Uniworld River Ambassador, 5/5/16, Danube Discovery and Prague

A review and ramblings of a wonderful trip.

This was the first sailing of this itinerary this year, although the ship was already in Belgium and the Netherlands earlier in the season.

I am not very technologically minded so have no idea how to incorporate any photos...you'll have to read reports by JP ! I know he has given instruction on how to do it, but he lost me after the first couple of words.

DAY ONE...started with a cross the pond overnight flight and connection in Frankfurt. The flight arrangements we made ourselves. What was available through Uniworld at the time did not suit us, although on previous trips it has worked out. Our layover in Frankfurt was about 4 hours so we knew we did not have to worry about the time it takes for the bus ride around the airport tarmac for our connection.

Landing in Prague and getting our suitcases was quick and easy and the Uniworld rep was easy to spot. The van driver originally thought we were to be dropped off at a different hotel so I think he took us on a somewhat more circuitous route than necessary. I say this because in November we were on Uniworld's Rhine Discovery and Prague cruise that also started in Prague.

The hotel used is the Boscolo Prague... good location gorgeous lobby, fabulous breakfast buffet. Warning if you have mobility issues with stairs. The entrance has waaay too many stairs, and to access an elevator you must go along the sidewalk a ways and down a sloped driveway to get to the lower level.

The rooms are fine, bed is comfortable, but no view out of the window. The bathrooms are modern with very deep tubs, which make it a bit tricky if you want to shower. A big step in or out.

A different Uniworld rep (Jana) meets you at the hotels, gives you a folder with a bit of information and a time to meet for the evening briefing about what is going to happen for the next two days.

Having been in Prague in November we were ready to go exploring until the evening meeting.

On Fridays there is a market set up on one side of Republic Square. Great place to get street food and beverages. The weather was warm so Czech beer was the perfect refreshment.

To get to the square..exit the front of the hotel and turn right..cross one street and turn right at the next one..walk a block and there you are! You can see the Powder Tower, the Municipal House and beyond those a shopping mall. If you orient yourself with the Municipal House on your right you can walk along that street for a few blocks and get to the Old Town Square and the Astronomical Clock. Then standing facing the front of the Astronomical clock, turn to your left and go a few blocks and you're at the Charles bridge!

Streets are not in any grid pattern, but if you have a map with street names...the map from the hotel is very good, you will see street names up on the side of buildings on every corner.

Evening meeting...Jana went over the activities that were included with the tour and the optional one for an extra cost to Terezin Concentration Camp.

We called it an early evening due to jet lag and retired to our room.

RB

I'm enjoying reading about the start of your trip. I hope there's more to follow.

I hope so too! Could read about vacations all day...beats working! :D

DAY TWO ...Saturday

We knew with jet lag we would be up early and ready to go, and as we had done the included Prague city tour in November we planned on doing our own thing for the day.

Hotel buffet breakfast opens at 6:30. Make sure you scope the whole room out first...the breads were tucked in a back corner.

No time to waste, had to take a tram to get to our first fun event. Note about the trams - the drivers do not handle money or tickets, these must be purchased ahead of time. There is a 'tabac' across the street from the hotel that sells these tickets. We got ours the evening before and we just needed a short timed one, so for 24CZK ($1?) each we got 30 minute rides. You are on your honour to validate your ticket in the yellow machine when you board the tram. Then you can transfer and travel anywhere for the allotted time. Our destination was the other side of the river across from the US Embassy in Lesser Town.

We had pre-booked the Morning Magic segway tour with Prague on Segway. They only take two riders at a time so you get a very personal tour. And even though we booked on line they only want payment after your tour, cash only, euros or korunas.

It was a glorious day and we had many chances to stop and take photos before the tourist crowd was all over the place.

After the time on segways, our guide suggested we explore the area known as new town. the university is there with many medical buildings and a different vibe from Old Town and tourists. Rather than taking the subway, as suggested, we walked. Past the Fred and Ginger building and eventually wandered the botanical gardens all the way to the top only to find there was no way out so we had to backtrack . It turned out many times you could not get to where you hoped to. Walls, locked gates, paths to nowhere. By the end of the day we had logged 16km on foot.

We stopped for a late lunch at U Kroka at the south end of new town. The beer was especially good going down after all that hill climbing. White asparagus was in season, so that was part of our lunch. It's not the first time eating it in Europe, but I'd rather eat the green stuff here at home. It's sweeter, I think.

