Your day starts with breakfast onboard… sharing your favourite table by the window with the couple you became friends with at your welcome dinner… enjoying your favourite buffet selections just the way you like them… along with great views of the sprawling vineyards blanketing the banks of this fabled river, and lighthearted conversation with your companions. The riverboat docks right around the time you’re finished with breakfast; you couldn’t have asked for better timing…
As you step off the ship, our local experts eagerly await to show you around the ancient village they call home, a place whose wine-making traditions stretch back over a thousand years; soon it may feel like home to you as well. You’ll spend the morning exploring with your local guide, discovering the ruins of Roman amphitheatres cut into hillsides along quiet rural lanes, so different from those back home. You might decide to join the locals for a drink and a chat before returning to the riverboat to continue your cruise. If it’s a warm day, the ship’s staff will greet you with a cool towel and a cold drink upon your return (or hot towels and a hot drink if it’s a tad chilly). Maybe you’ll indulge in a glass of local wine as the riverboat sets off and you wave farewell to the village you just got to know… and love.
Back aboard, you’ll have some time to explore your “floating hotel.” You spot the couple from this morning about to take a dip in the Jacuzzi. “Like to join us?” they ask. You say you’d love to, and are soon relaxing and chatting as you bask in the sun, sipping a cool drink. Refreshed, you head into the lobby just in time to watch the riverboat dock; you might taste your way through a picturesque riverside town, sampling the wares of artisan chocolatiers and a baker who shares a few secrets – perhaps enjoying a wine tasting with the owners of a private local vineyard.
Dinner tonight may be in yet another country, something you have never experienced before – an elegant affair in a baroque castle… the centerpiece of a medieval town that’s among the best-preserved of its kind, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walking to the venue, your Tauck Director and local guide fill you in on the history that surrounds you. Your jaw drops as you enter the magnificent castle; the couple you had breakfast with joins you, bringing along some new friends. You’re all transported back in time for a sumptuous meal in a glorious setting – a taste of what the royal life might have been like centuries ago in the heart of old Europe. You don’t want the evening to end, but alas, it must. As you and your companions make your way back to the riverboat, you notice the lights reflecting on the river, and choose a quiet spot for a few moments’ reflection of your own… another Tauck experience to check off on the “wow” list…
Returning to the riverboat, you take a moment to send a quick note about your day to the folks back home, then meet some friends for a little more camaraderie around the piano in the lounge before calling it a night. Later, drifting off to sleep, you smile… realizing that you’ll soon be waking up in another magical city or town… to embark on another perfect day of your Tauck river cruise...