2024 December - Adventures by Disney - Danube River Cruise: Magical Holidays - Part 2

The adventure continues with Part 2 of our Magical Holiday Danube River Cruise with Adventures by Disney!

Stops & Excursions:

• Melk, Austria & Krems, Austria

Our next stop was Melk, Austria. We started the morning with a visit to the beautiful Melk Abbey. The Benedictine abbey is located on a hill overlooking the Danube River. The beautiful Baroque abbey has some of the most impressive views of the Danube and Wachau valley. We took a fascinating tour learning about the history of the abbey, ties to the early Austrian dynasty, and the monastic library. (Sorry, not photography allowed inside the abbey, but I have included some beautiful views from the courtyard and terrace.). After visiting the abbey, we returned to the banks of the Danube River for the "Story of the Danube" visit at the Hotel Donauhof owned by the Pichler Family. The family-owned estate is beautiful and welcoming. While visiting the Hotel, we were treated to a dance lesson, wine tasting, demonstration on making apricot preserves, and sampled apricot dumplings. After a fun-filled morning filled with the history and culture of the region, we returned to the AmaLea for lunch and a beautiful afternoon cruise through the Wachau Valley. After lunch, we enjoyed sitting in the warm lounge with hot cocoa to view the numerous castles through the floor-to-ceiling windows as we sailed toward Krems. Once we arrived in Krems, we were treated to a visit to the Aufreiter Apricot Farm to learn more about their sustainable farming practices and sample some of the apricot preserves, chutneys, liquors, and chocolate! Upon our arrival, we were also treated to a warm holiday punch that tasted like pure holiday magic! After having our fill of all things apricot, we returned to the AmaLea for an amazing New Year's Celebration. We played trivia, danced, and dined the night away. I could not think of a more amazing way to celebrate the New Year!

ABD MAGICAL HOLIDAY RIVER CRUISE MELK AND KREMS

• Vienna, Austria (Day 1)

Vienna (or Wien in German) is unsurpassed in beauty and elegance. We started the morning with a brief tour of Vienna by bus on our way to Schönbrunn Palace. At Schönbrunn Palace, we were treated to an award-winning and UNESCO-listed performance at the Marionette Theater. We were skeptical on this one...I've always thought marionettes were a bit on the creepy side. This performance changed my perspective and I gained a new respect for the artists that bring the marionettes to life on stage. After the show, the adults enjoyed a tour of the palace and learned about the remarkable life of Empress Maria Theresa. At our final stop, we attended a demonstration on making the perfect apple strudel...and enjoyed sampling the delicious pastry. After the official tour concluded, we had free time to explore the grounds. We were fortunate to be visiting the palace while the Christmas market was still running. We enjoyed some additional shopping, holiday treats, and Glühwein (of course). It was magical! After leaving the palace, we had the option to return to the AmaLea for lunch and/or go to the city center for some free time. We opted to spend additional time in the city to explore, shop, and relax at a local cafe. Many of the shops were closed for the New Year holiday; however, the cafes, museums, and tourist destinations remained fully open. We returned to the AmaLea late in the day to enjoy dinner aboard the AmaLea.

After dinner, we had the option to attend a musical concert or visit a Viennese wine house, or Heuriger. We opted to visit the wine house for the evening, as we had never heard of a wine house or Heuriger. The Heuriger is a place where local winemakers serve new wines. We were treated to pitchers of wine and juice, as well as fresh bread with various spreads. We enjoyed sampling the wine and socializing with fellow adventurers. After an amazing day in Vienna, we returned to the AmaLea to rest and ready ourselves for Day 2 in Vienna.

ABD MAGICAL HOLIDAY RIVER CRUISE VIENNA

• Vienna, Austria (Day 2)

For our second day in Vienna, we enjoyed a wonderful brunch on board the AmaLea before heading back to the town center. In front of the Rathaus town hall, we enjoyed an afternoon of ice skating. In addition to the traditional ice "rink", there were various ice skating paths to travel throughout the park. It was so much fun for skaters of all levels! After ice skating, we had some additional free time to explore the various shops, restaurants, and museums. We opted for a bit of exploration and warming up with a coffee at a local cafe.

