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This was my first river cruise. I have done many Ocean liners, but i was blown away with this experience.
First of all, the staff aboard the Odin was top notch! Never have i met a nicer more attentive staff in all of my sailings. They were just so damn nice, and always with a smile on there face. The room was smaller than what I was used to, but it was all about the destination more than the room, but it served its purpose very well. The food selection was great! The chef out did himself every night. Breakfast was wonderful as well. I never ate lunch on board, since I was always off on an adventure during the day, and did not want to waste one moment of the over all experience.
The weather was chilly, but not freezing, and I planned for the cooler weather. The cruise was also at the beginning of the Christmas market season , which is a site to behold in itself as well. I just loved loved loved everything about it. I heard some fellow guest complain a little about trivial things, but chalk it up to just spilt milk. I do regret not doing the Budapest extension. There was so much more I wanted to see, but had to catch my flight back home.
Not listed in the drop down list are a few stops along the way. First stop was Nuremberg. Wonderful pastries! I could not get enough of them. The next day we found our selves in Regensburg. We did a wonderful walking tour of this old town. Rich with history. The worlds oldest sausage stand can be found here, and it is a must do. The tiny sausages with kraut, are offset with the sweet mustard on a hard rye roll. It was wonderful. We also purchased a black forest Coo-Coo clock and had it shipped home. Once again, more wonderful pastries. The following day, we stopped in Passe, and did yet another walking tour of the town, with its rich history. Then off on our own to do a little shopping . The days just did not seem long enough to capture all that we wanted to do. The following morning we arrived in Melk to tour the abbey. Rich in history and a little over the top> Most of the shops were closed since we were at the end of the season here. Our cruise date was right after thanksgiving and right at the beginning of Advent and the Christmas markets. Not till we hit Vienna were they open. We were not impressed with the market in Vienna. IT looked like everything was imported from China in the first market we ventured into. We did however find another market by St Petersburg Cathedral with more authentic goods, and Vienna had redeemed itself. Riding the subways were our preferred choice. The automated ticket machines offer English for purchasing tickets. We splurged and got the all day pass. Jumping form the red to green line and the purple.I advise that you have a good sense of direction though. We ventured out one evening to have drinks, and found that to be extremely expensive. We had 4 drinks with tip came up to about 65 euro ($75.00)yikes.
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