European Tour - Danube - Austria (Linz, Grien)

 Life on the river rather than Ocean wave proved to be a real hit with the rest of the family. E and I had previously embarked on Ocean cruises (albeit of the short and sweet variety to Cairo and Jerusalem from Cyprus) but the somewhat choppy waters of the Mediterranean did not appeal to E but she  and the kids were very happy with the smoother waters of the Danube.

We had selected this  particular cruise as it stopped off at some interesting looking places  along the Danube but also allowed us to indulge in various activities along the way. This included cycle tours which A and I took advantage of including cycling both banks of the Danube and using a small river taxi to cross over, as well as hikes (including one to a vantage point overlooking the horseshoe bend as seen in the photo below as well as visits to various castles and vineyards where we met with some of the local aristocrats and sampled their wines!

Amongst the docking points was the City of Linz in Austria, where Em and I were able to walk through the picture postcard town centre before finding a beer garden to enjoy  some of the local brews and relax with the locals in the balmy evening air.