Amadagio Amsterdam/Budapest Free Time

[Chesie]

Me again!

 

It seems like we'll be on the go alot and was wondering how much free time we would have to explore. I know the included tours we can opt out but don't want to miss the highlights.

 

What would be your recommendation on what tour into town is a must and ones we can pass on by?

 

We have decided not to take the optional tour into Salzberg due to the lengthy bus ride back and forth. Is this something we should reconsider or shall I just watch the Sound of Music the week before we go?

 

As always, thanks again.

 

Chesie

[Buckland]

Hi Chesie,

 

You were wise to opt out of the Salzburg tour. The bus ride is arduous and the sights were not all that memorable - unless you were a "Sound Of Music" fanatic. We had free time in almost every place we went to. You are right in that you are kept moving a lot and once, we opted to just rest during our "free" time. No matter what, you will be awed at some of the things you will see. A few of my faves were the Hofburg palaces and anywhere in Vienna, and the history along the route.

 

Buckland

[WIT]

Hi Chesie,

 

You were wise to opt out of the Salzburg tour. The bus ride is arduous and the sights were not all that memorable - unless you were a "Sound Of Music" fanatic. We had free time in almost every place we went to. You are right in that you are kept moving a lot and once, we opted to just rest during our "free" time. No matter what, you will be awed at some of the things you will see. A few of my faves were the Hofburg palaces and anywhere in Vienna, and the history along the route.

 

Buckland

 

We have spent a day in Salzburg twice - first on a Globus tour two years ago and most recently on the side trip for most of the day with Amadeus. Our experience with the guide on our second tour made the experience one of the most memorable of the entire tour - I hope you get the same guy. The guided portion took up about 1/3 of our time and the rest we used to dine in the Stiftskeller and to soak up the culture that made Salzburg a special place. You do understand that the boat will be moving upriver with you on it so your choice is the boat or the bus? I would say you can rest when you get home. Go for it.

[TataTom]

We opted out of the Salzburg tour, under the assumption that it would be sort of "staged" and not necessarily authentic. Those on our cruise who did go to Salzburg seemed to be quite pleased with it. During the tour, we stayed on the boat for a leisurely cruise to the next stop, and it was quite peaceful and scenic. All of those who stayed on the boat seemed to be pleased with their decision as well. It was a very pleasant time on the cruise. We did not regret not taking the tour. Everyone was happy, both those who went to Salzburg and those who did not.

 

Doesn't that make your decision a lot easier...?

[letsgo39]

TaTaTom,

By opting out of Salzburg were you able to spend time in Linz and Passau? I think it is Passau that has a church with a large pipe organ and there is a concert around noon everyday. Please correct me if I have my facts wrong. Thanks!

[letsgo39]

Also according to Rick Steves many of the things you are told on the Salzburg tours are not the true story about the filming of Sound of Music.:eek:

[Buckland]

When we got to Salzburg the first thing that impressed me was the lack of decoration on the buildings. They all seemed very flat, square and grey. There is an impressive statue of Mozart in a nice square, but the building he lived in has been converted into some kind of modern display case leaving no indication what ever of how he may have actually used the place to live. It was stark and white with surreal displays that I'm sure would have shocked him were he alive today. I was really disappointed with it and could not wait to get out of there. The huge, modern museum was free to enter, which was nice, but by then we were pretty much tired of the place and just wanted to get back to the ship. During the bus ride back the driver was playing the sound track to The Sound Of Music. It was not what we wanted to hear, but when we asked him to put on some Mozart he just let the disc play right through to the end - it was agonizing. He finally put on some classical, but it was Bach instead of Mozart - it was better, but still not what we asked for. I'm glad that other people did not have the same kind of experience we had, but if I were to do it again, I would not.

 

Buck

[steamboats]

letsgo39,

 

It´s the world largest pipe organ. Concerts are daily (except Sundays and holidays) at noon starting May 2nd til Oct 31st (30 min) and Dec 27th til Dec 31st. Admission 4 EUR. There are also evening concerts every Thursday except holidays from May til October at 7:30 pm, admission 5 EUR.

