Austria: Abbey, Wines and Vienna

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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 what daily life here was like. The next few rooms had precious articles such as chalices and monstrances. We were also told about the modern workings of the school. The best part was a visit to the old library, however, Fletcher and I agreed it wasn't a patch on the ones we had seen in Trinity College or in Coimbra.

In the end we retreated to the cafe for a coffee and were glad to return to the bus and boat. The afternoon was partly spent cruising along the river. Because of the rain we did not venture to the upper deck to view the towns along the edge. At 4pm, we stopped and then we went on the best excursion so far, to a local winery. Our guide was Trinka, very funny, but lively and knowledgeable too. We drove to the winery Morwald run by Erhard. This was a family operation making both red and white wine.it has been in the family since 1860 and will continue with Erhard's son, Martin, waiting to take over.
Trinka took us on a tour, showing us the cellars, the bottling room and some of the vats and barrels. Then we went to a pleasant tasting room where we were talked through the six wines they make. Erhard lost his inhibitions about his English and proved to be a wonderful host. We started with a Weissburgunder, then came two very nice Gruner Veltliner. This was followed by a lovely Riesling. The two reds were a Pinot Noir and an MIII, (whatever that is). All were excellent. A great afternoon with pleasant company.

The next morning we reached Vienna, the capital city of 🇦🇹. We joined a group on a Panoramic Vienna tour. It started by a bus ride through the main area, including a drive along the Ringstrasse, the beautiful boulevard containing many of Vienna's finest buildings, including the Neoclassical parliament, looking like an Athenian temple, with a statue of Athena in front. We then walked around the palace area, past the Lipizzaner school for horses and finally to St Stephens. The sun had emerged and it was a warm day. Here we were given free time to explore. We had been here before and my back was not good from all the walking so we sought a nearby cafe and enjoyed a coffee and then a glass of wine while watching the passing parade. We were glad to return to the bus and our cabin. We had been on the go for over a week so that afternoon I had a well earned nap!!

On the Friday, Martin, our program director, offered to show us how to negotiate the Underground system . A large group of us walked with him to the nearest station where we used the machine to buy tickets. The we all followed him onto the train and disembarked at St Stephens. Once there everyone went their separate ways. We checked with him which station was nearest to the Naschmarket as we had visited there previously and really enjoyed it.

Armed with this knowledge we went for a wander into some of the smaller streets ending in Schwedenplatz where we could get the train. On the way we found an elaborately decorated church and went in for a look. This proved to be Greek Orthodox painted with colourful icons. Interesting place. Pacing ourselves, we stopped at a cafe for a glass of wine before taking the train to our destination.
We were not disappointed with our decision. The Naschmarket has numerous stalls of all varieties. Fruit of all kinds, a wonderful selection of cheeses, cakes, dips, meat, fish, it is all there. There are also stalls selling clothing, shoes, hats and many restaurants and cafes.

We chose one which looked classy and it proved to be so. The white tablecloths and fine wine glasses also hinted at the higher prices but we committed ourselves and were glad we did. The food was delicious and very generous in serves. Fletcher had a spaghetti marinara and I chose a shrimp risotto. Of course a white wine accompanied the meal. We can highly recommend the Nautilus Fisch Restaurant.

After lunch we made our way back on the very efficient train network to the ship by 3pm for a 4-30 departure. Another sunny and memorable day.

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