Cruising the Danube in Vienna

 Laureen was busy pouring over a stack of tourist pamphlets in the small apartment we had rented for our stay in Vienna.

It was a very nice spot called MyPlace, located along Vorlaufstrasse in the city Center of Austria’s capital city.

I liked the name.

“Where’d you stay in Vienna?” 

“My place,” I would answer, with a touch of a Viennese accent.

“Must be nice to have your own place.”

“It was,” I said with a slight bow, showing my gracious side.

Our home away from home

The weather had not turned out to be what we had expected, much like whenever travelers travel. It was supposed to be raining and cold much of the time as we trouped about the city of nearly 2 million folks.

The 20 suitcases Laureen had packed for the trip, were loaded to their bulging zippers with winter jackets, rain jackets, jackets with two pockets, jackets with hoodies, and jackets within jackets.

We could have worn shorts and tank tops most days. The Nanook of the North wardrobe was not necessary for this outing. Thank goodness there were 19 other suitcases for this eventuality.

“How about a lunch cruise along the Danube?” Laureen asked.

“I like boats,” I said. “But only if lunch includes schnitzel. Has to have schnitzel or count me out.”

She nodded. “It does and it’s three hours of sightseeing along the river.”

Something about a three-hour cruise gave me a pause for a moment. 

“Gilligan will not be aboard,” Laureen said.

We donned our yachting gear. Blue jeans, t-shirt, sneakers, and a light sweatshirt in case the sun decided to disappear behind a silly cloud or two during the river trip.

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe: 1,770 miles of blue flowing water starting in Germany and passing through ten countries before emptying into the Black Sea. The Volga in Russia is longer by approximately 400 miles, but only travels through the one country, so who cares?

We were going to be eating schnitzel on the Danube.

Now, that's a meal

Our ship was to be the DDSG Blue Danube for the lunch cruise. I have no idea what DDSG stands for though – I asked around at the docks but was only met with a couple of salty crew members who prattled something in German.

All flags were flying aboard the DDSG Blue Danube

I smiled and believed they had said something about my shoe being untied. I looked; it wasn’t.

One of the captains, Matthia S. Krista, is quoted as saying. “As one of the most livable cities in the world, Vienna is always worth a visit. For tourists as well as for locals who want to enjoy the view from the water. I am pleased to be able to look after you safely on board our ships.”

In all transparency, I lifted that quotation from the company’s website.

Arriving dockside along the Schwedenplatz in the Danube Canal area, we were greeted by very friendly crew members who reminded us not to fall while boarding.

“That warning ruined my day already,” I said.

Laureen Beyer ready for the cruise

The Blue Danube, our cruise ship, was long and spacious, with two decks: the top view deck on top, and the bottom view deck on the bottom. 

No sooner had we taken a beautiful spot on the top deck with our own table and fabulous views of the river and the city than our waiter appeared as if by magic.

It was Vienna, after all.

“Could I interest you in a beverage before we depart?”

Ah, Vienna.

Like trains in Europe, the cruise started right on time – punctuality is greatly admired and adhered to by Europeans. As the dock lines slipped off port and the bow thrusters churned away in the fast currents of the Danube, I looked at my watch.

“Right on time.”

“I have three minutes past the hour,” Laureen replied.

“American time, I’m on Austrian time.”

Five minutes into the cruise and I'm loving it

The river is wide, plenty wide enough to accommodate a couple of ships the size of the Blue Danube which could easily pass each other if there were a need. There wasn’t and it was more than an hour before any other boats came into view.

What was in view were wonderfully beautiful sights of the city as we drifted by.

River Danube has beautiful sights thru Vienna and beyond

One of the first sights to be seen was the Urania observatory, the oldest observatory in Vienna, built in 1910. During World War II, the observatory’s cupola, along with some of the more fragile astronomical equipment were destroyed by allied bombings. In 1957, the observatory was reopened to the public.

