DAY 146 - DAY 1 Crystal Mozart Greg...Thank you for your comments. Wishing you safe travels and a wonderful time on your Crystal Serenity Cruise. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Club Floor. As we were leaving the hotel several horse drawn buggies pulled up to the hotel. We had dinner at Liebsteinsky. We each had a Caesar salad followed by Salmon for Keith and Shrimp for Anne Marie and a couple of sides. The food was delicious and the service was professional, friendly, efficient and welcoming. We slept well and began our day with lots of excitement as we got ready to board Crystal Mozart for our first River Cruise. Keith was up early and we enjoyed coffee in our room followed by breakfast at the Club Floor. We said our final goodbyes to Claire and to Victor. Claire checked us into the hotel and has been there each day of our stay and Victor assisted us the first day and has been there four of the six days we have been there. The two of them along with the late afternoon/evening team have been wonderful and represent the hotel very well. Claire is from France and like Victor started her career with Ritz Carlton at Hotel Arts in Barcelona where we stayed in 1998. She transferred to the Vienna hotel one month before Victor arrived to Hotel Arts. While we were waiting for our vehicle, Victor came to find us in the lobby to give us a gift from the hotel. We made arrangements with the hotel concierge prior to our arrival to take us to Mozart. The driver picked us up on-time and we made the drive over to Mozart. The good news is he had a special app on his smart phone so he knew where Mozart was although Keith had a map with us. He said it was in an area that would be a challenge to get into from the main road. It is near the Hilton. We first drove up one narrow area and didn't think he could pass a truck that was stopped with supplies for another river vessel. He saw the Mozart but couldn't get in that way as supplies were being loaded onto the other river cruise vessel. He walked up to Mozart where they told him what to do. We drove around a small bend and we could see Mozart and the Crystal Mozart Bus and sure enough there was an area to pull up to. We arrived before 11:00 AM and were met at the vehicle by members of the Mozart team who took our luggage on-board for us. It was very much Crystal. As soon as we entered the Crystal Society Hostess Sonja (she is also the future sales consultant) greeted us by name although we have never met her. She welcomed us and verified that we were all checked in having done all of this on the Crystal system. She along with the member of the team she is training who will take her spot when Sonja goes on holiday took us to our room. Sonja asked if it would be OK if she came along and we said of most definitely. Sonja showed us our room and said she would be happy to take us on a tour anytime and we said would now be OK and she said yes. She took us on a 30 minute tour of the ship. The ship is larger than we expected. We learned that our room is near the laundry room, next to the Salon and just above the Fitness Center. We are located very close to the mid-ship reception desk. She took us all around and we saw the fitness center, laundry room, salon, Vintage Room, Connoisseur Lounge, Palm Court, Waterside Restaurant, Bistro and a few other areas including the Concierge and her desk. She took us outside on the top deck which was amazing which included lots of lounges to sit in and enjoy the beauty of the river and surrounding areas, the retractable bar and the wheelhouse where the captain steers the ship. We saw the outdoor restaurant that is similar to the Trident Grill and when we walked to it the outdoor deck had a feel of a smaller promenade deck. Along the way we met Paolo who is our Butler and whom we remember from Serenity. We saw the Hotel Director Sonja who came right up and addressed us by name and spoke with us for a few minutes. We saw Christian who we last saw as Serenity Prego Sommelier (he is married to Nina who used to work on Serenity and we also adore) before he went to Symphony to swing as the Head Sommelier and he is on Mozart as Restaurant Manager. Before inclusive when we purchased wine, Keith would have him choose the wine for us at Prego. We always thought the world of him. The ship is more spacious than we envisioned from the photos. Our room was ready when we boarded as they put a lot of emphasis on that. Guest from the previous voyage can remain on-board (we saw several of them) but they are asked to vacate their rooms for the next voyage. We couldn't figure out how to work the laundry machines and Keith walked to the Reception desk and already the person knew our names. Amazing. We believe the Mozart is double the width of the other Crystal vessels. It is the second largest River Cruise in the world. Photos that