The Rhine River runs through Cologne, Germany. Photo / Getty Images
The Rhine River runs through Cologne, Germany. Photo / Getty Images
Ewan McDonald glides through Europe's romantic past and marvels at its modern evolution.
Three rivers that have shaped centuries of culture, civilisation and history. Six nations that have defined imperial splendour, romantic arts and majestic architecture, the tragedy of wars past and present, the delicacies and delights of life.
Embracing more than 1800km over 15 days, the cruise along the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers from Amsterdam to Budapest is a voyage into the romance of Europe's past — and the wonders of today's world.
Canals lined by tilting, gabled buildings are the image of Amsterdam. On their banks and in the narrow lanes that run off them are the treasures of the modern city: tiny hidden gardens, designer fashion boutiques, artisan gin distilleries and craft breweries, flower stalls, gourmet restaurants or coffee houses.
You can't walk a kilometre without bumping into a masterpiece. This is the city of Vincent van Gogh: 206 of his paintings are displayed in the museum dedicated to him. The Rembrandt Museum has 22 of the master's works; Vermeers and more Rembrandts fill the Rijksmuseum; other galleries offer modern artists such as Matisse and Mondrian.
"Mokummers" describe their way of life as "gezellig": forgetting your troubles until tomorrow. Encounter this in a bruin (brown) cafe, named for their wood panels and walls once stained by smoke, with great beer on tap too.
Twin towers symbolise Germany's ancient city of Cologne, spanning the River Rhine. The cathedral's spires dominate the skyline and was voted the nation's most popular attraction, though the city is justifiably famed for its art museums, beer halls and chocolate. No wonder the locals are famous for their love of life!
Grand, imperial Vienna was home to the all-powerful Hapsburg monarchy. Their majesty lives on at the family home of more than six centuries, the Hofburg palace, where the Vienna Boys' Choir sings Sunday Mass, the Spanish Riding School, where Lipizzaner stallions perform their equine ballets, and the imperial art collection of priceless works by Old Masters.
It's the city of music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Josef Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss, Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler, among others.
Their works are performed in palaces, such as the gold-and-crystal opera house.
But it's not all crowns and culture. The Viennese are renowned for their indulgence in the finer things in life. This is the city where the coffee house was born; richly decorated living rooms serving spectacular pastries and cakes like the Sacher torte.
Choose your cafe from your choice of previous patrons: Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky; Karl Marx; psychologist Freud; painters Klimt and Schiele; writers Thomas Mann and Graham Greene; the incomparable Marlene Dietrich.
The city's pubs dish up wiener schnitzel, tafelspitz (boiled beef) and goulash. More elegant, often Michelin-starred restaurants evoke turn-of-the-century style with their bow-tied and waistcoated waiters, often surprising, with contemporary menus. In wine-bar cellars and rustic taverns you'll sample fine wines from vineyards in the Vienna Woods surrounding the city.
Tiny Bratislava is a place of contradictions. It's Europe's youngest capital and one of its oldest settlements. The home of Slovakia's parliament lies on the forested banks of the Danube, dominated by the centuries-old castle on the hill behind the tiny Old Town.
Bratislava Castle and Danube River at sunset. Photo / Getty Images
This spot has been civilised, uncivilised and fought over for 7000 years. It became an independent country only in 1993, and walking its squares you can feel the pride in its history, the pain of too-recent war in socialist-era statues and brutal concrete buildings, and the energy of a new nation in its nightlife.
Budapest is a tale of two cities. It was, once, Buda on one side of the Danube and Pest on the other. It is, now, the treasure trove of architectural gems that spans centuries and styles, though most was built during the Hungarian capital's golden age in the late 19th century.
Here you will see history: bullet holes and shrapnel bruises from World War II and the 1956 Uprising, and one of Europe's most poignant memorials, the Shoes on the Danube.
During that golden age, Budapest was renowned for its food, blending influences from the East and West. That reputation has returned, as has admiration for Hungary's excellent wines — complex reds, flinty whites and the world-famous, honey-sweet Tokaj.
One of the city's great treasures is its hot springs. "Taking the waters" has been a Budapest experience since Roman times, and its bath houses are works of art, with decorations ranging from Ottoman-era to art nouveau and contemporary style. Follow the rivers, and you follow the ebb and flow of human history, culture, achievement, food and wine. With your cruise ship moored in the heart of it, you can eat, sleep and drink it all in.
Checklist
DETAILS APT cruises the Rhine, Main and the Danube from Amsterdam to Budapest.
