Page 100 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER 2024 SCOTLAND

town, known for its Gothic and Baroque ar‐
chitecture.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which houses
one of the largest pipe organs in the world,
with over 17,000 pipes, showed one exam‐
ple of both styles of architecture.
Dinner featured a local favorite at the
Wilma Wunder Restaurant, homemade
“Fleischpflanzerl”, a Bavarian specialty
ground beef and pork patty, au jus, with a
side of potato salad. Quite delicious.
We arrived at the boat the next after‐
noon, refreshed and ready for our biking
adventure. The friendly staff greeted us
and showed us to our 14 m² cabin where we
settled in, walking out onto our balcony to
breathe in the fresh country air. And such a
treat: no need to pack again for the next
eight days.
Our boat, the 361 foot long Swiss Crown,
carried a maximum of 136 passengers in 75
cabins with three decks and felt luxurious
with gleaming, polished wood and
sparkling chandeliers. Photo of the chan‐
delier,
At the welcome cocktail event, we chat‐
ted with other biking enthusiasts from
many countries–Australia, New Zealand,
Canada, Germany, England, France, to
name a few. Most took the bike option, but
non-cycling partners could stay on the
boat to enjoy the cruise, the hot tub and
lunch as they traveled to the next stop on
the river. Cyclists also had the option to
choose to not ride any day if needing a
rest day.
The next morning, I woke up just as
dawn filled the sky with pink and yellow
clouds and captured this video, as we
cruised along.
Then, our daily routine began with a
sumptuous breakfast buffet, croissants,
pain au chocolate, eggs, bacon, toast,
cheese, fruit, a veritable feast. Guests
could also order specialty omelets, French

100 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE WINTER 2025