CENTRAL EUROPE

06/26/25 - 07/11/25

DAY 1

Day 1 - After an overnight flight from Boston to Frankfurt, our Central Europe adventure started at Europa Park in Rust, Germany. Europa Park is Germany's largest amusement park and has been proudly run by the Mack family for over 50 years. Last year, we made a stop here during our Rhine River Cruise and loved it so much that we decided to return for a longer stay. The park is divided into various European countries, complete with themed rides, restaurants, and décor. After checking into the Hotel Colosseo, which felt like stepping into a piazza in Rome, we tackled some of the park. We started with some thrilling rides like a Swiss bobsled, a Moulin Rouge roller coaster, and a pirate boat ride reminiscent of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. We ended the night at our hotel's pizzeria. A quick tip: We find that starting a trip at a busy destination, like a theme park, can help us all adjust quickly to a new time zone.

DAY 2

Day 2 - After a hearty German breakfast, we headed straight to the park. Staying at a Europa Park hotel gave us 30 minutes of early entry before the park officially opened. The park has over 100 attractions and over 10 intense roller coasters, including a new one themed to Nikola Tesla, and many fill up quickly, so we took advantage of the early entry time to cover a few of the high-demand rides. Europa Park was celebrating its 50th anniversary, which lined up nicely with Karen's 50th birthday. Fun 50th signs were lined up everywhere in the park. We rode many of the rides, saw a few shows, including a future trip inspiring movie on Croatia, and walked through a Greek festival, which the park was hosting this week. We ended the day with a taste of America at the Silver Lake City Saloon, an American Wild West-themed restaurant and bar.

DAY 3

Day 3 - Today was all about Europa Park's second theme park, Rulantica. Rulantica is an expansive indoor/outdoor water park with over 50 slides and attractions, 3 lively pool bars, and an incredible outside pool deck. Located just a few minutes away via resort bus, we ate a quick breakfast and were there for a few prime pool chair spots before 9 AM. We quickly experienced some of the most popular slides and raft rides. A highlight was an 8-lane mat racing slide where you were timed and scored against your fellow racers! After a casual lunch, we headed to the outside pool for a crazy DJ party! The Germans know how to have fun! We made a final stop by the pool bar and a few more slides, before wrapping up the day, returning to our hotel for a nice Italian dinner at our hotel. With nearly 3 days of go, go, go, everyone slept well tonight!

DAY 4

Day 4 - Although sad to be saying farewell to the excitement of Europa Park, it was time to travel to a new country for us all, the Czech Republic. Located approximately 6 hours away by car, we left early in the morning and quickly navigated some of the thrilling no-speed-limit stretches of Germany's famous Autobahn. To make the best of today's road trip, we stopped halfway in the charming city of Nuremberg, where we strolled through picturesque streets and grabbed some tasty snacks. Later in the afternoon, we arrived in Prague, ready to explore its rich history and culture. The people we met in the city were extremely friendly and very proud of their heritage, which made us feel really welcome. We climbed to the top of an iconic 13th-century tower, called the Prasna Brana (or Powder Tower), to get a great view of the city. To end the night, we stopped into a local restaurant for some delicious beer and schnitzel.

DAY 5

Day 5 - Today was the official start of our Adventures by Disney tour of the Czech Republic and Austria. Before heading out for a busy day exploring Prague, we met our group's two guides in the lobby for a quick introduction. We will spend the next week with Gabby (our American guide) and Winston (our local guide), as well as 8 other families from the U.S., and the festivities kick off this afternoon. Our day began with a visit to the stunning Church of Our Lady of Victories, where we admired the "Infant Jesus of Prague" statue and all its elaborate clothing. We continued the day with a relaxing stroll through the beautiful Petřín Gardens and a traditional Czech lunch. We finished our afternoon with a self-guided tour of the Pilsner Urquell (Czech's most famous Beer) museum, complete with tastings! We then headed back to the hotel to meet our group for a cocktail reception and Czech dinner.

DAY 6

Day 6 - Our day started with a guided tour through the streets of Prague. A local Prague guide joined us and walked through many of the city's iconic landmarks, including the St. Vitus Cathedral, the famous Charles Bridge (seen in many Hollywood films such as Mission Impossible), and a medieval Astronomical Clock. The clock located in the town square was installed in 1410 and is still working! After a local lunch and some exploring time, we rejoined the group to participate in an age-old Czech tradition of creating "Kraslice" (Easter eggs), often decorated year-round. After leaving the group for the evening, we took a tram to the Zizkov Tower, an old communist Russian TV tower, which has now turned into a tourist attraction. The tower is over 700 feet tall and has its own bar and restaurant. Another great view on this beautiful sunny day in Prague.

DAY 7

Day 7 - After breakfast at the hotel, our group checked out and set off for a scenic drive an hour south to Český Krumlov, a charming Czech town with a population of only 13,000. Our day started with a walking tour of the town center and its history, as well as a walkthrough of the Český Krumlov Castle. The castle was built in 1253 and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. We then had some free time in which we had a nice lunch outside and then navigated a sudden, crazy rainstorm. We continued our journey to Salzburg, Austria, watching The Sound of Music on the way. Upon arrival, we refreshed briefly in our hotel room and regathered the group in the lobby for a casual dinner at one of the Sheraton Grand's restaurants.

