Danube River Cruise: Linz and Steyr

In this third post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores Linz and Steyr, Austria before she joins her Active and Discovery on the Danube Cruise on Avalon in 2018.

The Active and Discovery on the Danube cruise was the second river cruise I did with Avalon. This cruise sailed from Linz, Austria to Budapest, Hungary in the summer of 2018. Join me as I explore many wonderful stops in the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary along the way!

Active and Discovery on the Danube Full Itinerary

Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about my time pre-cruise in Linz and Steyr, Austria.

• July 26 & 27: Prague, Czech Republic
• July 28: Český Krumlov, Czech Republic
• July 29: Linz & Steyr, Austria (embarkation)
• July 30: Engelhartszell & Schlogen Oxbow, Austria
• July 31: Mauthausen & Grein, Austria
• August 1: Wachau Valley, Krems, & Vienna, Austria
• August 2 & 3: Vienna, Austria
• August 4: Komarno, Slovakia & Visegrad, Hungary (disembarkation)
• August 5: Budapest, Hungary

Linz

After leaving Prague and spending the day in Český Krumlov, Czech Republic, we headed another hour-and-a-half south through more of the Czech countryside. We crossed the border into Austria and arrived in the beautiful city of Linz. We arrived at our hotel for the evening, the Hotel Schillerpark Linz, and checked in. After settling into my room (and taking a moment to enjoy the lovely view from my room at some of the historic architecture in the area!), I enjoyed the walk near the Danube as our group went to visit the futuristic Ars Electronica Center. We even got a quick glimpse of our beautiful Avalon ship that evening before embarking on her the following day.

Linz Walking Tour

The next morning, July 29, started with a walking tour of the city of Linz, with a focus on WWII history. This was a fitting tribute on this day, which marked the two-year anniversary of the death of my beloved Grampa Hersey. He fought in WWII and was a POW. Luckily, he was liberated and returned back home safe and sound.

After walking through some of the winding, narrow streets around the hotel, we eventually ended up in the main square (Hauptplatz) that forms the center of Linz. This vast square has many shops, restaurants, and offices. It is one of the largest enclosed squares in Austria and covers an area around 142,000 square feet (13,200 square meters). I was struck by how pretty all of the pastel-colored buildings are.

One of our stops in the Hauptplatz was a visit to the Town Hall building. The highlight here is the huge aerial view of the city displayed on the floor. It is a fun and interesting way to “see” the city!

After visiting the Town Hall, we continued our walking tour through the city. There was a lot of beautiful architecture and pretty flowers everywhere.

Limonistollen (Limoni Tunnels)

Our walking tour ended at the Limoni Tunnels (Limonistollen). During WWII, the existing wine and beer cellars in Linz were connected and expanded into a massive, miles-long tunnel system to protect the residents of Linz during air raids. Prisoners from the Nazis’ nearby Mauthausen concentration camp (which I will visit in a few days) built the tunnels through forced slave labor. The tunnels are more than 9 miles long and could hold up to 20,000 people at one time.

After entering through the small door carved into the large wooden doors, we were fitted with hard hats. While the tunnel system is stable, there are a few low areas and there is always a possibility of a small rock or pebble falling from the ceiling, so it is important to be protected! We were also advised ahead of time to bring some warm clothing for this tour – even though the late-July weather outside was very hot and humid, inside the tunnels was rather chilly.

Our guide then led us on the tour through some of the massive tunnel system. Some of the tunnels are wide and well-lit, but others are truly dark and cavernous. Along the way we spotted several interesting drawings and other markings on the walls. All in all, it was a fantastic excursion. It’s always wonderful to experience such an up close and personal view of something so steeped in history.

Checking Into the Ship

After the tour of the Limoni Tunnels wrapped up, we headed back to the Danube River to join the Avalon Luminary ship. It was lunchtime, so after a quick check-in at the reception desk, I headed over to the light lunch buffet set up in the Panorama Lounge. I was able to enjoy a delicious lunch and take a quick stroll through some of the main areas of the ship before heading out on my afternoon excursion to Steyr.

Steyr

This afternoon I chose to do an optional excursion to the stunning town of Steyr, Austria. This beautiful town is less than an hours’ drive south of Linz. Our first stop here was a visit to the Roman Catholic parish church of Steyr (Stadtpfarrkirche Steyr). This fairy-tale-like Gothic church was built in the 15th century. Both the ornate organ and the soaring stained-glass windows are highlights here.

After the church, we continued on a walking tour of Steyr. The counts of Styria founded this town around 980. It has a population of around 40,000 people and has a total area of around 10.25 square miles (26.56 square kilometers). The town is one of the best-preserved old towns in Austria, after going through an extensive restoration of its historic buildings to celebrate its 1,000th anniversary in 1980.

Two rivers, the Steyr and the Enns, flow through the town. They meet near the town center, underneath the Lamberg Castle and St. Michael’s Church. After the walking tour was finished, we had some free time to explore on our own. The quaint small town has wonderful cobblestone sidewalks and interesting alleyways to explore. I also found a lovely ice cream shop and enjoyed a blissfully cool treat on this sunny, hot, and humid afternoon!

Conclusion

I absolutely enjoyed my time in Linz and Steyr, Austria. I got to enjoy wonderful walking tours of each place so I could really see and explore the areas. The tour of the Limoni Tunnels was also a fascinating step back in time. To top it all off, today was the day that I finally got to say “hello” to my ship for this cruise, the lovely Avalon Luminary! It’s always a fantastic day when I get to step foot back on an Avalon ship…the entire crew always makes me feel so very welcome.

Links

Ready to continue the journey? Click the button below to read the next post in this series:

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Note: I fully funded this trip on my own and received no compensation or any other benefits from any service providers I used along the way. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not being compensated by any service providers.