at night with the city lit up at all sides as we crossed under the bridge.....magnificent!!!!:eek:;)

.....go on the tour with the chef for that evenings meal shopping at the open market.

The cheese shoppe was so smelly not many could go in but if you are brave you may get to choose the cheese for that nights meal....WOW!

Are u leaving out of Amsterdam? What ship. We leave on that day from amsterdam

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Hi there,

We are currently on the KVASIR and in Cologne today. When we were in Vienna, Viking tested an optional tour, which we took and highly recommend. It is a tour of the Vienna Choir Boys living and practice space ( a beautiful palace with gorgeous gardens) followed by a concert in a two-year-old concert hall. We got the centuries old history of the boys and how they live, tour and go to school. Plus the premises are superb. Then the concert was wonderful. It may only happen on Friday nights though. So if your cruise finds itself in Vienna on a Friday, you're in luck. You will be out of luck though if you end up in Passau on a Sunday, unless you plan to attend the start or end of the church service to listen to the largest organ, in the world, I think. I'm not an organ lover so I would have passed regardless. If you are interested in art nouveau architecture, I highly recommend a visit to Gellert Baths in Budapest. You can just go in and take pictures, or you can indulge in taking the waters, which we did. It was really relaxing and pleasant to see all these locals who go there to socialize in the different pools. You can get a changing cabin or a locker. Just bring flip flops, a couple of towels from the ship and a bathing cap in case they get testy about it, although I saw a number of people without bathing caps. There's very little time in Vienna, but I also recommend the Shunbrunn Palace tour, although I had gone there on my own on a different trip. I think it may be somewhat rushed and you may miss the beautiful gardens and going up to the Gloriette, the gazebo the size of a mansion. When I talked to our program director, I mentioned that Vienna should be a two-day stay and he replied that Viking are thinking about it because of the cultural activities there.

Now, we ended going to the optional Mozart concert as we'll, and I know many people enjoy it, but if you are serious about music, or a snob like me, I would recommend that you check out what is available at the Opera House and get tickets before you leave on your cruise. Alternately, if you have the stamina, there are always standing room only tickets available for that night's performance. The Viking Mozart concert is charming but definitely geared to entertain tourists. The venue is a room often used for balls or ballroom dancing events, it's not an acoustically correct concert hall.

I recommend you do your research before the trip and then use the help of the concierge on your ship. They are very good at organizing your activities and providing excellent planning advice. They got us to the Budapest markets and the baths in a very efficient way plus if you need to use a taxi, they call ones that charge the normal rates, not the elevated ones unsuspecting tourists pay.

Ti

Hello

Thanks for all the replies...we are sailing on the Eistia from Budapest to Amsterdam and have read all of your suggestions. We are wondering about the optional tours...and wonder which ones to NOT MISS.:)

Are u leaving out of Amsterdam? What ship. We leave on that day from amsterdam

 

 

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Hi

We leave from budapest so our ships will pass...I assume...thanks

"Now, we ended going to the optional Mozart concert as we'll, and I know many people enjoy it, but if you are serious about music, or a snob like me, I would recommend that you check out what is available at the Opera House and get tickets before you leave on your cruise. Alternately, if you have the stamina, there are always standing room only tickets available for that night's performance. The Viking Mozart concert is charming but definitely geared to entertain tourists. The venue is a room often used for balls or ballroom dancing events, it's not an acoustically correct concert hall."

I agree with ticonderoga about obtaining Opera tickets in advance for a special evening. I would skip the optional concert in Vienna - the room was so crowded and warm, difficult to see over the person in front of you, and with people jammed so close together that I had to leave....very claustrophobic and I normally do not have this problem. The Opera would have been a much better idea, and it is in walking distance from the ship, via a main street.

We sailed September 13 - 17, 2014 on the Viking Bragi from Amsterdam to Budapest. Things not to miss (if you sail in either direction):

1. Windmills at Kinderdijk. Climb up inside one

2. Residenz tour at Wurzburg. the splendor is breath-taking. Buy the post cards 'cause you can't take photos inside.

3. Night-time sail into Budapest (for sailing from Amsterdam). Simply breath-taking

4. Use the sun deck on warm days and whenever you can. During our cruise, it was closed for 5 straight days

5. World War 2 tour in Nuremberg. It's an optional shore excursion, so you'll have to pay. It was highly informative.

6. Organ concernt in Passau in St. Stephens church.

7. tour the DOM cathedral in Cologne

8. Wiener Orchestra concert in Vienna.