The Titleys cruising from Amsterdam to Budapest in 2025

Heather and I have just returned from a European river cruise ( 3rd -17th May 2025) with AmaWaterways ship ‘AmaStella’ from Amsterdam to Budapest via the Rhine, Main-Danube canal, and Danube rivers was approximately 1400 kilometres in length. This journey took 15 days by river cruise, passing through the countries of Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary.

The journey included stops in cities of: Dusseldorf, Cologne, Rudesheim, Wurzburg, Eltmann, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Regensburg, Passau, Salzburg, Linz and Melk/ Vienna, and finally to Budapest passing through scenic areas like the Rhine Gorge and the Wachau Valley.

The ‘AmaStella’ Rhine cruise ship is 135 metres long and typically has a draft of 1.65 metres under normal conditions. However, during periods of low water (during our cruise) this was adjusted to 1.48 metres by emptying ballast water.

Surprises

The locks: departing Amsterdam at -2 metres below sea level we travel down the Rhine with 14 locks, then down the Main River with 35 locks before climbing over the Continental Water Divide at 406 metres above sea level on the Main–Danube Canal. In the Main -Danube Canal 16 locks are used to work the elevation change of 132 metres. The three deepest locks are 17,19 and a massive 27 metres which takes 30 minutes to fill before opening into the final climb.

The concrete coffin of the lock is 12-metres wide, only 50 centimetres wider than our ship. Massive metal gates trap us fore and aft. It's hard not to tremble at the weight of water that presses on the gate behind us.

Finally, huge metal jaws of the guillotine-style, 126-tonne lock gate in front of us open and we are released from another giant lock.

The water level dropped as we cruised down the river system to the extent that there was only 20-30 centimetres water below the bottom of the cruise ship and we often scraped on the river bottom.

The steep vineyards along all waterways either side of the river with the rows up and down the slopes or along the slopes aiming to trap the maximum amount of radiation for vine growth. Soils low in nutrients, cover crop between rows and rely on seasonal rainfall with no trickle irrigation.

Highlights

I have attempted to highlight one or two of the many great daily experiences of our 15 days/14 nights cruise.

May 4th: Amsterdam, Keukenhof Tulip Gardens with millions of tulips planted on 70-acre private property.

May 5th: 13th -century gothic Cologne Cathedral and underground guided tour of ruins.

May 6th: Sailing through the Rhine Gorge with first view of vineyards and castles along the river. Best photograph at Bacharach with a castle in an island on the river and one up the slope in the steep countryside. The Gondola ride through vineyards up to Niederwald Landscape Park and Germania Monument very moving.

May 7th: unscheduled visit to Miltenberg waiting for replacement part for broken down second engine . First time we saw ‘stumbling stones’ in town centre.

May 8th: Rothenburg Medieval city tour with its old city wall that you could walk around and very productive agricultural land to and fro the boat along the Romantic Road. Celebrated Heather birthday at the Chef’s Table with a seven-course meal.

May 9th: Bike ride of 25 km with 14 fellow riders plus Adrian the Wellness instructor from Eltmann to Bamberg along the Main River .

May 10th: Medieval Fortification wall of Nuremberg and Imperial Castle. In the afternoon and into the night travelled through deep locks of the Main-Danube canal.

May 11th: All day exploring Nuremberg as it was during the time of the Third Reich. Visited the Zepplin Field and see the Hitler’s Party Rally Grounds and the Colosseum. Then moved to the Justice Place where the War Crimes Tribunal sat in Court Room 600. Both visits extremely emotional.

May 12th: Visit the charm of Regenburg driving from Passau and the 360-degree views from the Tower at the end of Old Stone Bridge. Had a couple of beers at local bar at Passau before returning to boat.

May 13th: All day tour to Salzburg the birthplace of Mozart and the impressive Hohensalzburg Castle looming over the city with snow on the Austrian Alps in the background.

May 14th: Travelled to Linz then boat to Melk in the morning. Great second bike ride along the Danube crossing over the river on a huge lock to the other side to several small villages (Leiben and Klein-Pochlarn ) before departing at lunch time for Vienna and early dinner before the Mozart concert that evening. Big day!

May 15th: In Vienna did a third bike tour in the morning with four other fellow cyclists around the perimeter of the city negotiating the trams, cars and huge crowds before returning to the ship for late afternoon departure for our final destination Budapest. Highlights were the Mozart statue in Stadtpark adjacent to the canal and the Hofburg Imperial Palace. Thursday evening before our second Chef’s table the whole crew of 52 were presented to all the passengers in Lounge bar area.

May 16th: Arrived in Budapest and did the morning Castle Hill hike visiting turrets of the Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church. In the afternoon did the gentle tour of the Pest City starting with ‘Shoes on the Danube’ and ending up at Hero’s Square. A special BBQ lunch served on the upper deck in warm windy conditions.

May 17th: Early breakfast in dining room before leaving the ship at 8AM for Budapest train station and all-day travel to Prague.

Heather and I enjoyed having a mid-deck room for 15 days with room serviced twice a day by Roy, choice of bistro breakfast in the Lounge or A La Carte & Buffet breakfast in the restaurant and sleeping in the same room all trip.

In addition, I could get up at sunrise for early morning photographs and catch evening sunsets from the sundeck.

The other highlight was attending morning exercise sessions with trainer Adrian in the lounge area alternating for core strengthening, for stretching and for resistance bands classes. Adrian also joined all the organised bike excursions.

All the 52 crew on the cruise made the time with them thoroughly enjoyable and exceeded my expectations.

Thought all the 71 Aggers would enjoy reading about our cruise down the Rhine/Main and Danube

The pictures …