I awoke early for the last day of the 2014 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Cruise.  It was not to prepare for my long awaited and highly anticipated Tokaji wine tasting in the afternoon, but for the sail into Budapest, Hungary.  Unfortunately it was very foggy, but still pretty spectacular. Budapest, Hungary’s Parliament Building  I

The day after the 2014 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Tasting aboard AmaWaterways AmaCerto was a peaceful day visiting Melk, Austria and its Benedictine Abbey.  It was a pleasant, but I more enjoyed wandering the quaint village and strolling back to the ship.  The axiom ABC (Another Bloody Church) is starting to become uttered by

The 2014 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Tasting aboard the AmaWaterways AmaCerto was a huge success.  With an absolutely gorgeous setting in the aft lounge/Chef’s Table as we sailed the Danube River we had a true taste of the wines of Germany, Austria, Hungary and even the AmaCerto…plus one from Romania (which the staff included

I arrived in Nuremberg, Germany with a bit of trepidation, but also anticipation.  I took the World War II tour which focused on Hitler, his Rally Grounds, the War Crimes Tribunal; in part because I have gotten a great sense that many Germans either want to forget what happened or want to remember it differently

After a lazy morning cruising down the Main River, and then just entering the Main-Danube Canal, we stopped in Bamberg,Germany for the 2014 Goldring Travel Food & Wine Brewery Tour and Beer Tasting Event. This is one town where the docking was not in town and no picturesque, but we are in town for only

As my cruise on the AmaWaterways AmaCerto continues down the Rhine River, after visiting Amsterdam, Cologne, Koblenz and Rudesheim, I have been able to get a better feel for the ship, the staff and European river cruising.  The staff is friendly and the heavy Eastern European accents have become much easier to understand, the smiles

We departed Amsterdam and cruised through the night with our group enjoying the Chef’s Table dinner on the AmaWaterways AmaCerto What is a visit to the Netherlands without seeing a windmill? The perfectly manicured banks of the Rhine Riverin the Netherlands and the next day, after spending a few morning hours in Cologne, Germany Cologne

Before getting into the Food & Wine and travel experiences, I thought I would go through a number of first impressions and observations concerning things that I, or others, did not think of…or at least did not think through…before starting our river cruise on the AmaCerto.  They will give context to the articles that follow. 

I arrived at the AmaCerto docked right near the Passenger Terminal in Amsterdam at 2:30 p.m.  She was hidden behind a number of riverboats, but it quickly became apparent that AmaWaterways was a cut above the rest. There was no confusion as to who was going to assist me, as four smiling AmaCerto staff quickly

Goldring Travel’s 2014 Food & Wine Cruise on AmaWaterways AmaCerto from Amsterdam to Budapest is about to begin.  This river cruise event was created out of a request by two couples that had been on one of my prior Food & Wine Cruises requesting it. But what really got me interested is:  I love Amsterdam,