LIVE FROM CRYSTAL MOZART - MAY 10, 2019 SAILING

[NJBeaglemom]

Looking forward to reading about your river cruise since we will be on our first one in September.  Safe travels.

 

Nancy

[Babcia7]

Love all the details in your blog!  Thanks for taking the time to share.  We'll be interested to hear your thoughts on your upcoming river cruise on the Mozart.

[RonandJeanne]

We will be on the May 10th cruise.  Looking forward to it.  Hopefully I can find the right instructions to get to the ship as I didn't see much information about it when Crystal sent their packet.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, RonandJeanne said:

We will be on the May 10th cruise.  Looking forward to it.  Hopefully I can find the right instructions to get to the ship as I didn't see much information about it when Crystal sent their packet.

This is what they sent me in November - BTW, when you turn in you can go left or right, it was at the end on the right side. We went left first. Not sure if it will be the same for you. We spent 4 days in Vienna and it was always to the right. 

 

Vienna Docking Info.pdf

Edited May 7, 2019 by Coral

[Keith1010]

3 hours ago, RonandJeanne said:

We will be on the May 10th cruise.  Looking forward to it.  Hopefully I can find the right instructions to get to the ship as I didn't see much information about it when Crystal sent their packet.

This could be the same PDF that Coral posted.

 

When I checked with Crystal last year they said they could confirm it for me starting in 2019 and I got this from them in January.

 

ViennaDockingInformation.pdf

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

Thank you Nancy and Babcia7.

Keith

[Coral]

8 minutes ago, Keith1010 said:

This could be the same PDF that Coral posted.

 

When I checked with Crystal last year they said they could confirm it for me starting in 2019 and I got this from them in January.

 

ViennaDockingInformation.pdfUnavailable

 

Keith

I get unavailable when I click on this. Not sure why. I am guessing it is the same also.

 

Hope you had a good day in Vienna! Love Vienna.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Coral

[Keith1010]

VIENNA DAY 3

 

Good morning from Vienna, Austria.

 

I updated the Blog yesterday afternoon starting with dinner Monday evening and including our four hour walking tour of Vienna with a tour guide yesterday morning.

 

It was chilly to say the least but it didn't damper our outlook on this amazing city.  Vienna exceeded our expectations.  There is so much history to the city and to the country and the city is beautiful.

 

While the city is very easy to walk  on its own I believe that having at tour guide can enhance that experience as the right tour guide can provide a lot of information on what you are seeing.  Also if you are touring certain places as we did the tour guide knows where to take you and what to pint out to you.  We had a wonderful tour guide and someone who has conducted tours for 40 years.  Initially his focus was as a tour guide touring the world.  Later he limited this to Europe and now to Vienna.

 

We visited many places including spending an hour at the Imperial Palace. 

 

Johannes our tour guide.

 

 

Walk of Fame.

 

 

Outside Peace Museum.   John Lennon among one of many who pushed for Peace.

 

 

As I said it was chilly so we decided to stop for coffee. Well we ended up with more than coffee. 

 

We visiedt Hotel Sacher Wien and we had coffee and dessert at  Salon Sacher.    Anne Marie had cappuccino coffee while I had Sacher Melange Coffee  which is espresso coffee with foamed milk and whipped cream.  We shared a petite Sachertorte.  Sachertorte is  a  dense, chocolate sponge cake made with thin layers of apricot jam that is topped with a semi-firm chocolate icing.  It is the signature creation of the Sacher Hotel. 

 

Some might not believe this but I do love cake and I will tell you that the taste of the Sacher was one of the most delicious cakes/desserts I have ever had.  I was fortunate to have grown up in a town with a terrific bakery and Anne Marie grew up in the Bronx near an amazing bakery which my mom and dad went to when they were growing up and first married.  Many recipes came from Europe as that is where the first owner immigrated to the USA from.

 

Visited several other places that I note in the blog.  After lunch Anne Marie and I went back out for another long walk.  Initially the temperature felt warmer as it was warmer than the morning. However, the wind is a big factor in the city and it became windy so it felt much cooler with the wind chill factor but it didn't keep us from our long walk.

