I braved the cold on an AmaWaterways’ Danube River cruise in February — and it was totally worth it

The weather was a (mostly) pleasant surprise

On our day in Budapest before embarkation later that afternoon, my mom and I wanted to try a local specialty for lunch. A friend had recommended a restaurant that served langos, fried dough topped with sour cream and cheese that you eat like a pizza.

The restaurant was packed, with limited indoor seating. But we found two spots at the outdoor tables to eat our lunch, bundled in our hats and coats. It wasn’t my first choice, but with temperatures in the 40s, it wasn’t unmanageable.

However, when we decided to grab an after-lunch treat of Bratislava’s famous chimney cake stuffed with gelato, we chose the cafe with indoor seating. I’d eat warm dough outside but not ice cream.

The weather on our river cruise varied a lot from day to day, but temperatures typically ranged from the low 40s to the low 50s. I run cold, so most days, I wore my winter coat, warm hat and gloves. Our excursion from Linz to Salzburg, Austria, was gray and drizzly but not so wet we had to flee indoors, and we experienced a brief shower when riding the Wiener Riesenrad (Vienna’s giant Ferris wheel).

But in Bratislava, we found bright sun and temperatures passing 50. Mom and I did a complete wardrobe change before heading out on our walking tour, shedding layers and switching to lighter coats. After hoofing it up several sets of steps to Bratislava Castle, we actually felt sweaty.

I might have packed for this trip like I did for Antarctica, but the weather never came close to the near-freezing temperatures and threats of snow that I left behind in the States. I was happy to have my hat and gloves, but I never was uncomfortable walking out of doors, and my long underwear remained in a drawer in my cabin for the entire sailing.

The lack of crowds made braving the chill worthwhile

On the day we visited, Durnstein, Austria, was a ghost town.

Our chipper guide explained how the Wachau Valley village is a hot spot for summer bikers and travelers on Austria’s wine trail, but no one was afoot as we gazed up at the ruined castle where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned for months.

Only a few stores were open — mainly because AmaWaterways called ahead — including one enterprising shop owner who lured us to her door with samples of “rabbit shit” (chocolate-covered wine grapes mixed with pieces of candied apricot) and the promise of a free bathroom as the public facilities were closed for the winter.

That might have been an extreme example, but the places we visited along the Danube ranged from completely empty to busy but not jam-packed. After the horror stories I heard of shoulder-to-shoulder crowds in parts of Europe this past summer, I was delighted to move freely and easily through the streets of Austria, Slovakia and Hungary in winter.

That’s not to say that the major cities were empty. Salzburg’s pedestrian thoroughfare, Getreidegasse, with its shops, museums and restaurants, was bustling, but you didn’t feel like you had to push through the crowds to get places. Budapest’s Castle Hill on a Saturday was full of tour groups, and we saw two bachelorette parties dining alfresco at various cafes and a wedding party waiting outside of Matthias Church.

February is actually Vienna’s ball season, and the opera’s grand gala was scheduled for the evening AmaMagna overnighted in the city. Our Uber into the city for a classical concert got stuck in the ball traffic, and we heard from shipmates that restaurant reservations were hard to come by.

Still, compared to peak summer and holiday travel times, we found the tourist areas we visited to be far less crowded and way more manageable.

Cozy activities abound in wintertime Europe

You could survive in wintertime Europe on coffee and cake.

Nearly every tour guide we had on our river cruise, before sending us on our way for “free time,” would point out a cafe where we could sit inside and enjoy a coffee and pastries.

In Bratislava, our cruise manager Martina pointed us toward Konditorei Kormuth, a historic building covered in baroque-style frescoes dating to the 16th through 19th centuries. Inside is a cafe that serves pastries and hot drinks on antique porcelain dishes. I ordered a slice of chocolate cake from a selection of pastries baked according to old Austro-Hungarian recipes and a chai tea served in a floral teapot with a delicate tea cup.

Not only did a stop here give us a very local way to warm up and refuel, but it also gave us a free bathroom. And what a bathroom it was! The hallway leading to it had elaborate frescoes, and the antique toilet (with a chain you pull to flush) was beautifully painted.

In Budapest, a hot-from-the-oven chimney cake will warm you up and satisfy your sweet tooth in a very local way. In Vienna, you can seek out an apple strudel or Sacher torte and Viennese coffee in the many cafes around town.

Coffee and cake aren’t your only cozy options on a February or March river cruise. AmaWaterways offers a culinary tour in Bratislava, where instead of walking around town, you can hole up in a local eatery and sample regional beers, meats and cheeses. Tours of the Melk Abbey and Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace are indoors. The Vienna city tour also includes a bus ride around the city’s historic central district and a horse-drawn carriage ride where you can cuddle up to your sweetie to keep warm.

If needed, we could take umbrellas and walking sticks from the ship for use in town. And every day, when we returned to the ship after touring, smiling crew members would be waiting for us with hot towels and fruit-flavored teas. We were never cold for long.

AmaWaterways offers lots of active options, even in winter

If you like to beat the cold with a workout, AmaWaterways offers all its active hiking and bike tours, even in late February.

