Just back from Uniworld's European Holiday Markets cruise

[bubbulz]

We got back earlier this week from our European Holiday Markets cruise with Uniworld. We started in Budapest several weeks ago, after a bit of a rough start with Austrian Airlines. We were supposed to fly to Vienna and then catch a connecting flight to Budapest, but the flight to Budapest was canceled. And then our bags were nowhere to be found. They put us on a bus to Budapest and we arrived several hours later, albeit without our bags. Not exactly the Business Class experience we anticipated. Luckily we had sufficient clothing, etc. in our carry-ons and proceeded to head to the markets immediately. Our bags showed up late that night, pretty banged up with one missing a wheel.

In Budapest, we stayed at the Four Seasons. What a special hotel! Our room was on the top floor and looked straight out over Chain Bridge. We loved the cozy bar there (if you go to Budapest, you must try the pálinka - warms you right up!). We found the Christmas markets in Budapest to be among our favorites, and really enjoyed our tour with Taste Hungary that focused on the foods and drinks of the markets. We also did a dinner cruise on the Danube that was just lovely.

 

We then took the Railljet to Vienna, which was a comfortable several hour train trip. They even served lunch and drinks on the train. We spent a day on our own in Vienna before boarding the boat. Our TA provided a complimentary night at the Vienna Plaza Hotel, which was in a good location for visiting the markets. We also went to Lola’s Tapas for dinner. (Yep, a tapas restaurant in Vienna! It was excellent.) Uniworld ran shuttles all day on the day of boarding for people who wanted to go back and forth to the markets. On the first full day on the boat in Vienna, Uniworld hosted a private evening concert that was among our favorite parts of the cruise. It had been a long day and we almost skipped it. I was very glad that we didn't! Our cruise took us to Dürnstein and then we cruised through the Wachau Valley(beautiful!), followed by tours and markets in Linz, Passau, Regensberg, and Nuremberg. My favorite market on the cruise was Regensberg. All in all, we loved the foods, the mulled wine, the smells, and looking at all of the goods in the markets. We especially enjoyed the smaller markets where there were fewer imported goods.

 

Everything with the cruise was outstanding, and even better than we expected based on our first cruise with Uniworld last year. This was our first time in a suite and we were totally spoiled by not one, but two, butlers. A really nice addition Uniworld has started providing are mobile Wi-Fi units, allowing us to have constant connectivity - which is really nice for mapping apps when out wandering in unfamiliar towns and cities.

 

We got off the boat in Nuremberg and picked up a rental car to head to Berchtesgaden, about 3.5 hour away. We took the autobahn part of the way and then switched to the "romantic" alpine road, which was one of the most beautiful roads we've ever driven on. We stayed at a small hotel, the Hotel Bavaria, at the top of hill near the center of the old town. When we arrived, we immediately headed to the Christmas market there, which was just lovely - just like Berchtesgaden itself! I want to go back and visit again in the warmer weather. We took the bus to Salzburg one day for the market there (45 minutes away by bus for only 5 euros round trip if you're staying in Berchtesgaden). The markets in Salzberg - and the city in general - were very crowded. The free bus also takes you to Lake Königssee (and other areas in Bavaria), which is one of Germany's most beautiful alpine lakes. There, we took a cruise and had lunch where the boat stopped in St Bartholomew.

 

From Berchtesgaden, we drove to Munich and took a flight back to Budapest for one more night before our flight home. We stayed our last night at Hotel Palazzo Zichy, a former palace from the 19th century that was turned into a four star hotel in 2009. We initially planned for one more visit to the Christmas markets but ended up opting for room service, which was provided by a small restaurant near the hotel. It was all local foods and everything was terrific.

The next morning we were back to the airport for our flights home via Swiss. We were originally booked on Austrian, but they canceled our flights several months before we traveled and switched us over to Swiss. Unfortunately they messed that up, too, and our record on Swiss was never connected to our original ticket. After a trip to customer service this was fairly easily cleared up, but I was glad to have arrived at the airport early so we had plenty of time to get the problem resolved.

