Disclosure: Ralph Grizzle sailed as a guest of AmaWaterways for the purposes of review.

I am currently midway on a voyage from Amsterdam to Budapest on AmaWaterways’ 164-guest AmaSonata. The duration of the cruise, spanning 14 nights/15 days, is perfect for those who have the time for a truly immersive European experience. In fact, I’ve already heard from more than one person on this voyage that they would love to do this itinerary back-to-back, returning to Amsterdam from Budapest, making for a 28-night voyage. AmaWaterways’ Magnificent Europe itinerary serves up three rivers, five countries and plenty of scenic cruising through the heartland of Europe.

For those who value daytime cruising past the beautiful landscape of Europe, the Magnificent Europe itinerary is hard to beat.

Seven Days Into Our Journey, From Amsterdam To Bamberg

Leaving Amsterdam, where complimentary excursions included city tours and canal cruises, AmaSonata took us through the gorgeous Dutch countryside. Under bright skies and unseasonably warm weather, we made our way along the tree-lined river banks of the Rhine River.

For long stretches, we cruised along a pastoral landscape. Many of us stood out on our balconies or on the top deck to watch cows grazing in fields and even wading in the water along the river banks, as temperatures soared above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The morning after crossing the Dutch border into Germany, we pulled alongside in Cologne just steps away from the impressive cathedral. Following a complimentary city tour offered by AmaWaterways, we climbed (breathlessly) 533 steps to the top of the cathedral for outstanding views of the city and river below (we did this on our own at a cost of 4 euros each). Our next stop was Koblenz, at the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers, where we arrived as we were enjoying dinner in AmaSonata’s aft (and excellent) alternative dining venue, The Chef’s Table. From our table, we admired a sunset framed by floor-to-ceiling windows as we worked our way through the various courses paired with excellent regional wines. Amazingly, the entire experience in this dining venue comes at no extra cost. Following an evening tour of Koblenz, we turned in for the night so that we could rise early for one of the most exciting parts of our trip on the Rhine, a morning of scenic cruising through the Rhine Gorge, where castles commanded views from nearly every hilltop that we passed.

After a morning of cruising the Rhine Gorge, we docked in Rudesheim, where we chose the Gondola Ride from the three complimentary excursions that AmaWaterways offered in this charming riverside wine-producing village. Later that evening, AmaSonata left the Rhine River to cruise along the Main River. I found the Main (pronounced mine) to be exceptionally charming. It was so narrow at times that I felt as though I could touch the tree-lined river banks on both sides. The river had the feeling of a canal. I heard a few people describe the Main as cozy, and that seemed to be an apt modifier. Though we had sunny days for the first part of the trip, the sky was overcast and misty as we cruised along the Main, which added to the sense of coziness as we took in the gorgeous landscape from the comfort of AmaSonata.

The next morning, we enjoyed a walking tour in Miltenberg’s old town, admiring the half-timbered houses and colorful cafes and shops. In the afternoon, we had a tough decision: bicycle to Wertheim or visit an old pretzel shop where we’d learn to make pretzels. German tradition won, and we found ourselves rolling dough in a pretzel shop that had been in the family for 13 generations, since 1652. I will never view pretzels in the same way again, and from now on, I will only munch on a fresh pretzel. The owner told us that his shop bakes up to 900 pretzels daily, all handmade. Optimal consumption is within two hours of baking. The next morning, we docked in Würzburg, where three complimentary tours were offered, including a tour of the magnificent Residenz Palace. We were back on board for lunch after which we enjoyed an afternoon of scenic sailing on the Main. It was the kind of relaxing Saturday afternoon that many of us pine for. Serenity now, right? I returned to my stateroom to pull open the drapes and open the balcony doors (both the French balcony and the step-out balcony in my stateroom) to breathe in the landscape as we gently made our way upriver.

Along some stretches of the Main, vineyards stitched their way up the vertical landscape. We passed under many low bridges and through more locks than I could count. We docked in towns that were not on the beaten track. After last night’s dinner on AmaSonata, for example, we disembarked in the tiny town of Kitzingen for a complimentary wine-tasting in one of Germany’s oldest wine cellars. The candlelit cellar with its big wooden barrels was absolutely lovely, as were our hosts and the wine they poured for us.

