A Christmas Cruise
"Christmas On The Danube" offers an itinerary that includes three days in wintry Vienna with a one-week cruise to ports of call in Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. The trip begins with a flight from the United States on December 19. December 20 through 23 are spent in Vienna with sight-seeing, museums, art exhibits and a special concert. On Christmas Eve, the first-class riverboat M/S Rousse travels upriver to the magnificent, 900-year old Abbey of Melk for a tour and Midnight Mass. Christmas Day is spent on the river with a special lunch, music and lectures and an evening at the historic Hungarian town of Esztergom. December 26 and 27 feature several options in Budapest. More cruising is scheduled for December 28, plus an optional program in Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, and an on-board concert. The return to the U. S. is mid-morning December 28. The price is $2,095 double occupancy. Call Elegant Cruises & Tours at 800-683-6767.
Salzburg Mozart Festival
The annual Salzburg Mozart Festival is an event wrapped around the birth date of the great composer on January 27. The festival dates this year are January 21 to 30, 1994. The program consists of three Mozart Pasticcios with medleys of arias from various operas, nine orchestral concerts (three with the Vienna Philharmonic), a choral concert, eight chamber music concerts, four piano recitals, four Masses and other events. The main venues are the Mozarteum Academy of Music, the large Festival Hall, the Assembly Hall of Salzburg University, the Franciscan Church and the Cathedral. Partial subscriptions are offered for each of the four events. The Austrian National Tourist Office can provide program details. Ticket orders should be addressed in writing to Kartenbro der Internationalen Stiftung Mozarteum, P O Box 34, Schwartzstrasse 26, A-5024 Salzburg, Austria, or faxed to 662/872 996. The voice phone is 622/873 154.
Cruising the Elbe from Dresden
The paddlewheel steamer Meissen cruises down the Elbe alongside the Saxon Wine Road. The schedule includes an excursion from Dresden to Meissen, a wine tour between Diesbar and Seusslitz, and a jazz cruise. Information: Sachsische Dampfschiffahrts GmbH & Co, Georgenstrasse 6, D-01097 Dresden. Phone 351/502 3877, fax 351/53060
Potsdam Transport Tickets
The Potsdam ticket gives visitors use of public transport for 24 hours for only 7.50 DM ($4.60). It includes a city tour, cruise and a bicycle rental. Coupons also provide reduced entry fees for exhibitions. Contact: Potsdam Information, Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse 5, D-14467 Potsdam, phone, 331/21100, fax 331/23012.
Weekend in Tauber Valley
Tauberbischofsheim, in the Tauber Valley a few kilometers southwest of Würzburg, offers a package called "Weekend with Style." The cost is from 172 DM ($105) with two nights, breakfast, a four-course dinner, rental bicycle and city tour. Fremdenverkersamt, Postfach 1480, D-97934 Tauberbishofheim, phone 9341/80313.
Vienna Event Tix Include Subway Ride
Konzerthaus, venue for many Vienna concerts; Theater an der Wien, currently home to the successful, long-running musical Elisabeth; and the Raimundtheater, which is about to present a German version of The Kiss of the Spider Woman, now all sell tickets which not only include admission to their events but serve as roundtrip transit tickets, valid from two hours before to six hours after curtain time, on Vienna public transit (commuter trains within the city limits, subway, streetcars and buses). The tickets bear the special imprint Fahrausweis Kernzone 100. All three venues are near subway stops.
Austrian Tungsten Mine Tours
High in the Hohe Tauren, in Salzburgland, a modern tungsten mine, begun in 1977, is a new tourist attraction. The entrance to the mine is at 3,850 feet in the Felber Valley above the town of Mittersill. Visitors are outfitted with coveralls and hard hats for safety and then taken through 25 miles of tunnels on a special tour bus. There are two versions of the tour: the first takes about an hour and a half and features the entrance area with an exhibit of minerals, various grottoes and an active ore extraction area with huge state-of-the-art mining machinery; the second takes two and a half hours and includes a vast underground crushing plant. The first tour charges adults 160 AS ($14) and 120 AS ($11) for kids 12 to 16 (children under 12 are not permitted), the second is 240 AS ($21) for adults and 180 AS ($16) for kids. Good boots and warm clothing are required for the visit. Tours are available Monday through Friday at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 2 p.m. Reservations are necessary and can be made by calling 6562/41 37 or sending a fax to 6562/41 37 32.
(U.S. Dollar prices quoted in this issue of Gemütlichkeit may be inaccurate for these reasons:
* Prices in local currency have not been updated since the date of publication of this newsletter, and...
* The dollar prices shown were obtained by using exchange rates in effect at the time of publication.
September 1993
