European Holiday Markets 2007
European Holiday Markets

Please Note: Dates are subject to change and rates are Cruise only rates

November 28, 2007
$1698
December 5, 2007
$1698
December 12, 2007
$1698
December 19, 2007
$1698
December 26, 2007
$1698
7-night cruise in an outside stateroom on River Countess
All meals onboard included
7 shore excursions with English-speaking guides
Captain's Welcome & Farewell Dinners
Exciting onboard entertainment and insightful lectures
European Holiday Markets
Nuremberg to Vienna  -  9 Days
Day 1:
Depart Home Gateway City to Nuremberg

Day 2:
Arrive Nuremberg
Arrive in Nuremberg and be greeted by a representative who will escort you to the ship. (D)

Day 3:
Nuremberg
Featured Excursions: Nuremberg City Tour and Christmas Market
Onboard Highlights: Captain's Welcome Dinner
Visit Nuremberg's Christmas Market Christ kindles market where you can browse through over 200 wooden stalls filled with signature toys and indulge in the tasty treats of gingerbread, sausages, roasted chestnuts and sweet-and-spicy hot-mulled wine. As part of the city tour, we'll explore the medieval landmark of the Kaiserburg Castle, the Medieval town wall and towers, and of course, the holiday bedecked central marketplace with its beautiful fountain. (B, L, Captain's Welcome Dinner)

Day 4:
Regensburg
Featured Excursions: Regensburg Walking Tour and Christmas Market
Located amid gently rolling hills lies Regensburg, a well-preserved Medieval gem where little has changed in nearly five centuries. On your tour of Regensburg, you'll see the Cathedral of St. Peter, with magnificent stained glass windows dating from the 14th century; the Gothic structure of Town Hall, where the first parliament of the Holy Roman Empire sat from 1663 to 1806; and the town's famous 12th-century Stone Bridge, spanning the Danube. And what can be more satisfying as you wander through the Christmas Market than indulging in steamed Dampfnudel, dumplings with vanilla sauce? (B, L, D)

Day 5:
Passau
Featured Excursions: Passau Walking Tour and Christmas Market, Gingerbread Making Demonstration and Floral Decoration Workshop
Quaint and peaceful describe Passau. Your guided walk starts in the Medieval section of Passau, then takes you past St. Stephan's Cathedral, the New Residence, Town Hall, and to the confluence of three rivers that converge at Passau. At the Christmas Market you'll find unique crafts, including Bavarian-style houses and glass ornaments. And as an added treat, you'll see both gingerbread making and floral decorating demonstrations. (B, L, D)

Day 6:
Linz
Featured Excursions: Linz Walking Tour, Bakery Visit and Christmas Market
Linz offers a lively Christmas Market filled with everything from Christmas Crèches, for which Linz is famous, to the ever-popular Linzer Torte. Your walking tour will take you to Linz's Alter Dom, or Old Church, Nordico Museum, and New Church. You'll also be guided through the pedestrian zone, Alter Markt, Kremsmünstererhaus and the impressive Main Square, one of Austria's most attractive closed squares, with the baroque Trinity Column. A bakery visit makes this excursion especially delectable.* (B, L, D) *Bakery visits will not be offered on weekends or public Holidays.

Day 7:
Dürnstein and Vienna
Featured Excursions: Dürnstein Walking Tour, Organ Concert in Convent Church, and Evening Mozart and Strauss Concert in Vienna
The tiny Baroque village of Dürnstein seems lost in time. The tour takes you through the village with its old burgher houses and 16th- through 18th-century townhouses, ending at the exquisite Baroque cathedral. Inside this Medieval town's walls is the Augustinian Convent, a masterpiece of Baroque architecture, and site of a specially-arranged organ concert. Yet more enchanting music is waiting for you in Vienna this evening, where you'll enjoy a concert of Mozart and Strauss. (B, L, D)

Day 8:
Vienna
Featured Excursions: Vienna City Tour and Christmas Market
Onboard Highlights: Captain's Farewell Dinner
Vienna is as exciting as it is beautiful. It's a city steeped in history yet on the cusp of current trends. Decorative lights blanket the city and aromas of macaroons, nutmeg rum balls and rich Viennese coffee fill the air at this magical time of year. With your panoramic city overview, travel the stately Ringstrasse, where the surrounding buildings give off a distinctive imperial air, and see St. Stephen's Cathedral and Figaro House. Vienna's Christmas Market, sitting front and center of Vienna's Baroque City Hall, is not to be missed. (B, L, Captain's Farewell Dinner)

Day 9:
Depart Vienna
Disembark the ship and transfer to the airport in Vienna for your flight home.

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