Green trees lined the shorelines of the Danube River, and as we gently cruised, we got a taste of what it would be like living along a real river.

The Mojave River may be a river, but I do not foresee any cruise ships powering by Apple Valley, Victorville, or Hesperia anytime soon.

“Look, mom,” a young tike on a Mojave river cruiser may say. “Is that water I see in the river?”

“No, you are thinking of the Danube.”

The Romans called the river, the Danubius, which is from an ancient Celtic word meaning, appropriately, to flow, and was shortened during modern times to simply the Danube.

History has flowed along the stretches of this waterway for eons. As water transportation played such a powerful role with empires, as it still does today, many a historical figure had ventured the width and length of the river Danube.

In 1529, the Ottoman Empire, after crushing Hungary, ventured to the city of Vienna along the Danube and laid siege. The Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, had over 100,000 soldiers against the defending Viennese army of only 21,000. But after just two short weeks the Ottomans gave up and left the territory.

Rumor has it that Suleiman the Magnificent blamed the failure on his younger brother, Ahmet the Mediocre.

Following the dismal siege, another 150 years of constant rivalry would erupt between the Ottoman Empire and the Hapsburg Dynasty in Austria.

Soon, we entered the Freudenau lock not far from Danube Island, along the Danube Canal. We had never been in a lock before, and it was exciting.

The lock

Note: we need to get out more.

The locals refer to the Freudenau lock as the largest bathtub in Vienna. It is huge, containing more than 80,000 cubic meters of water.

I have no idea what that means but it is a lot of water contained in a long narrow channel with huge metal gates on either side that close as our boat entered the lock.

“We’re locked in,” I said to the waiter as he brought a fresh Gosser to our table.

He smiled and walked away.

“Do you think he has heard that before?” Laureen asked.

“I doubt it,” I replied.

The Danube is such a vital route to ship goods here and there that the lock has over 13,000 ships passing through each year. Not only that, but the site is also used for hydroelectric power.

Ingenious and fun.

Everyone was enthralled with the lock

Twenty minutes later, our ship was raised to the current level of the Danube River, and we were on our way again.

The locks, (there is another on the route), were installed years ago to stop the flooding which periodically would occur in the city of Vienna when the Danube would swell and pour over its banks. 

Danube Island came up fast to the starboard.  The 13-mile-long island separating the Danube River from the Danube Canal, is a recreational mecca for the citizens of Vienna. There is hiking, running, biking, and skating. There are beaches for swimming, water sliding, surfing, water skiing and boat rentals.

Not a great shot of Danube Island, me and not the camera

In all fairness, being from Southern California, there was no way this guy was going to jump into the Danube, where on a good day it feels like two degrees above freezing.

The Viennese are some tough people.

The island also boasts the world’s biggest trampoline center, called the Danube Jump.

We did not check that out.

Along the shorelines popped up little fisherman cabins which are used by individual families to hunker down while using nets in the river for commercial fishing purposes. There are one hundred of them, or so said the lady over the ship intercom system.

A very fancy fishing cabin along the River Danube

The Blue Danube continued cruising along pristine shorelines, bustling pedestrian walkways along the banks, tall modern buildings, tall historical buildings, and just a wonderful exploration of all Vienna had to offer from the comfort of our chairs.

Beautiful hotels awaiting Vienna guests in posh rooms

In the distance were the spires of St. Stephen’s Cathedral completed in 1578. Slowly, the Danube Tower, the tallest structure in Austria rising over 800 feet above the land came into view. Then the Ernst Happel Stadium appeared on port, the largest stadium in Austria which can seat over 50,000 football fans and was completed in 1931.

Observatory in Vienna along River Danube

One landmark after another slid by and each as interesting as the last.

We had not thought of taking a daytime cruise, but it turned out to be a great way to see the city and get an idea of where to travel once we were on dry land again.

It worked, and the schnitzel was delicious.