we took when boarding and during the tour. A couple of photos from our room. We enjoyed lunch at Waterside. Breakfast and Lunch is a buffet and dinner has an a la carte menu. We had our typical lunch. There is a salad bar. From the hot area we each took some turkey which was in a mushroom sauce and Keith took a small piece of fish. A waiter brought us champagne, and took soft drink orders or whatever we might have wanted. Water is all we needed. The dining venue is beautiful. We waitstaff is professional and very welcoming. The assistant head waiter also welcomed us and remembered us as we did of him from Serenity. We returned to the room to get settled and we also managed to do some laundry. The machines are smaller than those on an Ocean Vessel but look efficient and it is a nice size laundry facility. A few features of the room that we noticed right away is to get into the room you just need to tap on the key card reader. The safe is placed at a good level and is wide. The room is designed well and like Serenity we each have our own desk. We are going to post early today so we can get settled and explore Mozart. This is from the Crystal Cruises website and love it. We already feel like we are at home. We think because although the vessel is different from an Ocean Vessel the members who we have met on Mozart are what we find so wonderful about Crystal Cruises. They have already made us feel at home. We will close with a video providing a Crystal Mozart Ship Tour followed the the itinerary for this voyage. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith Following is our itinerary for the 10 day round-trip Vienna Cruise on Mozart. May 10, Fri Vienna, Austria EMBARK
May 11, Sat Vienna, Austria LV 12:00 PM May 12, Sun Danube Scenic Cruising May 12, Sun Crossing the scenic Wachau Valley May 12, Sun Dürnstein, Austria 9:00 AM12:00PM May 12, Sun Melk, Austria 4:30PM - 7:00 PM May 13, Mon Linz, Austria 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM May 14, Tue Passau, Germany 8:00AM May 15, Wed Cruising Danube River May 15, Wed Passau, Germany 1:00 PM May 16, Thur Cruising Danube River May 16, Thur Bratislava, Slovakia 3:00 PM to8:00 PM May 17, Fri Scenic cruising into Budapest May 17, Fri Budapest, Hungary 9:00 AM May 18, Sat Scenic cruising from Budapest May 18, Sat Budapest, Hungary 1:00 PM May 19, Sun Cruising Danube River May 19, Sun Vienna, Austria ARRIVE: 6PM May 20, Mon Vienna, Austria DISEMBARK
2 Comments
DAY 5 VIENNA Doris...Thank you for your comments. It was funny that you recommended that for a non-touristy restaurant we try Paul Restaurant. Coincidentally Keith found it a few months ago at which time he asked the hotel concierge to make a dinner reservation for us. Nice to hear that you have visited Vienna so many times and that your granddaughter will spend five weeks here. Bravo. Before dinner we went to the Hotel Club Floor Lounge where we had some wine and vegetables. One of our favorite hotels is the Ritz Carlton and we do appreciate and enjoy their Club Floor Lounges. We think that they have some of the best lounges of any hotel group from around the world. There are definitely cities where we go with another hotel either because Ritz doesn't have a hotel in the particular city or because we prefer another hotel and/or its location better than the Ritz Carlton. We have been very pleased with the Vienna Ritz Carlton. As it turned out the club floor has been quiet this week and we never see anyone on our floor. It wasn't like this two weeks ago from what the club floor staff told us. Lucky us. LOL. We did enjoy dinner at the Restaurant called Paul. Its food is a combination of Austrian and European/Central European. We were seated at a beautiful table. Each table has a white tablecloth. We have to admit we like the tradition of tablecloths and a nicely set table versus the more contemporary look. The restaurant has two levels. First floor is divided into two rooms that are not divided by a wall. Each table can accommodate a four or more people so for two people the table is a nice size. They are opened just for dinner six nights a week. They eliminated opening for lunch when it was apparent they could not offer the quality of cuisine they desired at the price the customer was willing to pay. They have a small but efficient and friendly staff. This includes the waiter who took great care of us, the co-owners (husband is the chef and the wife takes care of the customer service). We enjoyed a nice salad with goat cheese, a side order of grilled vegetables and Wiener Schnitzel. This is our second time having it. It was a little crispier than the one from the other night and we thought it tasted great. They served it with a jam. The potato salad which accompanied it was terrific. Anne Marie had wine and Keith had a local beer on tap. All in all a great