Where is Kristen now?: When I'm much older I will....

The typical couple featured in Viking River Cruises
ads...yikes! Perhaps they should rethink this!

To be honest, taking a river cruise had never really been something I'd considered seriously. I thought it might be something interesting to do when I was older...much older. However, the opportunity arose to travel with a group of friends on a Viking River Cruise on the Danube River in Europe. It would begin with a 3 night stay in Prague, and then the cruise would start in Nuremburg, Germany for a one week sailing. While I was hesitant, my husband was a very quick "Yes!( he is 3 yrs. older than me, haha!) ", so that was it - we were booked. But I can't say I was "excited" exactly...I definitely had some trepidation. From the time we found out about it in January, 'til we cruised in the fall I did a bit of research....everything I read or saw still indicated that this was a vacation for the "blue-haired" set, old-fogey's, silver-foxes, retirees...not a group of 40-something's who like to have fun. Even the commercials on TV showed older people dressed in their slacks and sweaters, staring off into the scenery. Not an under 60 in the crowd!

Our journey would begin in Prague, then we would travel to Nuremberg by bus (approx. 4 hours) to board the ship. From Nuremberg we had stops in Regensburg, Passau, Melk, Vienna and ended up in Budapest.

Vitava River with Prague Castle in the background.

After a very pleasant flight (yay for upgrades, and lie-flat seats!) I arrived in Prague for the pre-stay. Our hotel, Hotel Pachtuv Palace, was perfectly located in Old Town, central to everything, and with an amazing history attached to it - it was Mozart's former home. And as luck would have it, I had been assigned a deluxe room in part of the original house - could I be sleeping in Mozart's bedroom? Prague, despite being quite chilly and me contracting a mild case of food poisoning, turned out to be a delightful start to our vacation - we walked endlessly, viewed the amazing sights, ate delicious food, and soaked in the wonderful European ambiance.

Grumpy Guard!

Former Palace grounds, now a lovely park open to all

The cathedral at the Prague Palace was stunning. This hand painted- stained glass window was a highlight!

On to Nuremberg...

Viking Embla

The ship itself was lovely...it had only been in service since June, so everything was still sparkly-new. Our stateroom, while definitely not spacious, had everything you could need and was very comfortable. Due to the small size, the ship was super-easy to navigate...literally 30 seconds from our stateroom to the dining room or lounge. We found the food to be very tasty, with a good selection and the freshest ingredients - in fact, the chef makes daily trips to the local markets of each city and menus are created based on what he has purchased! Breakfast was a real feast, and indeed the culinary highlight for me. But, the best part of the whole cruise was definitely having a front-row seat to all of the wonderful scenery along the Danube River. At times we were mere feet from the shore as our long-ship, the Viking Embla, floated smoothly and silently along. This style of cruising felt so intimate - a vast contrast from the mega-ships floating in the middle of the Ocean which we had become used to.

Nuremberg, Regensburg and Passau, GERMANY

My first taste of Germany was in Nuremberg. We first visited the main market square in Old Town - it was market day and I loved seeing all of the fresh vegetables, fruits and tasting the homemade gingerbread - which is more cake-like than our gingerbread cookies...it was divine! It was also here that we enjoyed the first of many bratwurst we would work our way through on this trip. Dripping with mustard, it was sooo yummy, and so unlike any I'd had before. I found myself feeling as if I had stepped into a fairytale - the architecture was so beautiful and quaint and charming. Could I, who had never had a desire to visit Germany, actually be falling in love with this country so quickly?

Picture perfect Nuremberg!

The tower is at the former home of the hangman.

Idyllic!

Not so fast.....

Nazi parade grounds

We were faced with the sobering reality of Nuremberg the next day on our tour of the former Nazi parade grounds, and the Palace of Justice, where the Nuremberg trials took place. It was fitting that the skies were grey and the cold was absolutely bone-chilling. My heart felt sad at all that had taken place in this very spot. We noticed that the German people had a very humble attitude when speaking of the atrocities - they are not proud of this part of their history and it was obvious in the way they told the stories. Still, it can't be ignored, and it is important for us all to remember and to ensure that this part of history is never repeated.

The pedestal where Hitler gave his speeches

Main river on the way to the Danube

Next stop was Regensburg, but first we had to set off on the Main River on our way to the Danube. This would be our first experience going through the many locks (18) that we would use to traverse these waterways. It was a very exciting experience and we found the whole process fascinating. We could literally reach off our balcony and touch the walls which were mere inches from our boat. Such a brilliant engineering marvel!