Cruising The Danube – Linz, Austria

It was an early arrival in Linz. The Crystal Mozart had cruised through the night. I remember awaking a few times and I wonder if it was the times we may have gone through a lock. We would see several of those during the day when we cruised in the daylight hours.

The options for Linz excursions all were for long full day excursions. We’ve been to Salzburg several times (in warmer weather) and were not intrigued by seeing more countryside and Christmas markets on a day long bus ride. The excursion to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic was tempting but I really want to go to Prague where my family roots are so, weather considerations and all, we decided to stay in Linz and explore.

We walked into town and around the square area where a Christmas market was not yet open. Feeling adventurous and not too cold yet, we walked down the main street and explored a couple of churches as well as a shopping mall where we warmed up a bit.

When we returned to the square, the markets were opening and we enjoyed looking around them. We weren’t terribly chilled through yet so we decided to take a ride up Postlingberg, the mountain with an overlooking view of the city. There is a tram that goes up a steep side of the mountain but we opted for a train ride instead. There were more stops and we got to see a little more as we enjoyed the ride.

There wasn’t much at the top considering the season. A souvenir shop and a small cafe looked closed. We found the church open though and peeked inside. Outside we enjoyed a view of the city and then went back to the station to wait for our ride down. We were getting hungry and cold.

Back at the Crystal Mozart we ate a nice lunch and then opted to spend the afternoon watching Christmas movies in our beautiful suite that we had been given as an upgrade. It was snowing outside by then and so it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

That evening we went to dinner alone as Bob’s brother texted him that he didn’t know when they would arrive. The roads had turned icy and their return trip from Salzburg was going to take longer than planned. They did make it back safely and in time for dinner and the wonderful Gracia Trio, three lovely talented ladies from Hungary who made beautiful music with their violins.