We returned to the AmaLea in mid-afternoon to start our journey to our final destination...Budapest. As we started our journey, we joined our fellow Adventurers in the restaurant for Gingerbread cookie decorating. We enjoyed seeing everyone's creativity...and then we enjoyed eating the fruits of our labor. For those with more restraint, you could submit your decorated cookie for the "Star Baker".

After the cookie decorating (and eating), we met with the Adventure Guides to discuss the tours at the next stop in Budapest, address any questions on disembarkation on Saturday, and discuss tonight's activity...the gift exchange!

After our meeting, we joined our fellow passengers for another wonderful dinner on board the AMALea. After dinner, we enjoyed a very unique version of the gift exchange...it was musical chairs meets gift exchange. The gift exchange was so entertaining and it was great to see all of the unique gifts!

ABD MAGICAL HOLIDAY RIVER CRUISE VIENNA

• Budapest, Hungary

We arrived at our final stop, Budapest. Before we headed to breakfast, we went up to the deck to watch as we arrived in Budapest, the Queen of the Danube. The river offered an amazing viewpoint as we arrived in the city and navigated under the beautiful bridges that join Buda and Pest.

After enjoying our breakfast, we had the option of a food walking tour or a full-day visit to the Lazar Equestrian Park. We opted for the Lazar Equestrian Park. We weren't quite sure what we had signed up for, but our tween was excited to see the horses. We didn't know much about carriage driving (or horses in general). This was another great example of ABD curating some amazing experiences that aren't your typical tourist stops. When we arrived, we were greeted with hot tea/coffee/juice/wine and Hungarian scones. The staff provided a quick overview of the events planned for the day. We started by cooking the goulash that would be served at lunch over an open fire. Each of the guests participated by mixing ingredients and stirring both a vegetarian and turkey version of the classic Hungarian dish under the watchful eye of the chef. While the goulash continued to simmer over the fire, we were invited to explore the on-site museum dedicated to the owners, the Lazar brothers, and their long history of competitive carriage racing. We learned more about the sport, equipment, and the success of the famous Lazar brothers. After the museum, we took a short walk to a small animal park to meet some of the farm animals. We were introduced to dogs, rabbits, sheep, cows, pigs, goats, and ponies. The Hungarian Racka Sheep with their unique twisted horns were the star of the show. After spending time with the animals, we went to a large horse barn for the equestrian show. And wow, it was a show! The Hungarian cowboys walked us through decades of history through their costumes, equestrian skills, and storytelling. The riders were amazing! Following the show, we were treated to a feast! It was delicious and plentiful! And included the goulash that we had made at the start of the tour. We had some time following the meal to explore the grounds before we headed back to the AMALea.

Before dinner, the AMALea repositioned to another pier. This offered a wonderful evening trip to view the city at night...a mini Illumination tour of the city. We had an amazing panoramic view of the city from the desk as we passed Buda Hill and Parliment lit up against the night sky. Stunning!

We had our final evening celebration with the Adventure Guides and fellow adventurers. The guides prepared an amazing video montage of the trip. (The guides also shared information on where we could download the photos.) We all stayed up well into the night to reminisce, exchange contact information, and enjoy our final night aboard the AMALea.

It was truly an AMAZING adventure!

ABD MAGICAL HOLIDAY RIVER CRUISE BUDAPEST

• Additional Notes

We extended our trip by one day on our own to explore the beauty of Budapest. It's a beautiful city and rich in history. We would highly recommend spending some additional time in Budapest.

ABD, will we do it again? Absolutely...we are sold! This is a great option for tweens and teens who are ready for more adventures and experiences beyond the DCL offering. Stay tuned for the Barcelona Escape and Peru adventures in 2025! And the ABD Holland & Belgium river cruise in 2026!

Until next time...