
Travel
Exploring the Great Lakes with Viking Cruises
Named after the south star, Octantis is Viking’s first expedition ship, which incorporates visits to Indigenous communities, supports environmental protection and more
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The Danube River has flowed from the Black Forest to the Black Sea for millennia, carrying the dreams of empires, traders, pilgrims, and tourists too. Once serving as a natural border for the Celts and Romans, Europe’s second-longest river now cuts a 2850-kilometre waterway through 10 countries, originating in the highlands of Germany and concluding in a Romanian delta. Luxury longboats invite passengers to experience much of this journey, stopping to explore historic attractions, towns, and cities along the way. Twenty years ago, while solo backpacking Europe on a tight budget, I admired these flat, glass-framed boats with envy. I was tired of bunking in crowded hostels, chasing trains, and eating cheap pizza. Today, having flown into Munich, Germany my wife and I hop on a bus to Regensburg to board the Viking Jarl, eager to finally tick a week-long European river cruise off the bucket list.
River cruising is big business in Europe, and with more than 80 vessels, Viking operates the continent’s largest and most modern fleet. Along with identical sister ships, the Jarl is a 135-metre longboat with 95 ensuite staterooms to accommodate 190 guests and 53 doting crew. Offering high-end dining, a lounge bar, sundeck, putting green and walking track, river cruises dispense with the logistical stress of high-season Europe. While the pace, cost and style will not appeal to everybody, veteran cruisers enjoy spending less time navigating hotels, restaurants and transport, and more time visiting multiple destinations in comfort.
Shown to our comfortable verandah suite, we unpack our bags and settle in for Viking’s Romantic Danube itinerary from southern Germany to the European capitals of Vienna and Budapest. Joining us are mostly American retirees, along with a few Canadians, Brits and Australians. Sixty-one guests are repeat Viking customers, but there are plenty of first-timers too. We’ll all learn that river and ocean cruises are entirely different beasts. Navigating low bridges, fluctuating water levels, narrow channels and technical locks, longships like the Jarl are limited in height. The bridge on the upper deck is on hydraulics, allowing the captain to lower it safely under bridges. Large ocean cruises become floating resorts without height restriction, and even smaller ocean ships can offer amenities like theatres, fitness rooms, pools, and numerous dining options. River boats are smaller, casual and social, focused on port activities instead of tanning on the deck with a cocktail (although that’s doable too). Who needs buffets and a nap when you can explore one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval cities?
Located along the Danube is Bavaria’s Regensburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the oldest settlements along the river. After visiting Roman ruins, we walk over the arches of the Old Stone Bridge, an engineering marvel from the 12th century. On the banks below, a tavern called Alte Wurstküche once served sausages to the original bridge builders, making it perhaps the world’s longest-running fast-food joint.
While optional excursions cost extra, each port day features walking and bus tours with knowledgeable local guides. Here in Regensburg, we learn how this former Bavarian capital boomed and busted, how the Romans built their fortresses, and why the city escaped bombing in World War II largely unscathed. Neupfarrplatz Square has a striking monument to remember a medieval synagogue destroyed by the church. Dozens of impressive spires represent centuries of turbulent religious and imperial history. Today, Regensburg is far more settled. University students wander cobblestone streets lined with restaurants and drinking taverns. I pop into a local supermarket to stock up on a wide selection of fine Bavarian beer, which costs a little over one euro a bottle, not that I need to. Viking serves complimentary wine and beer at all meals, while also allowing passengers to bring their drinks on board with no corkage fee.
We bid farewell to Regensburg, cruising through the night to arrive at our next port of call, the German city of Passau. Here, 2,000 years of history gathered at the confluence of three major rivers, geography that transformed Passau into a wealthy trade port on the border of Germany and Austria. We take our seats in the pews to listen to the world’s second-largest pipe organ inside St. Stephen’s Cathedral, overwhelmed by the frescoes, iconography and countless statues in one of Europe’s most stunning churches. Outside, beautifully restored buildings, opulent fountains, giant doors, elegant statues and elaborate archways showcase a wealth of history.