 

Last evening enjoyed dinner out.  Kept it to two courses. 

 

We had two courses.

As a first course we began with Caesar salad.

For our main course we had Wiener Schnitzel.  This was the first time we have had this.  The irony  is that from time-to-time it is featured on the Crystal Cruises dinner menu but we never tried it.   It was accompanied with a tasty Potato Salad.  We thought the entree was delicious.  It was grilled. We also had grilled vegetables.  Growing up for me it was Veal Cutlet. I liked the lighter badder and also that it was not fried the way I remember my Nana making hers. 

 

Anne Marie had Austrian Wine and I had Austrian Beer.

 

We have another tour planned for this morning with the tour guide.  This time we will go by car and stop at various places along the way.

We had a great 24 hours.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

 

 

 

 

 

[Keith1010]

10 minutes ago, Coral said:

I get unavailable when I click on this. Not sure why. I am guessing it is the same also.

 

Hope you had a good day in Vienna! Love Vienna.

I tried it and mine works.  Might be your browser but am posting it again using a different browser myself.

 

Vienna Docking Info(1).pdf

 

Keith

[Coral]

I usually don't eat veal but figure when in Vienna........ I found it exceptional. Both on and off the ship.

 

It was served on Thanksgiving for us and most of us ordered the traditional turkey and asked for a sampling of wiener schnitzel. Boy, we made a mistake and should have ordered the wiener schnitzel. 

[Coral]

Just read your blog and the ship's pier is near the ferris wheel.

[robertmartha]

Keith

 

If you need a good restaurant recommendation for Vienna while still there - let me know.

My oldest was there for several weeks and when we sailed last year - we went to one of her "local" recommendations - it was fabulous and right in the heart of the city. One of those places unless you know about - would not think to stop in.

 

Bob

[RonandJeanne]

13 hours ago, Keith1010 said:

I tried it and mine works.  Might be your browser but am posting it again using a different browser myself.

 

Vienna Docking Info(1).pdfUnavailable

 

Keith

Thanks.  I could not open the file (said I did not have permission) but I will look for the ferris wheel.  We have two nights at the Art Hotel before we take a taxi to board the ship.

[Coral]

10 minutes ago, RonandJeanne said:

Thanks.  I could not open the file (said I did not have permission) but I will look for the ferris wheel.  We have two nights at the Art Hotel before we take a taxi to board the ship.

I had problems opening my file when I was logged out. Maybe a JPG will work. Here is the clickable link: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Handelskai+265,+1020+Wien,+Austria/@48.2239132,16.4059337,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x476d071dea882bb1:0xd344fbce5abe0d8d!8m2!3d48.2242259!4d16.4080221 

 

My taxi driver had no problems finding the location. The ferris wheel is probably 5 minutes car ride from the pier. We passed it every time we drove in and out.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by Coral

[RonandJeanne]

Thanks

[kent9xxx1]

18 hours ago, Coral said:

This is what they sent me in November - BTW, when you turn in you can go left or right, it was at the end on the right side. We went left first. Not sure if it will be the same for you. We spent 4 days in Vienna and it was always to the right. 

 

Vienna Docking Info.pdfUnavailable

 

They docked next to the Hilton Donau and used the hotel parking lot for all their buses when I was there.

[Coral]

21 minutes ago, kent9xxx1 said:

 

They docked next to the Hilton Donau and used the hotel parking lot for all their buses when I was there.

Looks like the location I posted and the Hilton are 5 minutes via car from each other (down the river). Hopefully Keith can post the location in his instructions.

 

I think the Hilton is just farther down the river from where we were. I never knew where the buses were at night and that would make sense.

 

I have to agree the docs were vague about where the ship is docked.

 

My main advice for those going on the Mozart - if you are tall, make sure you duck when getting on the ship.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by Coral

[gnome12]

Docking locations are not fixed; they are decided by the harbour master. There are mooring locations both to the left and the right of the bridge shown on the map; the captain won't know until a few days before where he will be docking. Hopefully, you have a phone number in your documents; call and ask for the exact location where the ship is docked.