experience. Once again we slept very well last evening. We began our day with coffee in our room followed by breakfast at the Club Lounge. We continue to have cereal, banana and also some additional fresh fruit. The fruit and vegetables have been terrific in terms of overall quality and taste. You can see from the photos how fresh items look such as the Tomatoes, Strawberries and Blueberries. The forecast for today called for continuous rain. Whereas forecasts are wrong it was certainly correct when we went out in the morning. In addition to the rain, it was windy. We persevered and with jackets and rain jackets along with one umbrella to share we walked for quite awhile. We walked the ring and by buildings that have become very familiar to us. However, with the rain it was not practical for Keith to take any photos other than one with Anne Marie holding an umbrella so you can see it was raining. Nevertheless we had a wonderful time walking up and down many streets. At one point we went inside a shopping mall and walked all of its levels from end-to-end. When the rain and wind became too much we returned to the hotel. The remainder of the morning included packing by Anne Marie and Keith walking inside the hotel. There is a Fitness Center at the hotel but Keith decided to walk the stairway between each floor of the hotel; up and down and kept repeating it until his body said enough. LOL. We enjoyed another lunch at the club room of the hotel. The good news is the rain stopped two hours earlier than the forecast and we were able to go on a long walk in the afternoon. We walked towards the Kariskirche whic is a baroque church of great size. Groundbreaking began in 1716 and it was completed in 1737. Our next destination was the Naschmarkt. On the way we passed the Secession which has a unique gold top. It is an exhibition hall built in 1897 by Joseph Maria Olbrich. The building features the Beethoven Frieze by Gustav Klimt. The next stop was Naschmarkt. We passed this a couple of times when we were driven by tour guide Johann. It is Vienna’s most popular market and is close to one mile long. It has existed since the 16thcentury when milk bottle were sold. Back then they were made out of ash wood and that is how it got its name. From 1793 it began selling fruit and vegetables. Today, one can buy these items plus herbs, cheese, spices, meat, seafood, olives, wine, beer, baked goods such as bread and desserts, beef, seafood and other delectable items. Some of the area has become restaurants and there are a few stores selling souvenir and other items. Cheers,
Anne Marie & Keith These are some photos from our walk yesterday afternoon from outside the Opera House. We had a pre-dinner drink at the Club Floor of our hotel. The lounge was very quiet and we ended up speaking with the concierge for about an hour. He has been with Ritz Carlton for two years including time at Hotel Arts in Barcelona where we stayed in 1998 and this hotel. We were surprised to learn he is only 20 years young. He is very mature fo his age. Dinner was at Ristorante Sole which is an Italian Restaurant. We enjoyed wine, salad and sea bass. The restaurant was intimate and the cuisine was good. The salad was tasty but a bit too much cheese on top. The sea bass was delicious. It was thin and not overpowering and we both thoroughly enjoyed its taste. The room where we sat was small and that was a positive. Some of the waitstaff were a bit snooty which is something we read in a few reviews of the restaurant. Locals who you could tell frequent the restaurant were welcomed by the owner. This evening we will go to a restaurant specializing in Austrian cuisine. We walked after we finished dinner around the neighboring area. Once back at the hotel we enjoyed a relaxing evening. We slept well. The bed is very comfortable and there are no noises from inside nor outside the hotel. Keith was up early and we enjoyed coffee in the room and breakfast at the club floor. We didn't have pastries or the bread but it all looked good. We did have some excitement. When we left our room to walk to the elevator the fire door was closed and we were able to open it. Elevator worked. While waiting outside the club room for it to open (we arrived two minutes before its opening) we heard a nose. Wouldn't call it a fire alarm but sounded more like noise of an aircraft. Once open we asked what was going on and the person didn't even know there was an issue as you couldn't hear the noise from inside the room. She called down and was told nothing to worry about and it was some type of issue in the room the staff uses for changing. When we left the club room the elevators were not working and the noise was still going on. We walked down five flights of steps to our room and when Keith called to reception they said all was fine. In the morning we went on two walks. It