(Danube River, Germany- Mellow Wanderer) One of the great waterways of the world, composer Johan Strauss’ beloved “Blue Danube”, flows along Europe’s continental divide like a raging bull.
The Danube, olive colored and not blue, is a centuries old trade route, an economic power house for cargo shipping and watery playground for boaters, riverbank resorts, and cruise ships.
Trekking the Danube starting from the Main-Danube Canal in Nuremberg, Germany to Budapest, Hungary means navigating a series of locks, 26 in all. MW was on board the Viking Idun river cruise ship for the journey and experienced what it’s like to take this ultimate elevator ride.
Ship captains have little wiggle room as they slowly navigate their vessels into a long single lane tight fitting concrete watery chamber; sun light practically vanishes.
Think of what it was like the first time you got your drivers license and pulled the family’s Buick into a stuffed garage. Yep, you’re doing the turtle crawl, careful not to hit the wall. In fact, the ship comes so close MW reached out and touched the lock’s wall with the palm of a hand while standing on the ship’s balcony.
Once the 443 foot long ship is fully inside, the lock master floods the holding chamber. The 5,000 ton Idun with 190 passengers and crew of 50 on board rises more than 70 feet before it meets the water level at the higher elevation. The process repeats over and over, rising and falling, during our Danube journey.
Click on the video below to see a time-lapse of a typical lock experience, which can last between 45 and 90 minutes in real time depending on ship traffic.
The Viking Idun is one of the newest in a fleet of “longships.” Christened in 2012, Idun features the latest in energy efficient power and technology, including solar panels which line both sides of the ship’s upper level.
Another cool element is the herb garden growing in boxes on the sun deck. You’re apt to catch a whiff of Rosemary while cruising and lounging in a deck chair.
Even more unique is Idun’s forward Aquavit lounge, which is open air, unlike conventional river cruise ships. Aquavit gives passengers an up-close view down river and a spectacular front row seat as the ship enters the locks.
MW visited the Idun’s bridge for a guided tour and how it feels to sit behind the wheel and steer this massive vessel down the Danube. Uh, there’s just one problem: there’s no wheel! Click the video below.
Cruising the Danube with its system of locks, while impressive and stunning, does have glitches. Our travel was slightly disrupted near the end when a lock was closed for urgent repairs just down river from Bratislava, Slovakia. We entered Budapest by bus, a two hour ride, rather than cruise in.
Viking staff reacted swiftly with a plan to accommodate passengers at an established waterfront Budapest hotel, which seems to indicate lock problems may not be a rare occurrence.
Here’s a 360 degree time-lapse video from the upper deck of Idun as it cruised through the fertile Wachau Valley from Melk to Vienna Austria.
