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 passing riverscapes 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 centuries-old village they call home; soon it may feel like home to you as well. You’ll spend the rest of your morning exploring with your local guide, discovering its Romanesque church, ancient square and winding cobblestone lanes, so different from the streets you’re used to back home. You might decide to stay ashore for lunch – maybe sampling the wares of that famous local sausage stand over there, next to the country’s oldest stone bridge – or return to the riverboat for lunch onboard. 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 wine as the riverboat sets off… as you wave farewell to the village you just got to know… and love.
Your won’t arrive at your next port of call for awhile, so you 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. Refreshed, you head into the lobby just in time to watch the riverboat dock. The afternoon ashore offers you a choice: a tour and tasting at a private family owned winery in the vineyard-covered hills along the river’s banks, or an excursion to a privately owned palace in the same family for generations – and centuries – for a behind-the-scenes visit. Then it’s back onboard in time for happy hour…
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 Bohemian 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…
Back on board, 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...