Page 16 - AAA Central Penn – AAA Now! – September/October 2019
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       The Romantic Danube in Springtime
   Vacationing on a river cruise in Europe is an all-inclusive experience that highlights outstanding destinations as well as the scenic voyage. Your luxurious vessel docks in central locations with easy access for guided tours or independent time ashore.
elegance, which will envelope you on a choice of tours. A panoramic tour guides you past the majestic Opera House, the former Imperial Palace of the Habsburg Emperors, Parliament, Town Hall, the University, St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Spanish Riding School. Among the choices of other guided tours is one by bicycle to the 12th century Klosterneuberg Monastery.
Surprises await you in Slovakia’s capital Bratislava. Previously behind the “Iron Curtain,” this now vivacious city is replete with street sculptures, innovative architecture, sunny outdoor cafes and friendly folks;
all this and its past dark history are revealed during your walking tour. Alternative tours include “Tastes of Slovakia” and a hike above the city to Bratislava Castle.
AmaLea arrives in Hungary and Budapest beckons you to tour its two towns of Buda and Pest bisected
by the Danube River. Visit Heroes’ Square, then Castle Hill – home to the famous Fisherman’s Bastion, Mathias Church and Parliament Square. An evening cruise aboard AmaLea glides along the Danube’s banks
in Budapest to reveal the riverfront’s procession
of impressively illuminated stately buildings and twinkling lights of waterside cafés.
You can easily extend this vacation with a post- cruise tour to Prague in the Czech Republic. This “City of a Hundred Spires” features Hradcany Castle, the statue-lined Charles Bridge across the Vltava River,
a large central pedestrians-only historic district, and impressive Baroque, Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings fortunately saved from bombing during World War
II. “Czech it out” with your AAA travel agent when making arrangements for springtime 2020 aboard this delightful Danube River cruise.
Edited with additional content by Craig Haberle, CTC
Acruise along the River Danube aboard AmaWaterways allows you to enter this amazing world as soon as you step aboard the sleek AmaLea river cruise ship. AmaWaterways hosts the highest-rated fleet of deluxe river vessels in Europe. You share this exceptional experience with only 155 other guests who are treated to incredibly attentive and refined service, luxurious accommodations, and gourmet dining. Throughout this springtime voyage, AmaLea’s epicurean excellence reflects refined regional recipes crafted with locally sourced seasonal ingredients carefully chosen by the master chef and served by gracious staff. This river route through four countries features numerous locks. You even get to see if the Danube is really blue!
Let’s take a look at this cruise’s itinerary, which commences with AAA’s charter motor coach conveniently transferring you from Central Pennsylvania to the departure airport for an overnight flight to Munich. A comfortable transfer to Vilshofen, Germany, brings you dockside
to board the AmaLea with a welcome aboard wine toast... Prost! Old town Vilshofen and its cobblestone alleyways are yours to explore before cruising east to Passau, in Lower Bavaria, for a guided walking tour of this 2,000-year-old city, famous for its Gothic and Baroque architecture and 17th century St. Stephen’s Cathedral. If you wish, take a guided hike up to the Veste Oberhaus fortress and be rewarded with a sweeping
overview of Passau and the three rivers below – the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz. Today and every day with AmaWaterways, you have choices of included guided tours at a pace that suits you.
Your eastbound voyage on the Danube continues straight into the heart of Austria. A morning arrival in Linz gives you time for a guided walking tour or bicycle ride through the Old City Center. Then, you have a choice of more included guided tours; all are UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Salzburg, to visit the birthplace of Mozart and site of cherished scenes from the “Sound of Music;” the Czech town of Cesky Kumlov, to tour this remarkably preserved medieval town nestled in the hills near the Austrian-Czech border; or the Austrian Lake District, to be enthralled with the scenic splendor of the Salzkammergut region.
AmaLea passes through verdant valleys en route to Weissenkirchen for a guided tour of Melk’s magnificent Benedictine Abbey, home
of an impressively designed and decorated library lined with medieval manuscripts. Cruise on to Durnstein, with only 1,000 inhabitants, where you can hike up to the ruins of the castle where Richard the Lionhearted, King of England, was imprisoned in 1192. You can stroll along cobblestone streets to the beautiful blue façade of the Baroque Stiftskirche or among the terraced vineyards surrounding the town to taste the wonderful wines of the Wachau Valley.
Vienna bewitches with its Baroque romance and
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