Danube River Cruise Adventures (but mostly Glen Phillips)
- Sheri Johnson, RD
- Dec 13, 2025
- 10 min read
The Cruise
Whoever thought to put Glen Phillips (lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket) and a European river cruise together must be raiding my dreams at night to combine two of my most favorite things. Toad the Wet Sprocket is arguably my favorite band (depending on what U2 is up to at the time), and Glen has an excellent solo career as well. Brad and I have enjoyed many cruises over the years, including a Viking river cruise post-COVID that we both loved. Put the two together? Yes, please!
Clearly, the cruise was meant to be for us. We were already going to be in Europe, and the departure port of Budapest allowed us a chance to meet and spend time with Peter. When we signed up for the cruise, we still had over a year to work until our retirement and nomading adventures could begin. I put a map of the cruise itinerary on my monitor at work to remind me of what we had to look forward to.
The Cruise Begins
Unfortunately, our cruise got off to a bit of a disappointing start, but it was really the only bump in the road on the whole trip. It was supposed to sail down the Danube giving us a great view of the beautiful Budapest waterfront along the way, but the water levels on the Danube didn't allow the boat to make it to Budapest. We were very glad we had opted to take a Budapest night cruise with Peter the night before.
Instead, we took a bus to our boat waiting for us in Komárno, Slovakia. The traffic on the two hour bus trip reminded us of home, and we were glad to get our first look at the boat we would call home for a week, the Avalon Imagery II. We soaked up some sun on the top deck, got lunch, and checked out our room in steerage. They are humorously called "Aquarium Class" or "Swan View" rooms, as most of the room is below the water line, and you can watch the birds swim by at eye level. It worked just fine for us, as we spent most of our time in the lounge or off the boat.
Vienna, Austria Day 1
Our first full cruise day brought us to Vienna, Austria. We will be spending January 2026 in Vienna (pretentious, I know), so we felt no pressure to do all the things at this stop. We took advantage of the bikes that Avalon carries onboard its ships and spent a lovely afternoon riding along the Danube and through the many colored trees of autumn. The leaves were at their peak the whole ride, and indeed through the whole cruise.
Glen Concert #1
We didn't have to wait long for the main attraction, as we were treated to our first concert of the trip that evening on the boat. With only 120 people on board, it wasn't hard to get a great seat. Glen played a great set of about half Toad songs, several of his own solo songs, and a few covers. He even played Brad's favorite, Transient Whales.
Glen brought along his friend and fellow musician, Jonathan Kingham, to play backup on piano and guitar. Brad and I had seen Jonathan do an impromptu, solo opening set for Toad a few years ago, and we were blown away by how good he was. It was such a bonus to have him on board to play with Glen and an even bigger bonus when he played a concert of his own later in the trip.
Brad recorded a few snippets of the songs he recognized (he knows four Toad songs!) which I've posted here on the blog. If you are interested in hearing more, a kind fellow passenger taped all of the concerts on the boat and made them available to listen to. Click here for this one: Concert #1
Vienna, Austria Day 2
Our boat remained in Vienna overnight giving us another full day in this historic city. We wanted to take advantage of the great tours and tour guides available to us through the ship, so we decided to sign up for something we knew nothing about: Johann Strauss and the Viennese Waltz. He wrote The Blue Danube Waltz, so it seemed appropriate to learn about him while we sailed on the Danube.
Our tour took us to the Strauss monument in the Stadtpark city park and then to the only recently opened Strauss Museum. There we learned that Johann was actually Johann Strauss II, and his father was a composer as well. Johann (the son) had two brothers who were also composers. Johann (the father) was fiercely opposed to any of his sons becoming composers and musicians, so of course, they all did. Johann II was the only one who became wildly successful, so he gets the majority of the museum. All three brothers did each get a cake named after them in the museum's cafe, which we got to try, so they've got that going for them.
Bonus Concert #1.5: Jonathan Kingham
Back on board our ship that evening, we were treated to the Jonathan Kingham concert. He really is an excellent musician and a very funny entertainer. Such a treat.
