While the temperatures are still chilly here in Western New York, it’s nice to be able to think about warmer days ahead. Spring may have officially arrived, but I’m thinking about our cruise on the Danube River that is growing closer by the day.

We measure the closeness by the fact that the final payment invoice has arrived. By the time you are reading this, the payment has been made and confirmed. The next step will be to review the excursion list and select our choices. After that, we will receive our final documents and we’ll be ready to travel.

Since we’re all in this together, I will share a few of the choices with you. The good news is that all of the excursions are included in the price we paid, which was one of the reasons we selected to travel with AmaWaterways.

The choices include both easy paced walks and some more active hikes and bike rides. Yes, for those who know us, there’s a pretty good chance that we’ll be choosing the easier walks.

In Budapest, there is a Buda city tour, a Pest city tour and a hike up castle hill.

In Bratislava, a “coronation city walking tour”, a Tastes of Slovakia outing and a Bratislava Castle hike.

In Vienna, there is an Imperial Vienna tour, a city tour by bike and then some free time to just enjoy the pastries… I mean city.

Our next stop is in the UNESCO Wachua Valley. Here, there is a visit to the town of Dürnstein and the Melk Abbey, a wine and apricot tour and a Dürnstein Fortress hike.

Next comes a stop in Linz, Austria. Here the offerings are a full day tour to Salzburg, a full day tour to Český Krumlov or a UNESCO “City of Media Arts” walking tour.

Our final stop is in Passau, where a “City of Three Rivers” Walking Tour, Passau Castle Hike or Passau Inn River Bike Tour are offered.

And, of course, we can just choose to stay on the boat and sip a glass of wine watching life float by on the Danube. That’s available every day, but we’re excited to see the region and towns.

At the end point of the cruise, in the town of Vilshofen, we have an “Octoberfest” party.

After disembarking the cruise, we will be hopping on a train and heading to Munich for a few days to explore a little bit. Even being a confirmed ‘wine guy’, I’m looking forward to checking out a couple of beer halls and hearing the ‘Oom Pa Pa’ bands play while munching on a big pretzel. This will mark our first real visit to Germany, as previously we’ve only passed through German airports.

We have booked two activities in Munich. The first is a night walk with a Medieval Night Watchman. With only a lantern to light the way, we will explore some of the sites in old town Munich. The second is a day trip to see the Neuschwanstein Castle (also known as King Ludwig’s Castle. We’ll also make two other stops along the way back to Munich.

That’s the preview for now. The details will come in the daily updates while we are there. The excitement meter is rising and we’re getting closer by the day.