This tour offers everything quintessentially Dutch: from canals, old farmhouses, and windmills ... to cheese and wooden clogs ... to idyllic rural settings, typical Dutch villages and the famous Aalsmeer Flower Auction. In the company of an English-speaking guide, you’ll pay an early morning visit to the auction house and see how flowers from 7,000 specialized growers from all over the world are sold off in smaller lots. You’ll see the great auction clock that displays the steadily dropping selling price until a lot is sold. In all, more than 20 million plants and flowers, valued at more than $5 million, go on the block each day. Before the day’s out, the flowers are flown to destinations around the globe, soon to appear in bridal bouquets, table centerpieces, store displays, and a multitude of other settings.
Then as the Dutch say, “if you only have one day to see Holland, then go to Zaanse Schans.” You’ll take a short scenic ride through the colorful countryside to this village, a special place as it’s a living museum. Admire the green wooden houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, hump-backed bridges, charming gardens, tradesmen’s workshops, and authentic, working windmills. You’ll get a lesson in making cheese, visit the inside of a windmill, and see how a clog maker crafts those unique shoes.
Next you’ll continue on by bus to the picturesque town of Edam, famous for the cheese named after it. Take a guided stroll through the flat, narrow main street to the bell tower and enjoy browsing for souvenirs. Before heading back to Amsterdam, you’ll get a typical Dutch treat — coffee and cookies at a town café and a chance to mix and mingle with locals!

Please note: Aalsmeer is not available on weekends.

Holland’s Capital has 160 canals and 1,000 bridges. Experience Amsterdam from water. Cruising through a number of Amsterdam’s canals, this cruise passes along some of the city’s most beautiful spots. You will see elegant merchant mansions, carillon-crowned churches and the warehouses with their rich history from Holland’s Golden Age. This wonderful evening cruise through Amsterdam’s enchanting canals is a memorable experience. Relax in glass-enclosed comfort, while gliding through the canals. Each table is provided with red, rosé or white wine, a variety of cheese, and a typical Dutch cheese cookie. Soft drinks are also available. During the canal cruise, your host or hostess will gladly answer your questions and give you information about the city’s places of interest.

The people of Bamberg love their beer! This tour will give you a sample as to why. Bamberg, known as the “Beer City,” boasts nine breweries, which produce over 50 distinctive, full-flavored beers, including of course Bamberg’s smoke beer, Rauchbier. There are popular taverns (“Gaststatte”) and beer gardens, always full in fine weather. Local brewmasters have been perfecting their craft in Bamberg for almost 900 years.         
    So, let’s go for a pub crawl and hoist a pint or two! Your guide will take you to Klosterbreau, a traditional small family-owned brewery in the old town. Here you will learn the process of beer brewing by a tour of the brewery while sampling a Klosterbraeu brewed original. Next, we will walk through Old Town Bamberg to a traditional pub and have a typical Bamberg snack of smoky Rauchbier and a Bavarian pretzel. After a short lecture on Bamberg Beer Traditions and it’s history at Schlenkerla, your motorcoach will return you back to the ship.

Please be advised that this tour does not operate for departure dates in the direction of Amsterdam to Budapest.

Your tour will begin with a motor coach ride from Regensburg to the town of Kelheim. Kelheim is the town where the main Danube Canal meets the Danube. The Benedictine Abbey of Weltenburg is situated on a peninsula in the Danube, on the so-called “Weltenburg Narrows” or the “Danube Gorge”. Your tour includes lunch in a local restaurant. The monastery, founded by Irish or Scottish monks in about 620, is held to be the oldest monastery in Bavaria. The monastery courtyard is surrounded by Baroque buildings, the highlight of which is the abbey church, dedicated to Saint George, which was built by the Asam Brothers between 1716 and 1739. The abbey was dissolved in 1803 during the secularisation of Bavaria. You will visit the monastery church, a pearl of the Bavarian Baroque style built by the famous architect brothers Cosmas Damian Asam and Aegid Quirin Asam. The interior of this church is a major attraction, with intricately carve high altar, as well as some fantastic works of art. After your guided tour, you will have free time on your own, then enjoy a short boat excursion through the gorge before your motorcoach transfer to the ship.

The congenial atmosphere of cozy, family-style traditional wine taverns, known as Heurigens, is perfectly complemented by hearty food, lively music — and locally produced vintages, of course. Many have accordion bands playing traditional Viennese songs. Although wine taverns have existed for many centuries, Emperor Joseph II gave them official status in 1784 when he decreed that wine growers within 10 kilometers of Vienna could sell their own wines. Heurigens traditionally have rustic decor, and many have open courtyards with outdoor seating. You’ll visit one of the oldest and most famous Heurigens, the “Wolff ” in Neustift, which opened in 1609. The restaurant is surrounded by vineyards, so in keeping with the theme of this evening’s tour, you’ll also learn about local wine-growing traditions and sample some local vintages while you’re here. This tour includes motorcoach transfer between the ship and the restaurant.