I braved the chilly on an AmaWaterways’ Danube River cruise in February — and it was completely value it

The parking zone at Melk Abbey — a baroque-style abbey in a former fortress and a UNESCO World Heritage Website — was utterly empty when our bus pulled in.

The wide-open interior courtyard was not full of different tour teams. It wasn’t noisy with the babble of a number of guides talking in varied languages to wide-eyed vacationers contemporary off river cruises, bus excursions and personal excursions. Our group was the one one there, giving us unobstructed views of the intricate design work and trendy frescoes.

Our abbey information unlocked doorways and flipped on lights as we toured by means of the museum rooms earlier than persevering with on to the spectacular multistory library that includes a muraled ceiling with historic tomes and ultimately the ornate, golden church inside with its a whole bunch of depictions of angels.

The abbey was attractive — and we had all of it to ourselves.

As we headed again to our bus, the solar was setting, though it was not even 6 p.m., and I pulled on my gloves and hat to brace in opposition to the chilly air. A couple of minutes later, again on my river cruise ship, AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna, the crew welcomed us inside with scorching towels and glasses of apple tea.

And that is once I began to assume there was one thing sensible about cruising the Danube within the doldrums of midwinter.

Till just lately, river cruise traces took an prolonged winter trip, closing up store after the Christmas market cruises of November and December and never setting sail on the Rhine or Danube till late March or early April.

However two issues made AmaWaterways’ executives begin to rethink this plan. The primary is that the local weather in Europe is slowly getting hotter — with summers getting hotter and winters getting milder, with much less snow. The second is that an growing variety of folks started touring to Europe within the peak season, making in style vacationer locations uncomfortably crowded.

Out of the blue, the offseason months of February and March regarded extra like shoulder season. The climate was chilly however not unbearably chilly, with sunny days simply as widespread as grey ones. And much fewer vacationers had been afoot. Why not prolong the river cruise season and begin earlier to offer vacationers entry to the perfect of the Danube and the Rhine throughout a quieter time of 12 months?

I wished to see for myself if a February cruise to Jap Europe was a frigid mistake or the best-kept secret in journey. So, I signed up for AmaWaterways’ seven-night Better of the Danube river cruise, crusing round-trip from Budapest, Hungary, and visiting Bratislava, Slovakia, and Vienna and Linz, Austria, plus Austria’s Wachau Valley. My cruise was the primary of the season, departing in late February, and I satisfied my mom to hitch me, arguing that if she had been going to be chilly in Boston, she may as properly be chilly in Europe.

As I threw fuzzy sweaters, knit hats and lengthy underwear into my suitcase, I questioned precisely what I had gotten us into. It seems I had no cause to worry.

The climate was a (principally) nice shock

On our day in Budapest earlier than embarkation later that afternoon, my mother and I wished to attempt a neighborhood specialty for lunch. A buddy had advisable a restaurant that served langos, fried dough topped with bitter cream and cheese that you simply eat like a pizza.

The restaurant was packed, with restricted indoor seating. However we discovered two spots on the outside tables to eat our lunch, bundled in our hats and coats. It wasn’t my first alternative, however with temperatures within the 40s, it wasn’t unmanageable.

Nevertheless, after we determined to seize an after-lunch deal with of Bratislava’s well-known chimney cake full of gelato, we selected the cafe with indoor seating. I would eat heat dough exterior however not ice cream.

The climate on our river cruise various so much from daily, however temperatures usually ranged from the low 40s to the low 50s. I run chilly, so most days, I wore my winter coat, heat hat and gloves. Our tour from Linz to Salzburg, Austria, was grey and drizzly however not so moist we needed to flee indoors, and we skilled a short bathe when driving the Wiener Riesenrad (Vienna’s big Ferris wheel).

However in Bratislava, we discovered vivid solar and temperatures passing 50. Mother and I did an entire wardrobe change earlier than heading out on our strolling tour, shedding layers and switching to lighter coats. After hoofing it up a number of units of steps to Bratislava Fort, we truly felt sweaty.

I might need packed for this journey like I did for Antarctica, however the climate by no means got here near the near-freezing temperatures and threats of snow that I left behind within the States. I used to be blissful to have my hat and gloves, however I by no means was uncomfortable strolling outside, and my lengthy underwear remained in a drawer in my cabin for your complete crusing.

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Nonetheless, AmaMagna’s small present store was stocked with hats, gloves, fleece jackets and different heat gadgets ought to you end up unprepared for any wintry climate.

If you happen to come from a scorching local weather, you’ll both love the possibility to rock your cozy sweaters or want to regulate to the chilliness, however the climate was by no means disagreeable on my journey.