I was very happy to have prepared for the cold as temps were from the low 20s to low 30s for most of the trip. By the end of the trip it was almost balmy in Berchtesgaden and Salzburg - and we even took off our jackets, gloves, hats and scarves while climbing up to the schloss on the steep path in Salzberg. (We took the tram down!) I think we hit a high temp near 50 degrees.

All in all, it was a phenomenal trip. We took lots of photos that we’re still working on. I’m happy to answer any questions from anyone planning a similar trip. For us, Berchtesgaden and Budapest are on our short list for return visits.

[jpalbny]

That sounds like a fantastic trip all around...other than the airplane parts! I wish that we had had enough time to see Berchtesgaden. It's still on the to-do list, along with the Salzkammergut.

 

Looking forward to seeing your pictures.

[bubbulz]

Thanks! It was a phenomenal trip overall. We both really enjoyed the Christmas markets and our little taste of winter, but I'm happy not to live in colder climes year round anymore! Now to find some recipes to use all the paprika we brought back from Budapest! ;)

[Roz]

Bub,

 

That sounds like a fantastic trip, and sorry about the airline mess ups. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your adventures.

 

Roz

[bubbulz]

Bub,

 

That sounds like a fantastic trip, and sorry about the airline mess ups. Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your adventures.

 

Roz

 

FWIW, I've already written a letter to Austrian Airlines about all of the issues we had with them. Gladly, they didn't really end up impacting our trip in any major way.

 

I didn't take many photos since I had three layers of gloves on my hands, but my DH is working on his several hundred pics. ;)

Edited December 17, 2016 by bubbulz

[bubbulz]

Finally getting around to sorting pics. Here are some from our flight to Vienna and pre-cruise visit to Budapest and the Four Seasons Gresham Palace.

[bubbulz]

Railjet, Vienna, and aboard the SS Maria Theresa ...

[mimmy52]

Thanks for the trip report. Every time I decide I want to do a cruise when it's Christmas markets time, I remind myself how much I hate being cold.

[bubbulz]

Ports, and tours, and cruising ...

[bubbulz]

Berchtesgaden, Salzberg, and the end of the trip for this time ...

[bubbulz]

Thanks for the trip report. Every time I decide I want to do a cruise when it's Christmas markets time, I remind myself how much I hate being cold.

 

Same here, but it was kind of fun for a couple of weeks out of the year. Not that I'd want to have to get bundled up like I did all winter long! ;)

[bubbulz]

Looking back at my trip, I have two thoughts: 1) I can see why we've decided to book another Uniworld Christmas Markets trip, and 2) why the heck do the thumbnails and pics look so tiny when viewed on the computer? :') They looked fine when I posted them and viewed them on the iPad - or at least I thought they did!

 

 

In any event, it was fun looking back at this thread since we'll be visiting some of the same places again on our next river cruise in 2018 as well as on our next land-based trip this year.

[jpalbny]

Looking back at my trip, I have two thoughts: 1) I can see why we've decided to book another Uniworld Christmas Markets trip, and 2) why the heck do the thumbnails and pics look so tiny when viewed on the computer? :') They looked fine when I posted them and viewed them on the iPad - or at least I thought they did!

 

 

In any event, it was fun looking back at this thread since we'll be visiting some of the same places again on our next river cruise in 2018 as well as on our next land-based trip this year.

 

The pics are small because you attached them as thumbnails rather than posting them as pictures. Their resolution is much lower when you do the former - the pics on your posts are only about 15-20K in size. So they will show up OK on my phone, with its smaller screen resolution, but they look tiny on the web page with its bigger screen resolution.

 

You can post full-sized pictures using the app, but the process is slightly different. I liked your pics BTW so thanks for posting! :D

[bubbulz]

Thanks! That explains it! I may go back and post larger ones of a selection of the better shots.