We wandered some more heading back in the direction of the hotel with a stop at a children's festival. More street food.

By the time we neared the hotel we were beat and knew we would not last much longer. Popped into a Billa (grocery store) and picked up some fresh rolls, pickled herring, cheese, beverages and were ready to put our feet up and nosh in our room.

One fascinating thing in the grocery store has us puzzled...bags of a type of Rippled potato chip has the symbol of a red circle with a diagonal slash through it in the bottom left of the bag front. And the circle with the slash is over a silhouette of a high heeled shoe. ! ? ! ?

RB

One fascinating thing in the grocery store has us puzzled...bags of a type of Rippled potato chip has the symbol of a red circle with a diagonal slash through it in the bottom left of the bag front. And the circle with the slash is over a silhouette of a high heeled shoe. ! ? ! ?

 

RB

Hm. I wondered about this...and Googled it. Apparently a few months ago in England, a girl stabbed someone in the eye with her high-heeled shoe, after he offered her friend a bag of potato chips! Think that has anything to do with what you saw? Are they saying to please not stab anyone with you high heel over these chips?

http://www.worldwideweirdnews.com/2016/01/21-Woman-uses-high-heel-shoes-stab-eye-man-offered-potato-chips-to-friend.html

I enjoyed reading about your touring in Prague. Sounds like a place that we must visit some day. :)

Was this it? I found a few pictures for you. The caption "nic pro dámičky" as best I can tell from a translator program, means "nothing for the little lady" so your guess is as good as mine.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled review!

Yup, those are the chips - still does not make sense to me, but they were tasty . :)

I'm loving all the details you're providing. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Love your review! Will be there in September.

DAY THREE...Sunday...relocation day.

Breakfast buffet was a bit more relaxing for us, as as we did not have to be anywhere at a designated time, other than out of our rooms by noon and ready to board the buses to the ship at 1.

This was the morning of the Annual Prague Marathon, so we thought a good part of old town was going to be a bit difficult to get around with streets blocked off. It turned out not to be a problem at all. The route was going to have the runners go through the Powder Tower at the Republic Square around the 16km mark and then turn toward the Old Town Square. By our calculations if the marathon started at 9 then the front runners should be striding by the tower about 9:40. What we did not know was the family fun run was to start at the Republic square at 9:15 or so. That was a sight to see...people of all ages all wearing white t-shirts lined up between barricades waiting for their signal to start. Music blaring, spectators waving and with cameras ready to take picture of their family and friends as they jogged by. It was a good five minutes of humanity passing before the last participant cruised by on her tricycle with mom jogging by her side.

The organizers quickly moved some of the barricades to the real marathon route and soon the media car, police car, timer car whizzed by and there they were at 39 minutes - the pack of front runners. With such and easy stride they looked as if they could do this the rest of the day.

We stopped into Billa again to pick up some snacks and bevvies for the 4 hour bus ride to Nuremberg and tried to spend the rest of our Czech Krowns.

Just a note here about cash vs credit vs Euros, etc. Everyone has their own comfort level. Me, I like to use the local currency (cash) when I travel, and I get the appropriate currency from my bank before I leave on vacation. I do not like having to use ATMs in foreign countries, ore here at home, but could if I really needed to and also have a couple of credit cards just in case. Hotel rooms have safes as well the cabin on board the ship so any extra is secure. Plus I have no bills to pay to cover my spending after my vacation . Ready to start saving for the next one instead of paying for the last one !

The bus ride was that..a bus ride with a potty stop just before the German border. This time at one of those Scottish fast food joints. There were probably a half dozen buses there as well a a number of trucks so it was a busy place for those wanting to get something to eat. Good part was the toilets were free. Note...always carry some change for public toilets!!!

We arrived at the River Ambassador in time to check in, unpack and get to the 6:15 safety drill.

The docking area is south of the city in an industrial area on a canal. This area has been undergoing improvements since our first time in Nuremberg in 2011. They're still not finished, but it looks better every time.

Checking in...nothing could be easier... they scan your passport and give you a little business card sized wallet. This has a card with the ship's information and the phone number of the Cruise Manager and Cruise Director. And your room key card. They also take your photo. The photo is linked with your room key card, so every time you leave the ship you scan your key card at the front desk and you scan again when you get back on board. This way they have a visual on their monitor of who is on or off at any given time. Once that is done, a staff member escorts you to your cabin and shows you where the safe is, where to stow your suitcases, how to work the lights and answers any questions. We were escorted by one of the dining room waitresses. Out suitcases were already in the cabin. (Uniworld sends you luggage tags so you can put your cabin number on it)

Oh yeah, the card also has your muster station location noted. This was all covered during the safety drill in the lounge ...quick, easy, painless, and really a bit of fun. Followed by introduction of the Captain, Hotel Manager and Cruise Manager. Followed by Dinner. Oh, dinner! A time to relax, meet some of your fellow travel mates, and indulge in local wines and beers and adjust the buckle on your belt one notch.

