Your adventures cruising the Blue Danube begin at 2:00 PM in Budapest, Hungary.  A transfer is included from Budapest's Ferihegy Airport right to the gangway, where you'll drop off your luggage aboard ms Swiss Sapphire. Your 7-night cruise begins with a sightseeing tour of the city. Budapest is divided by the Danube River into two sections, Buda and Pest; you'll learn about the turbulent history and see iconic sites such as Heroes' Square and Fisherman's Bastion. Board ms Swiss Sapphire, settle in, and meet fellow families at the Captain's welcome reception and dinner aboard the riverboat tonight.

If you think that you'll spend the first day of your journey tromping through musty museums and dusty cathedrals, think again! After a morning spent cruising the Danube along Hungary's border with Slovakia to Bratislava, get set for one of the most exciting days you've ever spent. Become a detective on Tauck bridges' scavenger hunt; we don't want to give too much away, but look up... and down... and sideways when following the clues. You'll also shoot the "rapids" on a controlled whitewater rafting course* in one of the best artificial water channels in the world, used as a training ground for Olympians. Back on board ms Swiss Sapphire, a Slovakian cultural presentation and a dinner featuring Slovakian specialties complete the day. On our family river cruising Europe tours, this is a day that your family will never forget!

While most of the world knows this city as Vienna, the Austrians (and other German-speaking people) call it Wien. Whatever you call it, it's famous for a whole lot of cool things, as you'll discover on a sightseeing tour of this grand Imperial city today. There are the Habsburgs and the history and the architecture… and of course, there are the famous classical composers who lived and worked here, whose music is beloved around the world. But there also may be a few surprises in store as you make your way around the city! Do a little city sightseeing to view magnificent boulevards like the celebrated Ringstrasse, beautiful gardens and parks, and Vienna's famed architecture. discover what it was like to be really rich and really royal during a guided visit to the huge - it has 1,441 rooms! - Schönbrunn Palace, the permanent summer residence of the Austrian Imperial Family, the Habsburgs, from the era of the legendary Empress Maria Theresa until 1918. As you look around, you may find yourself wondering what it would have been like to live in a palace... Once upon a time, only the Imperial family was allowed to walk through the garden Maze. Today - it's your turn; look for its hidden secrets... and visit, which is the world's oldest! Tonight brings another highlight on this most unique of family Europe tours - you'll have another royal experience when you visit a traditional palace for an Imperial Evening. Welcome drinks are followed by a special dinner and some extraordinary Viennese entertainment for a grand night of family fun.

Additional Vienna sightseeing this morning includes family fun at the world-famous Vienna Prater amusement park, featuring over 250 rides and attractions to enjoy. You'll find the Riesenrad, a giant ferris wheel (which film buffs will recognize from the film The Third Man); "extreme speed" rides, merry-go-rounds and go-carts tracks; haunted houses and a fun house; and so much more. Take a carriage ride through Old Town, then spend a free afternoon in Vienna - there are over 100 museums among Vienna's historical and cultural attractions! Back onboard the riverboat, activities include a demonstration in making real Viennese strüdel as your riverboat sails on to Dürnstein.

When you wake up this morning, your riverboat will be docked in the pretty medieval town of Dürnstein, known for its 13th-century abbey and 16th-century houses along twisting, narrow, cobblestone streets. Your family will take off on a leisurely bicycle tour* along the Danube River and through the countryside to the historic town of Krems. Take a look around town and, while you're there, you may see something that seems to belong in Texas rather than Austria! Bike on back to Dürnstein, where you might want to hike up the big hill to the ruins of Kuenringerburg Castle, for terrific vistas of the town, river and surrounding vineyards. Within the walls of this very castle, England's King Richard the Lionhearted was held as a prisoner after the Third Crusade - although he probably couldn't enjoy the view like you can on our Europe tours! The Wachau Valley is renowned for its vineyards, and a wine tasting for the adults is offered to sample the grapes. Spend the afternoon aboard ms Swiss Sapphire; every evening there are briefings before dinner, and tonight there is Austrian entertainment.

Once upon a time, there was a Prince Archbishop of Salzburg who really liked playing practical jokes, had a great sense of humor... and was possibly a little bit crazy. His many guests were astounded both by the Baroque beauty they found at his home, Schloss Hellbrunn (or Hellbrunn Castle), and the tricks he played on them in his "pleasure grounds" filled with gardens, fountains and "18th-century animatronics." Whether or not they found his pranks as funny as he did is another matter. But today, you'll find out for yourselves what surprises Schloss Hellbrunn has in store... and you may be as amazed by what you experience as his guests were. You'll even find some locations made famous by the movie The Sound of Music, such as the pavilion made famous as the setting for the song Sixteen Going on Seventeen. Later, you'll discover there's much to see and do in lovely, historic Salzburg, as you explore the hometown of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as you please during leisure time. And maybe you'll find all 14 of the ancient drinking fountains scattered around the Old City during your explorations... or have fun trying!

Have you ever had a chance to take a look at a really humongous pipe organ? If you have, you've no doubt wondered how any one person can play an instrument with as many as five keyboards and a whole bunch of pedals on the floor. Today, you'll see - and hear - one of the biggest pipe organs in Europe at historic St. Stephen's Cathedral in Passau; it has 17,774 pipes and 233 registers... and it's totally awesome! Later, learn how marzipan, a candy made from sugar and ground almonds in all sorts of very realistic shapes, is made - and try your hand at making your own tasty tidbit in the shape of a face, very popular in Passau. Tonight, be sure to get the addresses of all your new friends who shared the coolest of Europe tours with you at our festive farewell dinner aboard the riverboat.

Tauck's family-friendly river cruising Europe tours end in Regensburg, Germany. Fly home anytime after 2:00 PM. A transfer from Regensburg to Munich Airport is included. Be sure to allow 2 1/2 hours for check-in formalities at the airport.