was chilly on the first walk and warmer for the second walk. We visited Stadtpark on both walks. They are setting up for what looks like a food festival for this Friday through Sunday. We admired the statues throughout the park, the beautiful nature, many flowers, the duck pond and its overall beauty. Close to 20 percent of the space in Vienna consisted of wooded area. We visited St. Stephen's Church also known as Stephansdom. It is the main church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna. It stands atop the ruins of two earlier churches and it has both Romanesque and Gothic form to the Cathedral. As we walked we took in all of the beauty of the surrounding area including the architecture of the buildings. We stopped in a store and picked up a jacket for Keith to keep him warm. We even saw a collection of stuffed animals with some dating back many years in a massive window display. Enjoyed lunch back at the Club Floor. Kept it simple to large salad entrees and got ready to go back out for another walk. When we began our walk it was windy and seemed cool. Midway through our walk the wind calmed down, the sun was out and the temperature increased and it felt great. We walked over to the Imperial Plaza. We made stops along the way. We took a photo of a Mozart Statue and Mozart is the Crystal Cruises River Cruise vessel we board on Friday. There was a display of close to twenty photos of Holocaust Survivors. Next to each photo was a card showing the name of each person, the concentration camp(s) they were sent to, where they lived and if they died where and when. We must never forget and we must be sure this is shared with future generations of children so something this horrific is never repeated. We walked to a couple of museums and then to the Imperial Palace which we visited on Monday. Our tours were in the morning when it was not very crowded. Our tour guide Johann mentioned that by afternoon these areas would be flooded with tourists. He was absolutely correct. There were lots of large touring groups along with others touring on their own. At times there were wall-to-wall people. There are areas that you walk and stop and it is hard to believe the sheer beauty of all that is around you. This city is amazing. We had a great day and the day isn’t over yet. This evening we have dinner reservations at another restaurant.
Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith VIENNA, AUSTRIA DAY 3 We had a pre-dinner drink at the Club Floor of our hotel. We didn't have the desserts but they looked terrific. We enjoyed dinner at a restaurant called Liebsteinsky. It specializes in Austrian cuisine. We had two courses. As a first course we began with Caesar salad. For our main course we had Wiener Schnitzel. This was the first time we have had this. The irony is that from time-to-time it is featured on the Crystal Cruises dinner menu but we never tried it. It was accompanied with a tasty Potato Salad. We thought the entree was delicious. It was grilled. We also had grilled vegetables. Anne Marie had Austrian Wine and Keith Austrian Beer. We were very pleased with the restaurant and our dinner choices. We enjoyed another good sleep. The hotel is quiet and the room is very well insulated. We cannot hear and street traffic. We woke early as we got ready for another fantastic day in Vienna. We had coffee in the room and breakfast at the Club Floor. We met tour guide Johann at the hotel lobby at 8:30 AM. This time we he drove us to various locations several of which we stopped at. We visited the Prater which is a large public park in Vienna's 2nd district. It includes The Wurstelprater, which is an Amusement Park. We saw the Wiener Riesenrad Ferris wheel. We saw the Danube River and stopped at one of the locations which looks like a lake. Another stop was Hundertwasser Kunstbauwerke. The Hundertwasserhaus is an apartment house in Vienna, Austria, built after the idea and concept of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser with architect Joseph Krawina as a co-creator. We went inside the Belvedere Palace for an extensive visit where Johann explained the paintings and the artists. We also walked the outside grounds. This was used as a Summer Palace We also visited the Schonbrunn Palace which was also a Summer Palace. We stopped at other locations along the way and we also saw from the car several other locations. Throughout the tour Johann covered lots of ground and answered all of our questions. Our last stop was at the Holocaust Memorial. It is called the Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial which is also known as the Nameless Library. It is the central memorial for the Austrian victims of the Holocaust. The Judenplatz Holocaust Memorial also known as the Nameless Library stands in Judenplatz in the first district of Vienna. It is the central