2021 Danube Dreams River Cruise: Vienna, Austria

Destinations/Ports Series: 2021 Danube Dreams River Cruise

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We had a wonderful stop in Vienna, which is the music capitol of Austria. Our day started with a bus to the old town area and then a walking tour of the most important district of the old town. There we saw many of the palaces of the Austro-Hungary Empire and the old churches of the storied capitol. We even got to take a peak inside the stables of the famed Lipizzaner Stallions, where we got to see a few of the horses.

Another beautiful site in Vienna is the end of the plague monument that was erected by the Hapsburgs to give thanks to God for the end of the plague. These kinds of monuments were a way to communicate an idea to people who couldn’t read as it depicts the Holy Trinity at the top and then other figures associated with the plague.

We also enjoyed seeing the inside and outside of several of the impressive old buildings in this part of town. We also visited the Gothic Cathedral. Then we headed toward the Sacher Hotel where we enjoyed some coffee and the famous Sacher Torte. With current Covid protocols in place, we had to show our vaccination cards to be seated in the café.

After our tour of the old Imperial city, we headed back to the ship for lunch. The new part of Vienna is located across the Danube and there are many impressive sky scrapers and examples of modern architecture which we could see from our river ship.

After lunch, we walked around the part of town more adjacent to the Danube, where we visited the Jubilee Church, erected to commemorate the Jubilee of the Emperor, and then to Prater Amusement park where we rode the Wiener Riesenrad or Giant Ferris Wheel. This is one of the oldest operating Ferris wheels in the world. The guests ride in box car type compartments. The wheel even has a restaurant associated with it and guests can even dine in several of the box cars as they are set up with tables and courses or served as the car arrives at the bottom on each time around. The views from the wheel were impressive. We had to show our vaccination cards to go on the wheel and wear masks the whole time. If you are a fan of James Bond movies you might remember the wheel in the film “The Living Daylights”.

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Suzanne Klasen

Suzanne Klasen is the Owner / Travel Advisor of CruiseOne Suzanne Klasen. We have combined our love of cruising with computer skills to bring you a very informative and entertaining site that follows my cruising travels and thoughts. I hope that you will let me help plan your next vacation.