[kent9xxx1]

Right, it could be anywhere near that area.  I took a bike out and biked along the river, I can see all kind of ships docked near by.  The walking path near the river bank is really nice.   I suggest you sign up for a bike tour on Crystal if you have time in Vienna.  

[jools28]

We will be on the Ravel sail June 23rd very interested on your blog.

 

Julie & Mike 🇨🇦

[Keith1010]

Thank you all, Coral, kent9xxx1,  and Bob for your comments.  Bob thank you for the offer on restaurants.  I have them all booked for the rest of our stay so think we are OK for now.  Julie and Mike I hope you find the blog to be helpful as you prepare for your trip on Ravel.

Keith

[Coral]

You are an early bird!

[Keith1010]

3 minutes ago, Coral said:

You are an early bird!

This is even late for me.  LOL.

 

On Serenity up early and by now  would almost be finished with my workout.

 

Keith

[Keith1010]

WELCOME TO VIENNA DAY 4

 

Great day touring around with the same incredible tour guide we had the day before.  I am so glad that we chose to have a tour guide for parts of Monday and Tuesday.  We learned so much and saw lots.  Yesterday, he drove us around the city and we had plenty of time to walk as well.  The only thing we took off from the drive was visiting the nearby wine country.

 

 

Saw the Danube and the two other Danubes that are in the city including one that looked more like a lake.

 

 

Visited two Summer Palaces;   Belvedere Palace where  we  spent the most time viewing paintings and learning about artists and the Schonbrunn Palace.

 

 

Visited Prater including the Wurstelprater which is an amusement park and saw the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel.

 

 

Visited Hundertwasser Kunstbauwerke which is an apartment house in Vienna built after the idea and concept of Austrian  artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser with architect Joseph Krawina as a co-creator. This is clearly a popular area to visit given the number of tourists on-hand.

 

 

Final stop was at the Holocaust Memorial called Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial which is also known as the Nameless Library.  It is the central memorial for the Austrian victims of the Holocaust.  On both days we spoke extensively about the history of Vienna and Austria including World War I and World War II.  

 

 

Discussed how quickly Germany took over Austria and their move to embarrass, imprison, and commit horrific acts of terror including the killing of jews.   He explained the design of the memorial.

 

We stopped at other locations and also along the way he pointed out lots of buildings including Churches, Government buildings such as the Parliament which is under renovation, former Stock Exchange and many other buildings providing not  only what they are used for today but the history of the building.  During  both days he would note buildings impacted from the Allied bombing in World War II and what was completely redone following the war and some which were never redone.  The architecture is amazing as you may see in many cities but to us it seemed more evident in major pockets of the city such where our hotel is located.

 

Weather was mostly sunny which was good.  It  was a little warmer than Monday and the big factor is the amount of wind which changed throughout the day and evening.

 

We went out on our own after  having lunch in the afternoon and walked to and from dinner.  Restaurant had  good food  (too much cheese in the salad) but service was a bit aloof which I had read in some prior comments prior to our visit.   It was an Italian Restaurant. This evening we will try a  second restaurant focusing on Austrian Cuisine.

 

 

Today we will tour  around on our own and weather is supposed to be warmer which will be good news.

 

Cheers,
Keith






 

[notamermaid]

Hello Keith,

Following along with interest as the Mozart and her itinerary differ from others as she is doing the Vienna round-trip if I have understood it correctly. Looking forward to finding out where you will be heading after Vienna.

The Hundertwasser buildings are a must-take-to location for German tourist guides. I found them ok, but would have preferred to see the Secession building (art museum) as I am a fan of Art Nouveau.

 

Good to read that you can dock near the city centre. We were out in Nussdorf. It was fine and it is a pleasant enough village with quick tram connection into town. It just takes some time out of your day travelling the distance.

 

Our bus tour of the sights picked us up in Nussdorf, of course.

 

Have a great time.

 

notamermaid