memorial for the Austrian victims of the Holocaust and was designed by the British artist Rachel Whiteread. The outside surfaces are cast library shelves turned inside out. The spines of the books face inward and not visible. The shelves hold endless copies of the same edition which stand for the vast number of the victims as well as the concept of the vast number of the victims, as well as the concept of Jews as "People of the Book." During our tour we learned of the time Hitler lived in Vienna and his desire to become a painter. Who knows how history may have been changed should this have happened and the horrific lost of life which may have been prevented. Our two days of touring not only provided us with lots of information about Vienna and Austria along with lots that we saw reenforced how much there is to see in Vienna. Upon our return, we had lunch at the hotel. After a short visit to our room we went back outside and walked on our own. The temperature was warmer than yesterday but still on the cool side with the wind. Cheers,
Anne Marie & Keith It is a small world. On our way for a pre-dinner drink we walked up the hallway and passed an employee of the Ritz Carlton. A moment later she said hello Mr. & Mrs. Steiner. This is Anastazija and I was your Penthouse Attendant on Serenity and as soon as she spoke we remember her. She left Crystal Serenity in 2013, is married, has a four year old and is housekeeping supervisor at the hotel. It is truly a small world. Also in true Crystal Cruises fashion she remember us and our names. Wow. We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Ritz Carlton Club Floor. Originally we had dinner plans at a restaurant about ten minutes from the hotel. Since it was raining and the temperature was going down to cold levels we revised our plans. We had dinner at a restaurant called Pastamara at the hotel. It is a team effort between Ritz Carlton and Chef Ciccio Sultano. As they have been doing at other Ritz Carlton Properties this restaurant has a more contemporary look and feel and appeals more to a younger crowd. We had three courses. First course was Octopus and it surely looked like one. LOL. Next course was a house salad and for our entree we had Swordfish. In spite of no ship rocking us to sleep we slept well. Maybe it is the wine. LOL. We enjoyed coffee in our room as we got ready for our first full day in Vienna. We had breakfast in the Club Floor Lounge. We kept it simple to cereal and fruit. The fruit was very tasty, particularly the blueberries and strawberries. Keith arranged a private tour with the concierge at the hotel a few months ago. While the city is easy to do on your own we thought a tour would be nice (we have a second one planned for tomorrow). Today's tour was by foot. We were met at the hotel by our tour guide, Johannes. Johannes has been a tour guide for forty years. For the first part of his career he escorted groups around the world. As Johannes said the greater the distance the better. In other words he love to travel and to share his knowledge with others. Eventually, he would guide people only within Europe. In addition to speaking his local language he speaks fluent English and French so his clients included people from the USA and also Canada. Joahannes was a terrific tour guide sharing a wealth of information including lots of history. There was always something for him to point out from the significance of architecture, to the history of Austria and Vienna to even history about a market or store we saw. We visited many sites including spending an hour at the Imperial Palace. We have always heard wonderful things about Vienna but we must say that the city has exceeded our expectations. It was on the cooler side so we did our best to keep warm wearing multiple layers of clothing. We did visit Hotel Sacher Wien and we had coffee and dessert at Salon Sacher. Anne Marie had cappuccino coffee while Keith had Sacher Melange Coffee which is espresso coffee with foamed milk and whipped cream. We shared a petite Sachertorte. Sachertorte is a dense, chocolate sponge cake made with thin layers of apricot jam that is topped with a semi-firm chocolate icing. It is the signature creation of the Sacher Hotel. Believe it or not Keith loves cake and thought this was one of the most delicious desserts he has ever had. During our walk we saw the Walk Of Stars, The Peace Museum (we've included a photo of some of the people honored such as John Lennon, the Spanish Riding School (we will try to visit this week) and so many other places including the outside and inside of various Cathedrals. The tour was amazing and tomorrow we will tour again with Johannes on another tour that Keith pre-arranged with the hotel concierge. We enjoyed a nice lunch back at the hotel and then took a walk on our own. Vienna is a beautiful and vibrant city.
