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Published: January 2nd 2016
We woke today to a very cold and foggy morning. It reminded me of a morning in Canberra - some fog and you need to rug up on your way to work or school. In Austria, however, that weather was all day. We were even able to stare directly into the sun without it hurting our eyes.
After breakfast we went into the hotel lobby to wait our ride to the bus, where our tour would begin. Months ago we booked an all day tour to the Danube Valley (located in the north-east of Lower Austria). Tours run throughout the year, but they change it up a bit in winter, compared to the summer months.
The starting point was actually only about a ten minute walk from our hotel, but considering we had already organised to be picked up, and the fact that it was about -2 Celsius, why not take advantage of a complimentary car ride? The email they had sent told me they would be at our hotel at 9:30. That came and went. The tour was to commence at 9:45, so obviously I was a little worried they were not going to come. By the time
9:40 came, I decided to give them a call, just to find out what was happening. I had barely told the guy the name of our hotel before he was assuring me they were on their way.
Thankfully, 5 minutes later the pickup arrived.
There were two buses going on the tour, divided into different languages, which I thought was cool and very useful. On our bus there was English and Italian, and on the other was German, Spanish and a third language that we didn't know. It's interesting the way our tour guide was able to speak both languages fluently. He would speak in English, then repeat what he had just said in Italian.
Sitting opposite and a row behind us on the bus was an elderly couple, and upon seeing them I had to do a double take. They seemed oddly familiar, and after a moment it hit me that this was the same couple who had sat opposite us at the gate as we waited for our flight to Vienna. It is very much a coincidence, but probably not as much as it would have been in summer. In winter they only do tours
Melk Abbey model
They have a mirror on the top so you can see inside the courtyardson Saturdays and Wednesdays, whereas summer, it is every day. Still, I remember them, because they were also Australian.
We ended up departing Vienna at 10, but we wouldn't reach our first destination until 11. The Danube River is in Vienna, but he valley and the towns connected to it goes into Lower Austria (Austria is divided into 9 areas, Vienna being one, and Lower Austria being another). There I beautiful countryside and forests along the way, and our tour guide was lovely and very informative about telling us everything he could as we went.
The weather wasn't kind to him, though, for he tried to point some castle and fortress ruins out to us, but the fog was just too thick to see them clearly in some places. Unfortunate, but we can't control the weather.
Our first stop was a medieval town called Krems. It is rather small, but some of the buildings date back to the 1200s. It is located on the Danube, and after getting off the bus, the first thing you see is this gorgeous archway. That was where everybody was headed, and once through it you are greeted by a cobble-stoned street
Selfie
When they have mirrors in the room... with old buildings and plenty of shops to look into. It was fairly busy through there - our tour group adding to it. The shops, of course, were modern, and I ended up buying a t-shirt (yes, they sell t-shirts at this time of year) from a shop called Tom Tailor. Albert bought a pair of pants, and they really weren't that expensive.
We walked all the way up the street, amazed by its beauty. Buildings are colourful here. Every side street or alley you walked down consisted of yellows, blues, greens and other colours of buildings. It really had that old town feeling.
On the way back to the bus (we only had about 50 minutes to spend in Krems, but that was long enough) we spotted a drink stall. Lower Austria is a wine area with lots of vineyards, and here they were selling white and red wine, and something called Punsch, which we can only assume to mean punch. I noticed these stalls in Vienna, too, so it seems that seeking alcohol on the street is a common thing here. The other strange thing was that it was warm.
As I was thirsty and
Melk Abbey view from the balcony
They had a little construction work, but that didn't take away from the beauty cold, I thought I would give it a go. I put a cup of hot punsch for 2,50 euro. It bits of orange in it and was mixed with red wine. My first sip wasn't very pleasant, I will admit. Although the more I drank, the more it grew on me, the bus was going to be leaving soon and there was no way I would finish it on time. So I chucked it in the bin. Oh well, at least I can say I tried warm alcohol.
We weren't on the bus for very long before we stopped at another town called Durnstein. We didn't stop in the town, exactly, but somewhere right on the water's edge just to take a few pictures. In the distance there was an old castle, but again, fog made it hard to see.
It was nice to be so close to the water, though. Even if it was cold.
Our next stop was our lunch stop. It was in a small town called Emmersdorf, which consisted of maybe a few houses and a few hotels. The restaurant we ate at, though was huge. Our whole tour group a room to
ourselves. This was probably one of the highlights of today. Not only was the food yummy, but it was a chance to sit down and talk to other people from all around the world.
Each table seated six and after the larger groups were sorted, two people and ones were intermixed where we could find a seat. We ended up at a table with a retired couple from South Africa, and another retired couple from Belgium, who knew very little English. The South African couple could understand some Dutch, which the Belgium couple could speak, so when communication got a little challenging, they were able to translate.
Nonetheless, it was a very enjoyable experience talking to these people and getting to know them. To top it off, we had an enjoyable lunch of three courses. A delicious pumpkin soup for our entrée, turkey meat and vegetables for the main, and an apricot strudel for dessert. All of it was delicious!
After lunch we had one final stop, which was the main one. Melk!
Our main focus was visiting the Melk Abbey, which has played a large part in Austrian history, and is still occupied today by
monks, as well as acting as a high school for 900 students.
As it was getting later into the afternoon now, it was getting very cold. We were split into separate groups and taken on a tour through part of the abbey. The first part is a museum, dedicated to St Benedict. Other rooms move into Maria Theresia - an Austrian imperial who visited the abbey often. As you move through you see things such as the oldest crucifix in Austria, the dining all, the balcony, a library of 12 rooms with books that are still used today. To end it, you enter the church, which is absolutely stunning. They even have real skeletons belonging to unknown saints visible.
What is on the inside though, simply adds to the amazing visual you get the moment you enter. Melk Abbey is beautiful on the inside and out, and this is a place I very much recommend for anybody visiting Austria to go to. You'll be blown away by its beauty, which surrounds the village below.
After boarding the bus again, it was a bit over an hour to get back to Vienna. What we hadn't anticipated was that
rather than returning us to our starting point, they dropped us off in the city centre. We were caught off guard, but this was our chance to test out the Vienna underground. Truthfully, it was easy. Our stop was only two stops away and there was only about a minute between each stop.
We were literally there in about three minutes of boarding our train.
To conclude, the Danube Valley is an absolutely beautiful place with so much history. I am glad we did this tour. I would do it again if given the chance, particularly visiting the abbey again.
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