Blogs from Melk, Lower Austria, Austria, Europe

We entered Austria during the night, after our German feast on board. The next morning was again gloomy and overcast and the inevitable rain. Our included tour was in the town of Melk. We were driven to the highest point, overlooking the river and the town, to Melk Abbey, a UNESCO Heritage site. After alighting from the bus we walked down 60 steps and through some beautiful gardens to the Abbey courtyard. This had been a Benedictine abbey for centuries. It now houses a museum and a school still run by religious staff. We were not permitted to take photos inside but could of the splendid buildings, beautifully restored. Where we were taken was mainly set up as a museum, starting with a room concerning St Benedict and the rules of his order. Our guide described ... read more

Sunday, we arrived in Nuremberg. We had not booked any tours but there was to be a shuttle bus going into the city in the afternoon. we caught that into the heart of the city. We had been here in 2008 and had really enjoyed our time here. Unfortunately, it was cool and rainy but we still wanted to revisit. We were bussed into the city and walked to the main square where they have markets. However, as it was a Sunday ,these were closed. We stopped at the beautiful old fountain which was to be our meeting point for our return. We walked through the square and stopped on the bridge admiring the beautiful architecture. This town was bombed substantially during WW2 but much of the older buildings have been restored. We stopped in front ... read more

Sailed overnight to Durnstein. Arrived for breakfast at 8am. Then walked the town. So beatiful and quaint. Climbed half way up to old castle ruins, some more amazing views overlooking the town & river. Departed noon for cruise through the Wachau Valley to Melk. Picture perfect villages, churches and riverviews. Arrived Melk 3pm, to tour the Melk Abbey. Interesting tour of Melk Abbey, Benedictine monks still at Abbey also school still running. Enormous grounds, halls and squares. Completely renovated in 1700's baroque style. Back to ship for dinner.... read more

I started off the morning at Zum Kirchenwirt in the usual manner: soft boiled egg, hard roll, fresh butter, a couple of slices of cheese and sandwich meats washed down with orange juice. Hot chocolate was out of the question on these increasingly warmer days. Gail worked the opposite side of the buffet table loading up with fruit and yoghurt. Today's drive should take two hours to get from Kellburg to our accommodations at a working farm outside of Melk, Austria. But like Ike and Tina Turner, we never do anything nice and easy. The quickest route is usually the boring route so I aimed the X1 in the general direction of Melk instead of listening to the onboard GPS. I can't say we discovered anything all that exciting but along the way we found plenty ... read more

A visit today to Melk Abbey (a Benedictine Abbey) which sits atop a cliff, where below two Rivers flow into the Danube. The abbey was founded in 1089 and given to the Benedictine monks from Lambach Abbey. A monastic school, the Stiftsgymnasium Melk, was founded in the 12th century, and the monastic library soon became renowned for its extensive manuscript collection. Today's Baroque abbey was built between 1702 and 1736 - the abbey church with frescos and the library with countless medieval manuscripts, including a famed collection of musical manuscripts and frescos. The school was returned to the abbey after the Second World War and now caters for nearly 900 pupils of both sexes. After visiting the Abbey we wandered through the cobble stones streets of Melk on the way back to the ship. A lovely ... read more