JOURNEYS HAPPEN | European Holiday River Cruise

Pricing Details
Per Person*: $1,849
Depart Date: December 7, 2008
Ship Name: River Countess
Prices shown above include cruise in Category 5,
Moselle Deck. Prices exclude additional port charges
of $84 and a cruise fuel surcharge of $49 and are per
person, cruise-only, based on double occupancy.
Other restrictions may apply. Ability to upgrade cabin
is available.

Cruise Highlights include:
•7-night cruise in an outside stateroom on the luxurious Grand River Countess
•Classical European cuisine with a twist of contemporary elegance
•Complimentary wine during dinner, and bottled water in your stateroom
•7 shore excursions fully hosted by English-speaking guides
•State-of-the-art Quietvox portable audio headset system on all shore excursions
•Captain’s Welcome and Farewell Dinners
•Enriching onboard entertainment and insightful lectures
•An experienced Cruise Manager and attentive all English-speaking crew
•All transfers

DAY TO DAY:
DAY 1: Depart Home Gateway City to Vienna
DAY 2: Vienna (embark) Arrive in Vienna where you’ll be greeted by a Uniworld representative and transferred to the ship. (D)
DAY 3: Vienna Featured Excursion: Vienna city tour and Christmas Market, Evening Mozart and Strauss Concert Irresistible Optional Tour: Visit Schönbrunn Palace, the stunning former Habsburg summer residence that rivals Versailles, and stroll through the Christmas Market at the gates of Schönbrunn Castle With your panoramic city overview, you’ll travel the stately Ringstrasse, where the surrounding buildings give off a distinctive imperial air. You’ll see St. Stephen’s Cathedral and you’ll also visit Vienna’s largest Christmas Market, sitting front and center of Vienna’s baroque City Hall. During the evening, enjoy a concert of Mozart and Strauss in a traditional Viennese concert house. (BB, L, Captain’s Welcome Dinner)
DAY 4: Dürnstein, Scenic Cruising Wachau Valley Featured Excursion: Dürnstein walking tour and organ recital We take a guided stroll through charming Dürnstein with its old burgher houses and the landmark church of the Augustinian convent. The lavish baroque church provides a wonderful ambience for our exclusively arranged organ recital. (BB, L, D)
DAY 5: Linz, Passau Featured Excursion: Linz walking tour and Christmas Market Linz offers a lively Christmas Market filled with everything from Christmas Crèches to the ever-popular Linzer Torte. Your walking tour will take you to Linz’s Alter Dom, or the Old Market and the impressive Main Square, one of Austria’s most attractive closed squares, with the baroque Trinity Column. (BB, L, D)
DAY 6: Passau Featured Excursion: Passau walking tour, Christmas Market, gingerbread making and floral decoration demonstration Passau, a quintessential German town with Italian baroque flair, is located at the confluence of three rivers. Our walking tour of the Old Town lanes takes us to the New Residence, the Town Hall, and the Christmas Market located by the magnificent cathedral. You’ll also have the opportunity to see firsthand how gingerbread is made and be inspired at a floral decoration demonstration. (BB, L, D)
DAY 7: Regensburg Featured Excursion: Regensburg walking tour and Christmas Market Lively Regensburg is home to 2000 years of history and is a well-preserved medieval gem listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our guided walking tour of Regensburg explores the Cathedral of St. Peter, with magnificent stained glass windows dating back to the 14th century, the 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 the city’s romantic Christmas Markets than indulging in steamed dampfnudel, dumplings with vanilla sauce? (BB, L, D)
DAY 8: Nuremberg Featured Excursion: Nuremberg city tour and Christmas Market Our panoramic city tour passes the mighty walls with 80 towers enclosing the historical center, with a stop at the medieval Kaiserburg Castle towering above the city. The lively old quarter, with its medieval timber-framed buildings, and the holiday bedecked central marketplace, with its beautiful fountain, are best explored on our walking tour. Share in the joy of the pre-Christmas season at Germany’s best known and oldest Christmas Market, Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt, with over 200 wooden stalls filled with signature toys and glittering gifts. Enjoy the medieval atmosphere around the main market square with delicious aromas of gingerbread, Nuremberg sausages, roasted almonds and sweet and spicy hot mulled wine, called glühwein. (BB, L, Captain’s Farewell Dinner)
DAY 9: Nuremberg (disembark), transfer to airport Disembark the ship in Nuremberg and transfer to Nuremberg Airport for your flight home.

Prague (pre- or post-optional extension)
Truly one of the most captivating cities in Europe, the "City of Spires" is a delightful way to begin or end your holiday along the Danube. Pre-Christmas season in Prague is even more special with its rows of brightly decorated wooden huts offering Czech handicrafts, and the spectacular Christmas tree in Old Town square set against a dark gothic skyline is an absolute treat to behold.
Included in your 4-day grand city stay:
3 nights at the Superior First Class Hotel Imperial (or similar) with breakfast daily
Fully hosted by expert representatives
Prague city tour
Ship-to-hotel and hotel-to-airport transfers, or airport-to-hotel and hotel-to-ship transfers
Only $699 per person

OVERVIEW
Once upon a time long ago traditions were born
Many of our signature holiday traditions and customs-Christmas trees, Silent Night, gingerbread, nutcrackers, St. Nick, and candy canes-come to us from Germany and Austria.
Tantalize your senses
Fragrances of roasted chestnuts, gingerbread, strudel, sugar-coated baked apples, and hot mulled wine at the Christmas Markets will tantalize your senses and warm your spirits. Grand luminous and decorated Christmas trees adorn town squares. And bands and choral groups entertain you as you shop for that one-of-a-kind gift for someone special at home. These are typical scenes of Germany and Austria’s famous Christmas Markets, and this is what you will get to experience.
Enjoy the medieval atmosphere of Nuremberg’s main Christmas Market, the largest and most well-known in Germany, and as you walk around, don’t forget to taste Nuremberg’s famous gingerbread. Stroll through lively Regensburg, and as you visit the town’s romantic Christmas Market, why not indulge in steamed dampfnudel, dumplings with vanilla sauce. While in Passau, a quintessential German town with Italian flair, you’ll enjoy the Christmas Markets with unique crafts like hand-painted porcelain and Bohemian glass ornaments. And in Linz, “The Town of Christmas Crèches,” you’ll marvel at the small clay figurines that represent the people of a typical village-the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker.

You’ll listen to dramatic sounds of an organ recital at the old convent in Dürnstein, one of the prettiest towns on the Danube, and the orchestral sounds of a Mozart and Strauss concert in Vienna. All this and more, in two countries of culture and elegance, will make certain a joyous start to your holiday festivities.
Who will enjoy this cruise: Those looking to experience Europe at the most magical time of the year. Gone are the peak spring through fall crowds, and what’s left is a very intimate, up-close look at the local citizens and their holiday customs. Make this holiday season one you’ll never forget!