Vienna to Bamberg

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Vienna to Bamberg - as Raewyn daw it......Leaving Vienna we continued up the Danube River that was flowing swiftly because of recent rain in the Swiss Alps, cruising overnight to Dürnstein where we explored a beautiful village alongside the river, best known for its apricots and associated products ie liqueur!
Some climbed the narrow streets up to castle ruins, but we chose not to - another 34 deg day was our excuse! In the afternoon we continued onto Melk where we visited the Abbey. The history of the abbey was displayed with ultra modern displays in direct contrast to the opulence of the massive building (no photos allowed!)
In the evening we teamed up with our dinner companions for a music trivia quiz - much hilarity ensued while trawling our ageing databases for the relevant answers!
Cruising onto Linz in Germany overnight where we stopped briefly for those who were doing full day tours to Salzburg and Czesky Krumlov - we chose to stay on board and soak up the novelty of transversing some of the many locks (going up towards the continental divide) and enjoying the on board facilities. Good choice just to chill until we reached Passau late afternoon where we joined a walking tour of the town. Loved this little city......
Cruised overnight to Regensburg, arriving at noon and joined another walking tour after a sumptuous lunch. Visited the newly opened museum dedicated to the history of Bavaria. (Our own history of New Zealand is so uncomplicated in comparison!)
Overnight cruising to Nuremberg on the Main-Danube Canal, crossing the Continental Divide (now the locks go down!) where we transferred from APT AmaReina to AmaVenita due to a broken lock and high water levels/low bridges. Same room on almost identical ships, with different crew and staff, all achieved with maximum efficiency and minimum disruption. An afternoon tour of Nuremberg (Nürnberg) gave us an insight into the city where the Nazi rallies were held.
Quote of the Day from the ship’s daily - “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page” - Saint Augustine
Cruising overnight to Bamberg where we docked at 9am, and spent the morning catching up with our young German ‘family’ from Leipzig - as well as walking through this World Heritage listed town.
We only had the morning here, but it was a happy reunion with Steffen, Anja, Pia and Henry.
Back on the ship, as we cruised on towards Würzburg during the afternoon and overnight we had an interesting lecture on the history of the Main-Danube lock system, our second Chefs table degustation dinner and great conversation with our shipmates.
Docking in Würzburg at 9am to our first overcast and showery day, we visited the Residenz Palace (more opulence and “no photos please”),
Walked back to the ship for a leisurely afternoon (read another sumptuous lunch followed by a nap) before departing for an overnight cruise to Miltenberg under clearing skies and a beautiful full moon.

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Photos

The Old way to take a selfie
A huge mirror in the Dürnstein square.

Bavarian brunch
Cheese n liver, white sausage, pork sausage!

Reich Partly Rally Ground
Nuremberg, this was used once a year for the Nazi Party Rally.

Rendezvous in Bamberg
We were able to meet up with Anja, Steffen and the kids as they drove an hour and half to spend the morning together.