Here's the link to listen to the whole show: Concert #1.5
Durnstein and Melk, Austria
The next day was spent with some scenic sailing on the Danube along with short stops at two small river towns. Durnstein is a tiny town of less than 900 people in the Wachau Valley which is a famous wine growing area, including the Gruner Veltliner variety which I particularly enjoy. Durnstein is also famous for holding Richard the Lionheart of England as prisoner in the 12th century. Apparently, it is also the home of the "original" rabbit shit which is a mixture of dried apricot pieces and chocolate covered grapes that looks something like a rabbit's poo. A shopkeeper told us the story of why it was a thing in this town, but neither Brad nor I remember it. I think it just makes them money.
We spent the afternoon sailing through the scenic Wachau Valley and enjoying the fall colors on the rolling hills. Small towns dotted the waterfront along the river in between the fields and vineyards. The town in the picture above had a particularly scenic church, and I even caught a tour group from our boat bicycling riverside.
Our afternoon stop brought us to Melk Abbey, a Benedictine monastery and school on the hilltop overlooking the town of Melk. Brad and I had toured the abbey before, and they don't allow pictures inside, so I don't have a lot to show for the stop. My favorite part of the abbey is the library full of ancient books that reaches all the way to the high ceilings and drops underground for many floors. They should bottle that smell of old books as a perfume or air freshener. I'd buy it.
Passau, Germany to Český Krumlov, Czechia
For our next day's excursion, we picked a day long tour to Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic. The tour was described as a trip to one of the most beautiful and charming towns in Europe. This sounded a lot like most of the descriptions of the towns we were sailing through, but we had never been to the Czech Republic before, so that sold us. Our new friend Virginia joined us as well.
As you can see from the multitude of pictures above, the town is indeed very photogenic. Every time we turned another corner, there was another charming site to capture from the giant, looming castle, the waterways, the ancient shops, to the town square. It's absolutely postcard perfect Bavarian town, and we enjoyed the breathtaking sites as well as a delicious lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant. Hey, there are only so many sausages one can eat.
As we walked up the hill to the castle, we saw a crowd gathering on the castle's bridge to look over the side. Our tour guide said something that I thought sounded like "look for the bears" as she pointed to the castle's moat beneath the bridge. Clearly, she must have said something else, right? As we looked over the edge into the moat, we saw bears. BEARS. Large, live bears. In the castle moat. Apparently, they have lived and bred in the castle's moat for over 400 years. You see something new every day.
Glen Concert #2
Our long bus ride back from the Czech Republic got us to Passau where our boat was docked just in time for dinner followed by Glen's second concert. Again, it was a good mix of TTWS, Glen solo, and cover songs.
Here's the link to listen to the whole show: Concert #2
Regensburg, Germany
Regensburg is another of those beautiful, charming towns that lines the Danube in Germany. We did a cold and wet walking tour of the town in the rain and were treated to a plate of local sausages served on sauerkraut with a local beer. I'm not much of a sausage or beer person, but they were both surprisingly delicious. I'll eat sauerkraut anytime, anywhere, and it was unsurprisingly delicious with the smoky sausages and cold, crisp beer. Brad also thought the sausages were amazing, but passed on the sauerkraut and beer. His loss. It was a most excellent German experience.
Question & Answer Session with Glen and Jonathan
Back on the boat, we got an afternoon Question & Answer session with our two musicians where the fans could finally ask the burning questions they had always wondered about. We learned why you shouldn't sit on glass tables, how Glen became a singer, and what's up with all the squirrels.
You can listen to the whole Q&A session here (1 hour): Q&A with Glen and Jonathan
Nuremberg, Germany
We had been to Nuremberg before (pretentious, again) where we took a WWII tour to the Zepplin field (Nazi party rally grounds), the war crimes trial courtroom, and the war museum. It was sad, moving, and very impactful. Most of the city was destroyed in WWII and has been rebuilt since including reconstruction of many of its medieval buildings, keeping its charm alive.