An after dinner scotch in the lounge and we were done in for the day!

RB

DAY FOUR...Nuremberg and Roth

But first, an attempt to inset a photo taken in Prague of a statue outside the Franz Kafka museum... The mid sections rotate back and forth...

JP, would you please repeat the process you go through to post pictures? This was way too difficult

RB

Thank you for sharing! We leave for Prague in less than two months and I can't hardly wait.

Cool photo! Thanks for posting. :D

Posting pictures is a real pain - but once you get the hang of it, it's doable. You can upload them directly to a CC post from the mobile app, but they appear very tiny on a computer screen, so I don't do it that way.

To make the photos appear full-sized in your post, you have to do the following:

1. Upload your picture files to some other online album. You can do Google Photos, Flicker, Shutterfly, even Facebook... Once they are uploaded, each individual photo can be accessed directly by a unique web address. That's key because CC won't allow you to upload full-sized pictures - you have to insert the web address of the picture into your post.

2. Go to CC and start typing your post. When you want to insert a picture, you will use the "insert picture" icon (the yellow square under the "smilies" menu, that has a picture of a mountain and a sun). that will open a dialog box.

3. Go to your picture online (in Facebook, Google, whatever), and copy the url (usually you can right click on the picture and then hit "copy address" or sometimes just "copy" or something like that. You have to play around a bit to find the right method. Some trial and error, I am afraid...

4. Once you've copied the link, go back to CC, hit the insert picture icon, paste your link, and then hit the OK button.

5. You will see some text like this appear in the middle of your post:

(the * should not be there, but I had to put it in so that it didn't treat my fake url like a real one)

THE IMPORTANT THING: the url must be enclosed in those brackets - . If you try to paste the url directly into your post without those brackets - it will show a clickable link when you post, but not your picture.

6. Preview your post to make sure it works. Adjust the spacing as you see fit to make it look pretty. If the link didn't work, go back to your photo, right click, and try a different copy option. NOTE - if you want to get crazy, you can adjust the size of your photos. For now, just try to get comfortable with the posting process itself. There are tricks to getting the right url from each online album. Google photos is pretty easy, so is Facebook. I haven't tried the others.

7. Post your reply once everything works.

8. Yes, it is a huge pain. :p I find this approach helpful:

DAY FOUR...again

My appologies. I spent quite some time last evening recounting that day, even tried to include some photos at the end and then Wham, lost it all .

Day four started in Nuremberg with a nordic walk with the wellness coach, Dusko. Great way to burn off some calories before the breakfast buffet ...fresh croissants, made to order omelet, some yogurt, smoked salmon, a mimosa or two...sigh!

We also had a good look at the Cruise Overview sheet. This listed every day's port, AM and PM excursions, which ones need you to sign up for ahead of time because of a limited number of spaces available and when there would be lectures in the lounge. Too many choices! and some days we knew we would have to divide and conquer.

At 9am there were two possible tours. The WWII Documentation Centre was an in depth tour of many of the buildings associated with "that dark time of our history". The other tour was the Nuremberg city tour group A and group B. Most of this tour was a bus ride around town driving past, but not stopping at the above mentioned buildings. Then group A people were let off the bus at the castle at the top part of old town so they could walk down hill to the market square. Group B people stayed on the bus and were taken directly to the market square and given some free time to wander. Having been in Nuremberg twice before at Christmas time I was eager to see the square without all the stalls and to see the fountain without boards protecting it . Ha! now it was surrounded by scaffolding for restoration. The square had a farm market set up with quite a few people selling white asparagus. Funny how the really, really fat stalks were more money.

Right after the two groups left in the morning the River Ambassador set sail for Roth where it would meet up with the busses from the morning tours.

Leisurely lunch, just before more leisure time on the upper deck while the ship cruised along the Main-Danube Canal. Some very deep locks and crossing the continental divide as well as a lecture in the lounge about the construction of the canal.

The evening began with the Welcome cocktail reception, a bit of a port talk for the next day followed by the Welcome Gala Dinner.