DAY 8

Day 8 - "Let's start at the very beginning..." This morning was all about the 1965 hit film, "The Sound of Music," as we toured many sites and film locations of this classic story. Along the way, we saw the villa (Schloss Leopoldskron) showcased in the movie, as well as took a few pictures in the iconic garden gazebo, shown frequently in the film. Our tour guide even sang a few of the songs along the way! Our tour continued at the Hellbrunn Palace, a 1750 villa home to 163 "trick" fountains. Many are made to surprise guests on the hot summer days! We had a great guide, who had fun surprising some of the kids on our tour with some of the fountains. Definitely a highlight! Later in the afternoon, we had some alone time to walk around the city, see the famous Salzburg Fortress Hohensalzburg, before dinner and a Mozart concert at the Austria's oldest restaurant.

DAY 9

Day 9 - Today was undoubtedly one of the most adventurous days we've experienced on our five guided tours with Adventures by Disney! About an hour ride outside of Salzburg, we ventured into Eisriesenwelt, the world's largest ice cave. After a 60-minute challenging hike and a brief funicular ride, we reached the base of this incredible site, where the temperature drops to zero degrees once inside the cave. Our guided tour, lit only by candlelight lanterns, took us through massive ice structures, caves, and required us to climb nearly 1,400 steps. Following the tour, we enjoyed a well-deserved lunch and beer with stunning views of the Austrian Alps, before heading to Hohenwerfen Castle for a tour and falconry show.

DAY 10

Day 10 - As our time in Salzburg ends, we set off for Austria's capital, Vienna. En route, we enjoyed a scenic boat cruise on Lake Traunsee, Austria's largest lake. Our guides shared some historical insights about the lake and surrounding properties as we relaxed on the top deck with a glass of wine and the warm sun. Once docked, we stretched our legs a bit, walking around the area and enjoying an ice cream by the lake. We then stepped into the lovely Seehotel Schwan (a lakeside hotel) for a nice lunch. Later in the day, we arrived at the Hilton Vienna Plaza and explored the neighboring area. Close to our hotel was the impressive St. Stephen's Cathedral (a 15th-century church), as well as some of Vienna's busy shopping streets for a little window shopping and a delicious dinner at a Japanese place to spice it up.

DAY 11

Day 11 - Home to nearly three million residents and located directly on the Danube River, Vienna is the fifth largest city in the European Union. Today, we started at the famous Schonbrunn Palace for a guided tour of this impressive 1,441-room home! With beautiful gardens, you could spend the day here! Next, we made our way to the Vienna Zoo, known as the world's oldest zoo and marked as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Animals from every region in the world, including pandas, giraffes, and penguins, can be viewed here. It was a lot of fun! After a lovely lunch at the zoo, our bus returned us to the city center for a peek inside the Albertina Museum. Our busy day continued with a behind-the-scenes tour of Vienna's Spanish Riding School and a farewell dinner at the popular Café Landtmann, a classic Viennese cafe.

DAY 12

Day 12 - Today, we crossed a new country off our list, Slovakia! We started with a high-speed, hour-long boat ride along the Danube River from Vienna to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Once docked, we set off to explore the city on foot and by tram, taking in all of the landmarks like the Blue Church, the impressive Bratislava Castle, and the streets of Old Town. With a rich history marked by its recent independence in 1993 and its communist past evident in its architecture, Bratislava offered us a fascinating glimpse into Eastern European culture. We wrapped up the day with a late lunch at one of our Boston favorites, Wagamama (what's better than noodles and Ramen in Slovakia?), before ending the day with some souvenir shopping and a direct train ride back to Vienna for dinner. We ended the night a local amusement park named Prater!

DAY 13

Day 13 - Savoring our last full breakfast, we planned for our final day touring Vienna. We travelled via Metro today, and our first stop was the Hofburg Palace, the Winter residence of the famous Habsburg family and now used as the official residence and workplace of the president of Austria. The palace is made up of several unique sections, one being the Austrian National Library. It contains a staggering collection of historical books, several beautiful globes, and art pieces. After our visit, we had lunch at one of Vienna's famous cafes, eating chocolate cake, traditional finger foods, and wine! After lunch, we walked through the four different environments of the Vienna Botanical Gardens, including a rain forest and a desert. It was the perfect place to be during a late afternoon rainstorm!

DAY 14

Day 14 - Our Central Europe adventure has come to a close! It was truly another amazing trip. With visits to Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Slovakia, it was really a great learning experience to see the differences and similarities in culture, food, and history! We miss our pretzels and schnitzel already! A pre-arranged shuttle brought us to the airport, where we took advantage of a newly introduced direct flight from Vienna to Boston! 9 hours later, we landed home in Boston. Where to next?