This time we opted for a general tour of the town to see how the residents live in it today. We visited the castle with its sweeping view of the medieval old town and the market square including a farmer's market and a bookstore (my favorites). We enjoyed a taste of some of the local, famous gingerbread and found it to be quite good though very different from what we know as gingerbread in the US. It is made with ground almonds and no flour giving it a nutty taste and coarse texture..
Glen Concert #3
That night was the final concert on the boat. Our kind friend, Michael, volunteered to stay in the lounge and save us all front row seats while Brad, Virginia, and I went downstairs to the restaurant for dinner. Fortunately, Michael didn't starve as there was a small buffet dinner served in the lounge as well. Over the 3 concerts, Glen played a total of 62 songs and never once repeated one. Impressive! This night's cover songs included those from such diverse artists as Peter Gabriel, Huey Lewis, and The Muppets. I was sad that our special, private concerts were coming to an end, but I couldn't have asked for a better seat or a more spectacular location.
Here's the link to listen to the whole show: Concert #3
The People: More Socializing for Brad
We had some concerns before getting on board about the level of fandom we were going to find on a designated "Fan Cruise." Being trapped in small spaces with a Beatles level of fan hysteria would have likely driven Brad to take a long swim in the Danube. Fortunately, the boat was full of some of the loveliest and most like-minded people we could have asked for. I guess I should have expected no less from Glen/TTWS fans. We are clearly of the highest caliber! It was also a noticeably younger crowd than on our previous Viking river cruise, which makes sense given that TTWS was most popular in the 90's.
We were also pleasantly surprised to discover that we are now apparently Interesting People™. Everyone was genuinely interested in our nomading adventures and had many questions and comments for us. Typically, the "where are you from" and "what do you do" questions haven't lead to very interesting or lengthy discussions when meeting new people. (Who really wants to talk about insurance? Not Brad. Not anyone.) As the week went on, when meeting people still new to us, we would get comments like, "Oh, you're the nomads. We've heard about you!" It's almost like being famous. Almost.
The Food
and then there was this questionable sausage:
It wouldn't be a cruise recap without talking about the food. We found ourselves enjoying meals with some of the same people after a few days, mostly with two friends and fellow work buddies, Virginia and Michael. We had the most excellent service from our waiter Paul who was always funny and on top of things. His recommendations of what to order were always correct. Breakfast and lunch were served buffet style, and dinner was a four course feast featuring foods native to the places we were sailing through. We didn't have a bad meal, though we both agreed that Viking's food was a step above Avalon's. I'll let the sausage speak for itself.
Glen Cruise, Take Two
If this cruise recap has you feeling sad you missed out, don't fret (pun intended)! You have another chance to jump on board. Glen Cruise 2, The Revenge of the Curled Sausage was announced while we were still onboard. This time, it will be an ocean cruise, round trip from Seattle to Alaska on Celebrity Cruises in June of 2027.
While we haven't signed up for it yet, we likely will. You should come with us! You can sign up for the full Glen experience, including concerts and other events here. Or, if you are not a Glen/Toad fan (wait, why are we friends, again?) you can just sign up for the regular cruise through Celebrity's website. You won't get to be a part of the concerts or other Glen-centric events, but you can still go on a nice cruise with us.
The Moment
This moment, right here, in this picture. I remember taking this picture during the first concert so I could recall everything I was thinking and feeling at the time. In this moment, I am floating down the Danube River somewhere in Austria. Everything I own, I have with me on this boat, and it is all I need. I am on an always changing adventure that takes me wherever I want to go and do whatever I want to do. I have my favorite person by my side. I am surrounded by good people who care about other people. And I am watching my favorite music artist give a private concert to this very small, select group of people. He's playing Windmills. On a boat. In Europe.
All of these things come crashing together at once in this moment. I did nothing to deserve this amazing life. I know how incredibly lucky we are to have the health and the means to be able to do what we do. I will continue to grab these moments as they come, and I promise I will not take these things for granted.
Crazy Life
As one amazing moment comes to an end, another exciting adventure is just around the corner....next stop, London!
Sheri & Brad
What a dream come true. Sweet gig for Glen too!