What did people wear? Don't remember, don't care. Some men wore jackets, some with ties. A few ladies wore dresses, most wore slacks and pretty tops. Did not see any ugly tops (:D)

A few after dinner drinks and then off to our cozy little cabin and that comfy bed and were were out.

RB

DAY FIVE...Tuesday, Regensburg

The ship cruised overnight..probably just drifted along with the current...didn't notice a thing...except for the light tap against the side of a lock or two.

Light stretching with Dusko in the lounge at 7am, breakfast... getting into a routine that is going to be so hard to forget when we get home and there is no one to prepare my breakfast for me...

There were two walking tours of Regensburg this morning, a general overview of 2000 years in one hour and a Jewish discovery tour. These were to go from 9 until 11 or 12:30.

We chose instead to meet at 10:30 with our guide for the bus to the BMW factory visit. Wow! what a modern facility that boggled my mind the logistics of putting these cars together. They claim that last year of the 300,000 cars that came out of that plant no two were identical.

Back to the ship, late lunch, but this time we ate very light because we were on a mission to sample some sausages from the historic sausage kitchen on the waterfront. We've been to Regensburg for Christmas and the place is closed then.

We spent the rest of the afternoon riding the bikes around and on the top deck sipping a beverage or two until it was time for the port talk and the Bavarian beer tasting.

This evening we were part of the group that had a special meal in the Sky Lounge.

The evening's entertainment was a group of Bavarian musicians - very talented and enjoyable.

RB

Awesome blog and so glad you're getting some pictures in too. I love it! The sausages are making me hungry...

Day Six - Straubing - Deggendorf - Vilshofen

This report is interrupted by some photos...I've been frustrated with trying to post pictures, so have a lot of admiration for those of you who seem to do it so effortlessly.

I had some help here, so will cation them and hit 'post'...I hope

Across the river from Weissenkirchen...only the nose knows in the pouring rain

Market square in Straubing

How do I get there from here?

We must keep hydrated

Prater in the rain

Vienna woods in the background on the left

Day Six...continued

Note: I will try to explain the photos in a bit more detail as they come up in my day-to-day ramblings...I'm just glad it worked!

Okay, Day Six... A big day for Uniworld and for the town of Straubing. This was the first time a river cruise ship has docked in Straubing and will have an organized tour. The town and Uniworld have been negotiating this day for quite some time. A new dock was built to accommodate the ship. Not sure if other companies will get in the action but Straubing is really very nice and has some beautiful churches (Oh no! not ABC!).

See photo from previous post of the market square.

The local TV and radio crew were there...an Oompa band was playing, the Lord Mayor came on board , speeches, the locals on shore taking pictures of us, yada yada.

In the morning there were four choices:regular walking tour, gentle walking tour, culinary beer tour, medieval crime walk. I started on the regular tour while hubby wanted to drink beer at 9am. I toured through 2 churches and then ditched the tour at the museum and wandered off on my own. It was too nice a day to look at old stuff inside. And the culinary beer tour included sausages and pretzels and they also got to tour town a bit as well.

In the afternoon there were three choices of things to do. A bus tour to a Bavarian Forest village and a horse carriage ride then off to Theresienthal glass works OR a Bavarian Forest bike ride to Deggendorf - 14km strenuous OR stay on board for the scenic sailing along the Danube. Hubby biked to use up the extra beer calories, and I stayed on board and spent time doing yoga with the wellness coach.

The ship stopped in Deggendorf to pick up the bikers and the bus tour group and the evening's entertainer, Andreas Spranger, a German international country and folk music one man band who was extremely entertaining.

Daily talk then dinner with craft beer pairing dinner.

The ship docked in Vilshofen around 9pm and left again after 2am.

RB

DAY SEVEN...

Some time in the wee hours of the morning the River Ambassador left Vilshofen and was to dock in Passau around 8 am. It got there much earlier, so we were able to watch out the window from our bed as we docked. After breakfast I had a chance to go wander about before the morning tour choices. It was good to see very little damage left from the horriffic flood of 2013.

And now, today, June 2nd, we hope and pray the high water does not go much higher on the Danube, Seine, or Rhine.

At 10 am regular walking tour of Passau or a 'go active' walking tour of Passau. Unfortunately the tour guide for the 'go active' group really should have been guiding the 'gentle walkers'. He was told to speed up, but didn't get the message. Also, for those who wanted a more panoramic view of the city and to see the confluence of three rivers, there was a bus tour to vantage points on either side of the Danube.

