Cruising the European Christmas Markets of the Danube River

A dream we had for years was to visit some of the Christmas markets of Europe.  While cruising may not be everyone’s top travel choice, a European river cruise along the Danube River is the perfect way to see many of Europe’s Christmas markets without having to fly or drive long distances and stay at multiple hotels.  During our European Christmas market cruise with Viking River Cruises, we were able to visit the Christmas markets of Budapest (Hungary), Vienna (Austria), and Passau, Regensburg, and Nuremberg (Germany).

Review: What It’s Like to Cruise with Viking River Cruises

When we announced we were going to be taking our very first cruise, and that it would be with Viking River Cruises, we learned there are quite a few of you who are really interested in taking a river cruise with Viking River Cruises but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.  A lot of you had questions about the rooms, the excursions, the food, and if non-ocean cruisers would enjoy river cruising.  After our eight-day European river cruise with Viking River Cruises, during which we cruised along the blue Danube and visited European Christmas markets, we are ready to answer all your questions and provide our review of Viking River Cruises.

The Austria Trip That Never Happened

You know the saying “all dressed up and nowhere to go?”  I kind of feel that way about our trip to Austria that never happened.  My dream of traveling to Austria began at an early age because of my love of the movie The Sound of Music.  Who wouldn’t want to visit Austria after seeing Julie Andrews twirling on verdant hilltops?  Are the hills really alive with the sound of music?  I need to know.  And the only way to truly find out is to travel to Austria.

Once we decided upon a trip to Austria, I bought two guidebooks as I always do and started reading up on Austria and highlighting all the places we would visit in Vienna, Salzburg, and beyond.  But as I started researching flights I found a trip to Austria that year was out of our financial reach.  So now I have two out-of-date guidebooks, one of which is partially highlighted with a sad little page corner turned down halfway through where my research abruptly ended.

The folded page is a sad reminder of the abrupt end of my Austria trip planning.

We have taken many trips since and as we travel the world I always feel a little regret for the trip that never happened.  So when I learned about the GowithOh Guest Tester contest, I had visions of my wished for trip to Austria that could becoming the trip to Austria that did.