 

Carmen

[DeniceRG]

We took the Salzburg tour this past December on our Christmas Markets cruise (it was with Gate 1 ... on the Viktoria). I do like Salzburg, but, this tour was more like just transportation to/from Salzburg ... we were dropped off with 6 or so hours on our own. It was billed as a tour, but it was not, so I was not prepared. We shopped and had a good lunch, but next time, I will be more prepared, or just not go. Passau is a lovely town; I really liked it there. So I might opt to spend more time there.

 

Just my thoughts ...

 

Denice

[TataTom]

TaTaTom,

By opting out of Salzburg were you able to spend time in Linz and Passau? I think it is Passau that has a church with a large pipe organ and there is a concert around noon everyday. Please correct me if I have my facts wrong. Thanks!

Not really..while the Salzburg group was being bussed to Salzburg, entertained and then bussed back, we were cruising from Linz to Passau. We had a one hour guided tour in Passau, if my memory serves me correctly, it was later in the day.

[letsgo39]

Thanks Steamboats,

That is just the info I was looking for.I hope the timing works out so we can go to the concert.

 

Tom,

Well darn! After several Globus coach tours I am very sure I would rather be on a river ship than a bus.LOL:D Do you recall how long it takes to get from Linz to Passau?

[Chesie]

Thank you all for your responses! One in our group truly wants to go to Salzburg, I'm not sure of the other 3. I think my husband and I are just going to pass this one up. It gives us a good reason to return to Austria!

 

Chesie

[TataTom]

Thanks Steamboats,

That is just the info I was looking for.I hope the timing works out so we can go to the concert.

 

Tom,

Well darn! After several Globus coach tours I am very sure I would rather be on a river ship than a bus.LOL:D Do you recall how long it takes to get from Linz to Passau?

Letsgo39:

 

We left Linz at 8:30 AM. The Salzburg group left the ship at 8:15 AM. We arrived in Passau about 4:30 PM, so the cruise time was about 8 hours. The Salzburg group was scheduled to return to the ship at Passau at 6:00 PM, so their tour took about 10+ hours. After a wonderful dinner at 7:00 PM we had a Bavarian Folklore show in the lounge at 8:45. We then sailed for Regensburg about 10:00 PM.

 

Hope this helps!

[cmthomas]

Letsgo39, if you jump ship in Linz and catch a train to Passau you can be there for the noon concert with time to spare as it is only a 1 to 1 1/2 hour trip depending upon the train that you catch. It appears that there is a train leaving Linz for Passau about once an hour all morning.

 

You should try it! Riding German trains are fun but not cheap. That short trip costs a little over 20 Euro but you may be able to get it cheaper if you qualify for a senior citizen reduction. It may not be available on a one way trip.

 

Maybe Steamboats could add something to this idea!

 

Clarence:)

[letsgo39]

Thanks Tom and Clarence,

I guess I will have to figure something else out as I would really like to spend more time "hanging out" in Passau.

 

Clarence

What a GREAT idea! Do you know how far the train station is from the docking area? That sounds like a wonderful adventure! Yes I do qualify for the Senior thingy!:D Where do I go to to get more information? If we do that we would have plenty of time in Passau and it would be fun. I have been on the Eurostar from Paris to London but have never been on a German train.

 

Steamboats,

What do you think of that idea?. Can you offer any additional information?

[cmthomas]

I am pleased that you like the concept but I will defer to Steamboats to provide the details as she does so well! I am sure that she is sleeping at this hour.

 

Clarence:)

[steamboats]

Clarence,

 

In fact I don´t remember when I last used a train :D , except the suburban trains of Munich.

 

As Linz is still in Austria, I´d suggest the Austrain Rail website (might also be cheaper than German Rail)

 

http://www.oebb.at/vip8/oebb/en/index.jsp

 

Unfortunately the price system of German Rail became very complicated over the years that even the service people don´t always find the cheapest rate.

 

But anyway, as far as I remember the part between Linz and Passau is one of the more scenic parts of the Danube river. My first choice would be Salzburg (skip all that fancy Sound of Music stuff, this is only popular in the US, the Austrians and Germans don´t even know anything about the Trapp family or the movie). My second choice would be a nice leisurly day on the river.

 

steamboats