We have been on AmaSonata for seven days, and still we are not quite midway through our voyage. For those doing weeklong cruises, tonight would be the night to begin packing for the trip home. It’s comforting to know that we still have eight more nights ahead of us, and in the words of our wonderful cruise director Maddy, whose smile is charged with kilowatts, the tours will just keep getting “better and better.”

As I write these words, AmaSonata is passing through a narrow lock in Limbach. There’s a light mist and already along the river banks are signs of autumn, with a few trees that are beginning to blaze their fall colors. There is a sense of peace and tranquility on this narrow river, and that too is part of the appeal of river cruising.

We still have one more stop today, Bamberg, and then we have the equivalent of another whole cruise ahead of us. As we approach Bamberg, I am standing out on deck with Steve, an American traveling with his wife. She’s relaxing in the room watching a movie, he told me. Steve appears to be about my age, in his late fifties. “I wish we had the time to stay on for the return trip from Budapest,” he said to me. “But my wife still works. I’m retired. This is an absolutely wonderful trip. Everything that we heard about cruising was wrong, that it was for the newlyweds and nearly dead. Nothing could be farther from the truth.” Just before dinner tonight we begin our journey on the Main-Danube Canal. Still to come, three stops in Germany, Nuremberg, Regensburg and Passau, after which we begin to experience the beauty of the Blue Danube on yet another leg of our journey through Magnificent Europe. Check out part two of our journey along three rivers through five countries as we continue to experience Magnificent Europe. Cruise-only rates for the remainder of 2016 and for 2017 begin at $6,399 per person. Photo gallery of our voyage so far. Click any photo to enlarge it.

AmaWaterways Magnificent Europe itinerary.

Day	Destination	Complimentary Excursions, including Limited Edition Tours	Optional Excursions (2016 prices)
Day 1	Amsterdam, Embarkation
Day 2	Amsterdam	Amsterdam canal cruise and city tour
Day 3	Cologne, Germany (morning), Koblenz (evening)	Cologne walking tour & cathedral visit | In Koblenz, evening walking tour
Day 4	Rhine Gorge scenic cruise before stopping in Rudesheim	In Rudesheim, Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Museum, or Gondola ride, or Rüdesheimer Coffee
Day 5	Miltenberg in the morning and Wertheim in the afternoon	In Miltenberg, walking tour | In Wertheim, walking tour, or Main River guided bike tour, or Limited Edition Pretzel bakery visit and tasting
Day 6	Würzburg in the morning, Kitzingen in the late evening	Walking tour or Residenz Palace tour in the morning | Afternoon, Würzburg to Kitzingen guided bike tour (35 kilometers/22 miles) | In Kitzingen, Wine tasting in one of Germany's oldest wine cellars	Rothenburg afternoon excursion 62€ per person
Day 7	Bamberg	Walking tour and smoked beer tasting or Bamberg bike tour (15 kilometers/9 miles) or Limited Edition Culinary Tour of Bamberg Specialties
Day 8	Nuremberg & Cruise Main-Danube Canal	World War II tour or Medieval Nuremberg or Limited Edition Nuremberg Culinary Tour
Day 9	Regensburg	Morning Walking tour, or Limited Edition Bavarian Specialties tasting | Afternoon, guided bike tour to Walhalla (20 kilometers/12.4 miles)	Weltenburg Danube Gorge 58€ per person
Day 10	Passau	Walking tour or Passau bike tour (22 kilometers/13.7 miles)	Salzburg excursion 76€ per person
Day 11	Melk in the morning, | Dürnstein, afternoon	Morning in Melk, Benedictine Abbey visit or guided bike tour along the Danube (18 kilometers/11 miles) | In Dürnstein, Walking tour and wine tasting or guided bike tour between Melk and Durnstein (32 kilometers/20 miles)
Day 12	Vienna	Vienna city tour or Limited Edition Hidden Vienna tour or Alte Donau bike tour (10 kilometers/6.2 miles) | Afternoon bike tour to Klosterneuburg Abbey (24 kilometers/15 miles)	Afternoon: Schonbrunn Palace 58€ per person Evening: Mozart & Strauss Concert 65€ per person
Day 13	Bratislava	Walking tour or Bratislava Culinary Delights tour
Day 14	Budapest	City tour or Budapest Active Walking Tour (8 kilometers/6 miles) & an evening Illuminations Cruise
Day 15	Budapest	Disembarkation

Continue the journey: What Can You Expect On An AmaWaterways Magnificent Europe River Cruise? Part II