A marker in Passau shows the high-level marks of the Danube floods dating back to the 16th century. In June 2024, Passau was damaged by heavy flooding, and the Danube flooded again in mid-September. Across periods of flood and drought, the river has seen countless battles and devastating sieges. Despite composer Johann Strauss’s Blue Danube Waltz denoting themes of classical romance, the silty green-grey Danube has never been blue. That colour comes from a line in a Hungarian-Austrian poem, but along the banks of the river, local Austrian guides tell a different story. During a battle with Napoleon’s army, the Austrians slaughtered thousands of blue-uniformed French soldiers, tossing so many bodies into the river it turned the water blue. The line between romance and tragedy can be rather thin in Europe.
Our itinerary’s scenic highlight is found not far from the Austrian border when we enter the lush Wachau Valley. Terraced vineyards line the steep canyons, producing the varietals like Grüner Veltliner and Riesling that have been prized across the continent for centuries. Medieval castles, monasteries and fortresses – some in ruins, others restored – crown the hills, reflecting their strategic locations across centuries of European warfare. Many appear otherworldly as if airbrushed by special effect artists for a fantasy movie. The dramatic ruins of Dürnstein Castle once served as a prison for Richard the Lionheart, while the colossal Melk Abbey is one of Austria’s most famous Baroque buildings. Aggstein Castle perches on a rocky outcrop above the river. This dazzling 30-kilometre stretch of the Danube is itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site, loaded with landmarks of conquest and defeat. It concludes in the city of Krems, where we take a guided tour of the Benedictine Göttweig Abbey, and a few steps on Austria’s section of the Camino de Santiago. Continuing downriver, I lose a competitive series of shuffleboard on the sun deck (tip: the puck only scores if it lands inside a box without touching any lines). Three-course dinners on board always feature the option of local dishes, creating a daily culinary adventure. Excellent wine and draft beer flow with conversation at dinner, often leading to glasses of limoncellos at the piano bar.
We’re on a short bus ride from our river port along the Ringstrasse to the centre of Vienna, with sites of interest coming so thick and fast that our local guide sounds like a hurried auctioneer.
“On the left, we have the Hofburg Imperial Palace and now on the right we have the Vienna State Opera and back on the left we have the statue of Mozart and on the right the Karlskirche Church.” We are dropped off at the MuseumsQuartier, our eyes bedazzled from an onslaught of Baroque, Renaissance and Gothic architectural wonders. An unseasonal cold and wet day is nevertheless fine weather to explore Vienna’s many world-class museums, so we lose ourselves among the Dutch and Italian art masters in the palatial Kunsthistorisches Museum, not to mention the staggering collection of Egyptian, Greek and Roman artifacts. Colonial spoils and excessive wealth of the former Austrian-Hungarian Empire are on full display.
Forgoing the organized excursions, my wife and I are happy to explore Vienna ourselves, stumbling upon the evolution of furniture and design in the MAK Museum, a plate-sized schnitzel as only the Austrians can do it, and boutiques off the bustling Stephansplatz. You can breathe the atmosphere of countless debates in the dark interior of Café Hawalka, one of the city’s renowned coffeehouses. Politicians, philosophers, artists and writers have gathered here since 1939, joined by tourists escaping the rain for fresh strudel and a cup of dark Viennese coffee. The Albertina, the Leopold, Natural History Museum, Jewish Museum, Schönbrunn and Belvedere Palaces – Vienna’s long history is everywhere, with something for everyone.
We journey through the night, the Danube slicing through Slovakia’s capital Bratislava, arriving in Budapest shortly after sunrise. Here, we cruise alongside the prominent Hungarian Parliament, and under the various bridges that connect hilly Buda to the flat quarters of Pest. Dozens of sightseeing longboats line the shores, so we dock alongside two other Viking ships, walking through each connecting lobby to reach the shore for an orientation bus ride and guided trip to Castle Hill. The views of this old European capital have always lived up to their reputation.
Budapest is our disembarkation point, where we will swap out with passengers arriving for the Jarl’s return trip to Regensburg, or boarding another vessel heading south along the Danube through Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. Two decades ago, I remember standing atop Budapest’s iconic Chain Bridge, admiring the decadent river boats below, dreaming that one day I might be on one. Tonight, as the evening city lights flicker on, I squeeze my wife’s hand, and feel the elation of a wish fulfilled. We head back to the Jarl for a final meal with new friends, popping a bottle of fine champagne to toast the romance of the Danube, the flow of time, and the enduring power of a bucket list dream.
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