The dearth of crowds made braving the chilliness worthwhile

On the day we visited, Durnstein, Austria, was a ghost city.

Our chipper information defined how the Wachau Valley village is a scorching spot for summer season bikers and vacationers on Austria’s wine path, however nobody was afoot as we gazed up on the ruined fortress the place Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned for months.

Just a few shops had been open — primarily as a result of AmaWaterways referred to as forward — together with one enterprising store proprietor who lured us to her door with samples of “rabbit shit” (chocolate-covered wine grapes combined with items of candied apricot) and the promise of a free lavatory as the general public services had been closed for the winter.

Which may have been an excessive instance, however the locations we visited alongside the Danube ranged from utterly empty to busy however not jam-packed. After the horror tales I heard of shoulder-to-shoulder crowds in elements of Europe this previous summer season, I used to be delighted to maneuver freely and simply by means of the streets of Austria, Slovakia and Hungary in winter.

That is to not say that the key cities had been empty. Salzburg’s pedestrian thoroughfare, Getreidegasse, with its retailers, museums and eating places, was bustling, however you did not really feel such as you needed to push by means of the crowds to get locations. Budapest’s Fort Hill on a Saturday was stuffed with tour teams, and we noticed two bachelorette events eating alfresco at varied cafes and a marriage social gathering ready exterior of Matthias Church.

February is definitely Vienna’s ball season, and the opera’s grand gala was scheduled for the night AmaMagna overnighted within the metropolis. Our Uber into town for a classical live performance bought caught within the ball visitors, and we heard from shipmates that restaurant reservations had been laborious to return by.

Nonetheless, in comparison with peak summer season and vacation journey instances, we discovered the vacationer areas we visited to be far much less crowded and far more manageable.

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Cozy actions abound in wintertime Europe

You would survive in wintertime Europe on espresso and cake.

Practically each tour information we had on our river cruise, earlier than sending us on our approach for “free time,” would level out a restaurant the place we may sit inside and luxuriate in a espresso and pastries.

In Bratislava, our cruise supervisor Martina pointed us towards Konditorei Kormuth, a historic constructing lined in baroque-style frescoes courting to the sixteenth by means of nineteenth centuries. Inside is a restaurant that serves pastries and scorching drinks on vintage porcelain dishes. I ordered a slice of chocolate cake from a number of pastries baked in keeping with outdated Austro-Hungarian recipes and a chai tea served in a floral teapot with a fragile tea cup.

Not solely did a cease right here give us a really native technique to heat up and refuel, however it additionally gave us a free lavatory. And what a toilet it was! The hallway resulting in it had elaborate frescoes, and the vintage rest room (with a series you pull to flush) was superbly painted.

In Budapest, a hot-from-the-oven chimney cake will heat you up and fulfill your candy tooth in a really native approach. In Vienna, you may search out an apple strudel or Sacher torte and Viennese espresso within the many cafes round city.

Espresso and cake aren’t your solely cozy choices on a February or March river cruise. AmaWaterways provides a culinary tour in Bratislava, the place as an alternative of strolling round city, you may gap up in a neighborhood eatery and pattern regional beers, meats and cheeses. Excursions of the Melk Abbey and Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace are indoors. The Vienna metropolis tour additionally features a bus journey across the metropolis’s historic central district and a horse-drawn carriage journey the place you may cuddle as much as your sweetie to maintain heat.

If wanted, we may take umbrellas and strolling sticks from the ship to be used on the town. And daily, after we returned to the ship after touring, smiling crew members can be ready for us with scorching towels and fruit-flavored teas. We had been by no means chilly for lengthy.

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AmaWaterways provides plenty of lively choices, even in winter

If you happen to prefer to beat the chilly with a exercise, AmaWaterways provides all its lively climbing and bike excursions, even in late February.

In Vienna, I skipped the palace tour for a hike within the Vienna Woods, as soon as the looking grounds of the Habsburg royal household. Our group of simply 4 hardy souls was escorted by a neighborhood information and the ship’s wellness host, Damian. Placing superb views of the whole thing of Vienna at our backs, we hiked into the forest and as much as somewhat restaurant, the place we cooed at its pet donkey and pig after which continued on our approach by means of a winery protecting the hillside.

The road additionally provides biking excursions in Bratislava and Linz and extra lively variations of metropolis excursions for visitors who want to hike as much as a metropolis’s hilltop fortress.

If you happen to’d relatively save your exercises to your time on board, AmaWaterways provides an in depth array of health and stretching courses and a small fitness center for impartial exercising. I got here on board with each intention of utilizing these services — trying ahead to the complimentary resistance band, yoga and Pilates courses — however a foul chilly prevented me from having fun with them.

