Live from Viking Kadlin Eastern European Capitals Cruise and Post Extension to Transylvania April 28-May 17

[Australia08]

Monday, May 20 - Salzburg to Munich

 

Today was a travel day.  We enjoyed another great breakfast at Imlauer Hotel Pitter.  Then had a last champagne toast to Salzburg on the restaurant terrace.

 

 

Then it was off to the train station to take the noon train to Munich.  The trip was uneventful, but scenic.  There’s a lot of construction going on at the Munich main station, so instead of trying to store our bags and walking to Augustiner for a beer, we decided to just head on to the Munich Airport Hilton where we planned to stay since we had a morning flight back to the US the next day.  It took about forty minutes to go from Munich main station to the airport train station.  When we arrived, it was a nice walk to the Hilton (although it was a bit confusing since you had to enter through a tunnel and take an elevator up one level).  Hilton had upgraded us to a Jr. Suite so that was nice.  

 

Hilton Main Lobby Area

 

We headed to the Lounge about 6:00 pm and had a great dinner.  Different than most Hilton Executive Lounges that serve from large buffet style containers, this lounge served individual servings in ramekins.  And the food was excellent - much better than the standard fare at most lounges.  

 

 

 

We were also able to sit inside or out.  Since it was a beautiful evening, we sat outside on a landscaped patio.  Kudos to Munich Hilton - we will definitely stay here again.

 

 

Tuesday, May 21 - Munich to the USA

 

The next morning, we had a nice breakfast at the executive lounge, then headed over to check in for our flight around 9:30 am.  No problems there and we were on our flight ready for our 11:45 am take off.  We had a non-stop flight on Delta and everything went well.  

 

Sorry that it took me so long to finish this “Live” report.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

Edited June 16 by Australia08

[Australia08]

A few final thoughts:

 

On the Kadlin, we ended up really enjoying our stateroom (an AA Suite).  We know that we prefer having space in our stateroom.  Unlike many Viking passengers, we like a place to escape to.  We stay up late at night - that’s just us.  We don’t go to bed at 9:00 pm so we spend a bit of time in the Lounge after dinner for a drink or to dance, then head back to the room (sometimes with an additional drink) to read, talk, listen to the water whish by our room, etc.  Having that space to comfortably sit was nice.  I liked the fact that we had fresh flowers, wine in our room, and lots of cubbies for storage.  We liked it so much that we’ve booked another river cruise in that style cabin.  This time it was a last minute special price so much less expensive per day than our Danube cruise was.

 

One thing we noted was that there are times that the boat seems too packed with people, notably during port talks or performances.  It would be nice if Viking had more room in their lounges or had fewer people on each boat.  Most of the time, it is not a problem but for events that everyone wants to attend, some people will be standing.  We started watching some of the port talks in our room, just to have a comfortable place to sit and avoid having to show up in the Lounge a half hour before events.

 

My last note is that we wish there were more four top tables.  We’re not the people who have to sit by ourselves when dining, but just siting with one more couple is preferable - this is mainly because it is just easier to converse over the noise.  The large tables in the Restaurant are too large.  It’s difficult to hear the people at the end of the table if you happen to be at the other end.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks for sticking with it through the end of your trip – I know that doing a 'Live From' becomes a treadmill!  

[TN_travels]

@Australia08 thank you for this recap! I so enjoyed reading it as I did your Vietnam/Cambodia recap earlier this year. Both were itineraries not previously on my radar but you really piqued my interest! 
 

I have never cruised with Viking- out of curiosity, how many of your tours were included vs. supplemental? 
 

looking forward to your next recap!