After getting peaceful, restful and much-needed sleep (trust me I would have slept much longer if I had the chance) to recover from the previous day, we were woken up that Monday morning by the sound of fellow passengers who getting ready to go on the first land excursion: a tour of the walled city of Nürnberg.

It happens that we had sailed away from Erlangen earlier and the Longship had docked near Nuremberg. Believe me I did not hear the hybrid engines or anything, which means that I slept like a baby 🙂

Since we had already spent some awesome time there, we just decided to stay on board take it easy that morning.

Thus we went to the restaurant to have breakfast and we found it empty. Everyone was gone but us and a few others! Instead we headed over to the Aquavit Lounge where food was still available.

They say that breakfast is fuel for the day and I couldn’t agree more! Every morning from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. you can recharge with a buffet of nutritious food and baked goodness served.

Here is what I selected:

Not only it looked great but it sure did bring me back to life!

After finishing, we went and explored the long ship, starting with the

Aquavit Terrace

 

The Bar

Then back indoors in the spacey lobby/atrium

Concierge desk and up to date weather report displayed on-screen

Comfy seats

Atla, Goddess in Norse Mythology

Computer stations

Meeting points

After resting for a few hours, it was time to have lunch. We had sailed towards the city of Roth were the rest of the passengers joined us again after their tour.

By now you know that I am a certified foodie and was excited and looking forward to it (not only to capture it on camera but also eat it of course).

Now the great thing about being on a river cruise is that all the meals are prepared by a chef specially trained in Switzerland. During our 8 day journey, it was Chef Mihail who was going to surprise us with his culinary creations and our Maître D’, the one and only Ivelin, who was responsible for overseeing the smooth running of operations, the (fab) service in the restaurant and made sure to take our orders at the beginning of the day even on his Smartphone! Now who does that these days? He went the extra mile and it showed!

Now you may or may not know this but sadly I have been suffering from severe food allergies for some years now. Thus I made sure to communicate this to our Customized Travel Coordinator, the awesome Catherine Alvarez, in the Passenger Information Form (PIF) where you can let them know about your food preferences before the journey. That way the chef and crew are aware and do their best to accommodate your requests.

Back to the food now (I know you love to see the pics 🙂

What was on the lunch menu that day?

Well, first was the entrée:

Hearty broccoli soup with almonds

Rich and velvety with a bit of crunch.

Followed by the Main course:

Chicken penne pasta

Freshly cooked and rich cream

And last, but not least, dessert:

Banana split

Yes it was as good as it looks here. Remember that I go bananas for chocolate and ice cream. That was made of WIN!

To finish things off, as if it wasn’t enough, we had rich, hot and bold coffee. As you know I am a caffeine addict and I couldn’t say no 🙂 it sure gave us energy to last until dinner!

It was like a warm hug on that grey, rainy afternoon. Frankly it was a relief from the intense heat and it was just right!

We returned to the stateroom to rest some more and enjoyed the views along the Main-Danube-Canal from the veranda.

This was my work station with a view.

Then the landscape started to change before our eyes

Later, at around 6 p.m. we were invited to the Viking Lounge for a special welcome Toast by Captain Ferenc and Hotel Manager Robert. It was a great way to start our week long cruise together and meet the other important members of the crew as well as fellow passengers.

Cin cin, salud, prost, cheers!

Shortly after, we went downstairs to the restaurant for our welcome dinner.

The entrée was:

Mozzarella cheese balls with arugula, tomatoes and diced onions

For the main course I opted for:

Mushroom risotto and melted parmesan cheese

And to accompany the meal, I chose a local German white wine: Horst Sauer Silvaner 2013.

After that fabulous feast, everyone retired for the evening and went to their respective staterooms to recharge batteries and get ready for our next destination.

It was still early, thus we went over to the lounge bar to relax and recap all the events of the past few days (which was quite a lot) and also continue catching up (remember we had not seen each other in over 3 years) before getting some rest!

Stay tuned for Day 3 of our River Cruise as we head towards Regensburg, Germany!

 

Have you been on a cruise before? If so where?

What was your experience on board like?

Did you have memorable experiences, especially during meal times?

 

Please do share your stories…better yet show us!

I would love to read from you.

 

Bis nächsten mal, until next time!

Auf wiedersehen, see you soon

Deine,

Karla 🙂

 

 

I was a guest of Viking River and was not influenced in any way or matter by wine, Riesling or Pinot Noir, or strong coffee (that makes me want to dance away) or delicious, nutritious & healthy food.

 As always, you will get an honest review and opinions, especially the latter because I’m not afraid of giving you my two cents 🙂