Cruising on the Danube, Main, and Rhine Rivers

In 1997 and 1998, my wife Roberta and I cruised the Rhine, Mine, and Danube Rivers. Why did we do it twice? Well, it's a long story...too long to tell on this website. We had a great time on both of our trips. On the first trip in 1997, we traveled from Amsterdam to Vienna on a 14 day cruise. In 1998, we traveled from Budapest to Amsterdam on a 16 day cruise. European river cruises this long were relatively new in 1997, because the three rivers were only just connected by the Main-Danube Canal in 1992. The Budapest to Amsterdam pictures you will be viewing cover a distance of 1,127 miles, or 1,814 kilometers.

A little history of the three rivers... The northern border of the Roman Empire ran along the line of the Danube, Main and Rhine Rivers. Unfortunately, the river system was not continuous and Roman ships sailing up the Danube could only go so far before cargos had to be unloaded and carried overland to the headwaters of the Main. At that point, the cargo would be loaded again on another ship that would carry it down the Main and into the Rhine to reach Roman cities like Mainz and Cologne.

Charlemagne dreamed of cutting a canal through this land-bridge and began work in 793. Unfortunately, the task was beyond the technology of his day and the project was abandoned. In 1921, the Germans began Charlemagne's project again.

The canal had to cross the watershed of Europe and required the use of huge locks, some 100 feet deep. Construction was delayed by World War II, by spiraling costs, and then because of the strong opposition of environmental groups. At one point  in the 1980s, opposition grew so strong that work on the canal was forced to stop. The canal was eventually finished under the strict supervision of environmentalists who ensured that the final stretch of the canal was so integrated with nature that many people think they're sailing along a natural river.

The Main-Danube Canal was opened in September 1992. It created the transcontinental Rhine-Main-Danube Waterway that allows vessels to travel 2,200 miles from Rotterdam on the North Sea to the port of Sulina on the Black Sea. The canal winds 106 miles through Bavaria, as it rises and falls over 800 feet through 16 locks. 

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One of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Budapest spans the banks of the Danube for eight miles.

Below, the town of Szentendre, which is in the Hungarian countryside. In 1998, it was beginning to become a popular tourist attraction.

On the fifth day of our trip, we landed in Vienna on a blazing ot day in August. This is a picture of the main downtown shopping area.

Below is Belvedere Palace which is in the heart of Vienna

The Karlskirche. Built from 1715 to 1737, this church was built to honor Saint Charles Borromeo and to thank God for delivering Vienna from the plague. 

The pictures below were taken from the bridge of the Prussian Princess as we were getting ready to dock at Durnstein Austria. Durnstein is located in the heart of Austria's Wachau wine region. The castle ruins on top of the hill is Kuenriger Castle. Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned here in the 12th Century

Above, views of Passau. To the left, inside St. Stephens Cathedral in Passau, which has the largest pipe organ in Europe and the 4th largest pipe organ in the world.

How do I know that? Click on this link: Pipe Organ Ranking 

On our second trip, in 1998, we left our ship here. It continued on and we took a train to Salzburg and Neuschwanstein to see the famous castle. This is a picture of Roberta leaving the ship in Passau. We left all our luggage on the ship and just took a few clothes with us in our backpacks for our three-day side trip.

Below is the view of Mozart Square from the veranda of Cafe Glockenspeil. Mozart Square is the starting point for a Walking Tour of Salzburg.

Old Town Salzburg is a shopping area and is worth walking through it, even if you're not a shopper.

From Salzburg, we took the train to Fussen. Fussen is the closest train station to Neuschwanstein Castle. Many Americans, consider it the most famous castle in the world. It's said that Neuschwanstein inspired Walt Disney's design for Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland. Many people don't realize that this castle was not built during the middle ages. King Ludwig of Bavaria began building it in 1889. Regardless of when it was built, it is one of the great landmarks of Europe and it is one of the most special places that I've ever visited. 

I took the above right picture of the castle from the bridge in the picture on the left.

Remember that all of the pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them. When you click, your browser will open the enlarged picture in a separate window. To return to this page, close the window that has the enlarged picture in it. Underlined text are links that take you to other web sites with more information on the subject.

This is a view from the castle. The building on the right is Hohenschwangau, the castle that king Ludwig lived in before building Neuschwanstein.

We stayed at the Hotel Muller, which is one of the few near the castle. We recommend staying there.  The hotel has a friendly staff, and both the cafe and restaurant serve great Bavarian food. The carriage in front of the hotel takes you up to the castle. The second picture is the view from our balcony. Fussen and Hohenschwangau are located at the end of Germany's "Romantic Road".