Christmas Cruise Down the Danube

Similarly to yesterday, we made some calls in the morning before wandering around the Christmas markets. We figured this would be the most christmassy experience we could get while we waited for our dinner on the Danube. Funnily enough, Christmas Eve is celebrated more in parts of Europe so all the Christmas markets were bustling with people and it felt like a very unique way to spend the big day compared to how it's celebrated in aus. We walked around town and the river just soaking up the atmosphere before heading back to the room and chilling out until it was afternoon. Because our dinner was a bit later, we figured we needed some drinks to keep us going untik then. We found an English pub and had a couple of drinks before heading to the boarding location. The river level was incredibly high and threatened to breach the top of the kurb and spill onto the road and flood the boarding port. Luckily, for now, this hadn't happened, and we could safely board and enjoy the cruise. To our surprise, dad had secured us a window seat on the very fancy top level. He was as blissfully unaware as mum and I, but it was a great surprise. We got plenty of views of the river and had a fantastic night. Unfortunately, photos were hard with the glare and the moving boat, so I decided to take a time lapse that turned out pretty well. We enjoyed a 4 course meal, I had an aperitif, pumpkin soup, beef ragout, and the brownie for dessert. All were fantastic and the staff were amazing too. After a great feed, a 3 hour cruise, and a couple of bottles of wine, it was time to disembark. It was sad to leave, but it had to come to an end, and I feel as though we got very good value for the experience on Christmas day. Seeing this beautiful city from the water was a highlight of my trip and doing so on Christmas day, with my family, only made it better. The walk home was great too, walking back past the parliament building, with a very well-lit, enourmas Christmas tree topping off a great night. Once we got home, it was late, and so we headed to bed.Read more