We are posting early. More to enjoy. Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith TRAVEL DAY TO VIENNA Bob M. thank you so much for the nice comments including the good wishes. Greg...thank you for your kind thoughts and we wish you and your wife a wonderful time on-board Serenity. Enjoy every minute. Hopefully our blog will help to learn more about the River Cruises as you make your travel plans. Doris...thank you for your nice comments. We also are wondering how we will do in a smaller vessel. We will know in a few days. We were glad to get the first flight behind us yesterday with a few more to come before the trip ends. If you look at a map it does seem strange to fly from Athens over to London Heathrow (LHR) as we did yesterday to turn around today to fly from LHR to Vienna as we did today. The optimal route was Athens to Vienna. Unfortunately there were very few direct flights and the times they left were very early in the morning. After all these days on Serenity we didn't want to rush off the ship too early and preferred leaving at a leisurely pace. In spite of the longer flight we are happy with our decision. We had dinner in our room at the Sofitel Hotel. They do have a couple of restaurants in the hotel, one we have dined at a few times but just wanted to relax in the room. It was not a "Crystal" dinner but we still enjoyed it. We had salad, salmon and some sides. It was all we needed. We are staying on their equivalent of a club floor where we had some wine. We both woke up early. No exercise for Keith. We got ready to go over to terminal 3 for our flights from London Heathrow to Vienna. The hotel is connected to terminal 5. Options were a taxi or a train. We opted for the taxi (a nice van) which we reserved yesterday and charged the fare to our room. As it turned out while waiting for the driver we saw an area where you can check in luggage with British Airways for those passengers flying out of Terminal 3 and Terminal 5. If we would have realized this upon check-in at the hotel we would have checked our luggage with BA at the hotel and taken the train. Evidently, they started doing check-in at the hotel only a few months ago. Now we know. There was no line for flight check-in. We then entered the area for security and there was no line. At security we placed items in the bins. There was someone very helpful putting the bins out. No line. When we went through the check we were each pulled over for a random check and Keith had the added security of checking for explosives on clothing. After we got through there was a security person with Keith's 22" luggage. Keith didn't realize he had to remove his iPad. He had removed his computer. It probably was noted on the sign but without a line we moved very quickly. She apologized because she had to remove everything from the interior of the luggage. It is mostly electronics. Now we know. We proceeded to the British Airways Lounge where we had breakfast and read before it was time to go to the gate. Flight to Vienna was uneventful. It left on-time and arrived on-time. We went through passport control in a blink of an eye. No card required. Only our passports. Luggage arrived quickly and a driver and vehicle provided by the hotel as part of our hotel package was waiting for us. It was raining and we hit some traffic along the way. The drive took thirty minutes. We are staying at the Ritz Carlton. We were check-in on the Club Floor. Only problem was the room was not ready by 3:00 PM. By 4:00 PM the room was ready and they upgraded us to the only suite with two levels. The room also has a nice balcony which we won't be using today but hopefully during our stay They were very apologetic while we waited. We were shown to our room and as we write this are getting settled in. Some photos from the Club Floor followed by some photos of the room we are staying in. Although it is rainy in Vienna we are excited to visit this city for the very first time and to take our first River Cruise. We look forward to the next few days in Vienna.
Cheers, Anne Marie & Keith |
Archives
May 2019
Categories |