Just a few lively visitors who did not thoughts a cool-weather exercise made use of AmaMagna’s top-deck pickleball courtroom (distinctive within the river cruise business) and 4 outside spin bikes. If you happen to’re used to exercising outdoor regardless of the climate, ensure that to pack your cool-weather health gear, and you will be able to make the most of all of AmaWaterways’ lively choices.

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AmaMagna was my cozy dwelling base after a cold day of touring

Our posttour, predinner vacation spot each night on AmaMagna was the Sip & Sail cocktail hour within the ship’s most important lounge. We would clean up for dinner and waltz in fashionably late, and we might all the time discover pals with an area at their desk. Everybody was heat and welcoming, which made the ship really feel like dwelling.

If we did not want to order one of many complimentary drinks from the Sip & Sail menu (a mixture of commonplace cocktails, wine, beer and each day specials), we might go to the ship’s hottest onboard location: the espresso station. Right here, I may make a cup of tea, scorching chocolate or quite a lot of espresso drinks to deliver with me wherever on board. Make your self snug at one of many close by tables, and you can simply meet everybody on board in the middle of a morning.

Visitors on board and feeling hungry within the afternoon can take pleasure in a day tea service with finger sandwiches and candy treats. It is a beautiful possibility on a wet or chilly afternoon on the river.

My favourite areas on board had been the 2 libraries located between the lounge and the glass-walled Al Fresco Restaurant. Right here, plush couches and a fake fire (water vapor, flickering lights and a soundtrack create a sensible impact) made a comfortable spot to take pleasure in a chat with pals, particularly when the after-dinner music within the lounge bought too loud to hold on a dialog.

Or, if I did not really feel like being social, I may return to my cozy cabin, hop into mattress with the cover on and watch a film from a large record of complimentary movies, each comparatively latest releases and outdated favorites.

Early season journey does have its drawbacks

You do sacrifice a couple of issues when taking a European river cruise within the winter. Whether or not they’re deal breakers relies on your journey preferences.

In Salzburg, each sq. and plaza has a fountain. In spring, these should be beautiful and make for fantastic pictures. In winter, they don’t seem to be simply shut off; they’re boarded up. Some utterly disappeared below wood covers; others had clear pyramids positioned excessive.

The gardens behind Bratislava Fort had been fairly brown after we visited. The 2 gardens surrounding Vienna’s Hofburg palace, the Burggarten and the Volksgarten, weren’t so spectacular with out blooming bushes and colourful flowers; we heard experiences of the identical from the visitors who visited Schonbrunn Palace. The vineyards of the Wachau Valley had been all reduce, and the naked bushes of the Vienna Woods weren’t as photogenic as they may be in spring or fall.

The winter season will not be a closely traveled time for a cause. If you happen to’re searching for lovely colours in your scenic pictures, you can be dissatisfied. On the flip aspect, it is a good time for uncrowded metropolis photographs or bird-spotting within the naked bushes.

Additionally, not each attraction you want to see may be open right now. In Durnstein, a couple of retailers opened for our group, however many extra retailers and cafes had been closed. Sections of Salzburg’s Mirabel Gardens (the filming location of the “Do Re Mi” track in “The Sound of Music”) usually are not open within the winter months.

And if in case you have desires of having fun with a glass of wine in your ship’s deck, the solar in your face, as you cruise alongside the Danube — and even visions of having fun with the ship’s top-deck pool or pickleball courtroom — the climate may not comply along with your needs.

Then once more, should you do not thoughts donning a hat and jacket and warming up with a steaming cup of espresso, you may be pleasantly stunned that sunny winter days are fantastic instances to be exterior watching the world go by.

Backside line

Residing in a four-season local weather the place winters will be chilly, I am no stranger to bundling up and never letting the climate cease me from having enjoyable. I used to be completely content material to placed on a coat and hat and discover Europe on a river cruise. Strolling excursions by means of town and visits to cathedrals and museums had been completed as comfortably within the offseason as within the excessive season. And I did not have hordes of vacationers to deal with.

Alternatively, as a nature lover who enjoys hikes and outside pursuits, I used to be a bit dissatisfied to overlook out on the blooming gardens, fall foliage or typically colourful landscapes and parks on our grey winter cruise. If wandering the retailers of small villages and taking pictures of flowers are your favourite journey actions, you may want to delay your cruise till the spring.

I wasn’t certain what I had signed up for once I agreed to take a river cruise in February. Finally, I believed the decrease fares and gentle temperatures made it completely value touring right now, and I am so glad I did not should battle the crowds to cross these Jap European scorching spots off my bucket record.

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