At 1:30 in the afternoon after another lunch...this time a burger station on the top deck ...another 'go active' fun bike ride of 25km to Engelhartsel, where the ship would make a technical stop to pick up the riders. Of course the ride was broken up by a stop for some local beverages. I'm starting to figure out why my hubby is so keen to go on these bike rides!

So while the ship was cruising the river, one of the local guides gave a lecture in the lounge about the national costumes of the men and women in Germany, as well as the different regions.

This evening was the River Heritage Club members cocktail party. Every cruise we go on, the number of members increases. Uniworld knows how to keep their customers coming back. They were hoping to have the party in the Sky Lounge on the top deck followed by another Al Fresco dinner for 20 people but it was raining and not safe for the wait staff to be running up and down wet stairs.

After dinner was Disco night. It was a bust!

RB

DAY EIGHT...Friday the 13th !

Rain

On our daily program sheet it said that the estimated time of arrival in Melk would be 7:30am. I guess that was so people could take pictures of the famous Abbey. We got there much much earlier so the ship sailed in circles for an hour or more and then did the pass by in the pouring rain. then continued on to Weissenkirchen.

A good morning to have a leisurely breakfast. Did I mention it was raining?

At 9:30 the first group took off for the Weissenkirchen day of touring and tasting of apricot products. and they were back on board just in time for the wine tasting from 11:30 until noon. Lunch was not served until 12:30 so there was a bit of time to sober up.

At 10:15 the bus left for the Melk Abbey visit. In the rain. The guided tours don't give you enough time to see everything as you are hustled through each room so the next tour can follow. We had a bit of free time to see the church and the grounds and get back to the bus. I wish there had been more time as the gardens would have been beautiful to see. As it was, I was the only person in the Abbey Park with the Pavilion and had to rush through it to get to the bus on time. Not a good day for photos, unfortunately.

Back on board for lunch and the soup was perfect for a damp day.

The vineyard hike and the helicopter rides were cancelled.

After lunch we still had a bit of time to go exploring on our own before it was time for the afternoon lecture in the lounge.

Today the lecture was entitled 150 Years of Ringstrasse Vienna by Christian Basel. Christian was the CM on our very first Uniworld cruise Burgundy and Provence. Our paths have crossed a number of times since then. A gentleman and as a resident of Vienna, he is a wealth of information. But the ship was leaving so Christian had to get off to get back to his car.

The late afternoon was spent cruising the Wachau Valley on our way to Vienna.

This evening was the Farewell Dinner. A bit more glitz and the food was amazing. Estimated time of arrival in Vienna was 11:00pm, but during dinner we could see the lights and sights so planned our escape to Prater. We knew we could walk the distance, or take the subway the two stops, but had a cab called for the 4 of us, and off we went with our trusty Uniworld umbrellas. The cabbie decided to drop us off at the back end of the amusement park. It was an interesting walk in the rain and mist and quiet of a place that should have been alive and vibrant. It was dead. but had beauty in a strange way. Of course we had to ride the big wheel (9.50 euros). Cabbed it back to the ship, a nightcap and then a bit of packing to avoid the inevitable.

RB

DAY NINE...Saturday in Vienna!

Again, choices...8:15 until noon..Vienna city tour with a visit to the Vienna State Opera 9:15 until 12:45 Exclusive Vienna City of Arts.

We took the arts tour to Kunstkammer and Belvedere. Our guide had picked out a few special pieces for us to see with an in depth description or story about each piece. Otherwise one could be overwhelmed by all the artwork.

There were shuttle busses provided from town back to the ship for the rest of the day.

After lunch there was the optional tour to Schonbrunn Palace and in the evening another optional for a Mozart and Strauss concert.

This was our 4th time in Vienna, so we did not have to race around trying to see and do everything. Instead we chose to go for a bike ride with the wellness coach. Just the three of us on a beautiful sunny day without a care in the world. Pure pleasure. A great last day of vacation.

DAY TEN...going home...yuck

Our direct flight home wasn't to leave until 10:30 in the morning so we did not have to get up at an ungodly hour to be transferred to the airport. But the staff were so organized with coloured tags for different transfer times it ran smoothly. We just did not want to leave the ship.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have about this itinerary or Uniworld.

RB

Thanks for taking the time to write this. I very much enjoyed reading about your trip, and seeing the pictures!

Thanks for taking the time to write about trip. I really enjoyed following along.