In Vienna, I skipped the palace tour for a hike in the Vienna Woods, once the hunting grounds of the Habsburg royal family. Our group of just four hardy souls was escorted by a local guide and the ship’s wellness host, Damian. Putting amazing views of the entirety of Vienna at our backs, we hiked into the forest and up to a little restaurant, where we cooed at its pet donkey and pig and then continued on our way through a vineyard covering the hillside.

The line also offers biking excursions in Bratislava and Linz and more active versions of city tours for guests who wish to hike up to a city’s hilltop castle.

If you’d rather save your workouts for your time on board, AmaWaterways offers an extensive array of fitness and stretching classes and a small gym for independent exercising. I came on board with every intention of using these facilities — looking forward to the complimentary resistance band, yoga and Pilates classes — but a bad cold prevented me from enjoying them.

A few active guests who didn’t mind a cool-weather workout made use of AmaMagna’s top-deck pickleball court (unique in the river cruise industry) and four outdoor spin bikes. If you’re used to exercising outdoors no matter the weather, make sure to pack your cool-weather fitness gear, and you’ll be ready to take advantage of all of AmaWaterways’ active options.

AmaMagna was my cozy home base after a chilly day of touring

Our posttour, predinner destination every evening on AmaMagna was the Sip & Sail cocktail hour in the ship’s main lounge. We’d freshen up for dinner and waltz in fashionably late, and we’d always find friends with a space at their table. Everyone was warm and welcoming, which made the ship feel like home.

If we didn’t wish to order one of the complimentary beverages from the Sip & Sail menu (a mix of standard cocktails, wine, beer and daily specials), we’d visit the ship’s most popular onboard location: the coffee station. Here, I could make a cup of tea, hot chocolate or a variety of coffee drinks to bring with me anywhere on board. Make yourself comfortable at one of the nearby tables, and you could easily meet everyone on board in the course of a morning.

Guests on board and feeling hungry in the afternoon can enjoy an afternoon tea service with finger sandwiches and sweet treats. It’s a lovely option on a rainy or chilly afternoon on the river.

My favorite spaces on board were the two libraries situated between the lounge and the glass-walled Al Fresco Restaurant. Here, plush couches and a faux fireplace (water vapor, flickering lights and a soundtrack create a realistic effect) made a cozy spot to enjoy a chat with friends, especially when the after-dinner music in the lounge got too loud to carry on a conversation.

Or, if I didn’t feel like being social, I could return to my cozy cabin, hop into bed with the duvet on and watch a movie from a wide list of complimentary films, both relatively recent releases and old favorites.

Early season travel does have its drawbacks

You do sacrifice a few things when taking a European river cruise in the winter. Whether they’re deal breakers depends on your travel preferences.

In Salzburg, every square and plaza has a fountain. In spring, these must be lovely and make for wonderful photos. In winter, they’re not just shut off; they’re boarded up. Some completely disappeared under wooden covers; others had clear pyramids placed over the top.

The gardens behind Bratislava Castle were pretty brown when we visited. The two gardens surrounding Vienna’s Hofburg palace, the Burggarten and the Volksgarten, were not so impressive without blooming trees and colorful flowers; we heard reports of the same from the guests who visited Schonbrunn Palace. The vineyards of the Wachau Valley were all cut back, and the bare trees of the Vienna Woods were not as photogenic as they might be in spring or fall.

The winter season is not a heavily traveled time for a reason. If you’re looking for beautiful colors in your scenic photos, you will be disappointed. On the flip side, it’s a great time for uncrowded city shots or bird-spotting in the bare trees.

Also, not every attraction you wish to see might be open at this time. In Durnstein, a few shops opened for our group, but many more shops and cafes were closed. Sections of Salzburg’s Mirabel Gardens (the filming location of the “Do Re Mi” song in “The Sound of Music”) are not open in the winter months.

And if you have dreams of enjoying a glass of wine on your ship’s deck, the sun on your face, as you cruise along the Danube — or even visions of enjoying the ship’s top-deck pool or pickleball court — the weather might not comply with your wishes.

Then again, if you don’t mind donning a hat and jacket and warming up with a steaming cup of coffee, you might be pleasantly surprised that sunny winter days are fine times to be outside watching the world go by.

Bottom line

Living in a four-season climate where winters can be cold, I’m no stranger to bundling up and not letting the weather stop me from having fun. I was perfectly content to put on a coat and hat and explore Europe on a river cruise. Walking tours through the city and visits to cathedrals and museums were accomplished as comfortably in the offseason as in the high season. And I didn’t have hordes of tourists to contend with.

On the other hand, as a nature lover who enjoys hikes and outdoor pursuits, I was a bit disappointed to miss out on the blooming gardens, fall foliage or generally colorful landscapes and parks on our gray winter cruise. If wandering the shops of small villages and taking photos of flowers are your favorite travel activities, you might wish to delay your cruise until the spring.

I wasn’t sure what I had signed up for when I agreed to take a river cruise in February. Ultimately, I thought the lower fares and mild temperatures made it totally worth traveling at this time, and I’m so glad I didn’t have to fight the crowds to cross these Eastern European hot spots off my bucket list.

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