Europe 16: Cruising along the Wachau

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We had seen some of Europe’s best cities, chateaus, castles, museums, ruins, churches, parks and neighborhoods. It was time now to see the countryside. I figured, what better country to sample the countryside as beautiful Austria? When I think of Austria the first thing that comes to my mind is, “The Sound of Music” set in Salzburg and the picturesque countryside beyond.

A fantastic opportunity existed at the train station - a combination ticket (ship+train+culture) for a cruise on the river Danube along the Wachau Valley. Train trip to Melk, a visit to Melk, a boat cruise down the Danube from Melk to Krems, a visit to Krems and train ride back to Vienna. It sounded great! The weather was gorgeous, a perfect day for sailing and we went to the Vienna Westbahnhof to buy our tickets.

The train ride was an hour long, passing through beautiful Austrian countryside. We got down in Melk and the towers of the yellow baroque Melk Abbey welcomed us. Melk Abbey goes back about 1000 years, a beautiful Benedictine Abbey now fully restored. It is said to be the most beautiful Baroque Abbey in the world, part palace, part monastery, and part opera, set with a commanding view of the Danube. Its present form was constructed in the early 18th century, and many of the era's most famous painters, sculptors, and stucco craftsmen worked on the Abbey. Our ticket included a visit to the Abbey, so we walked inside and browsed around the rooms adorned with paintings of Austrian royalty. I especially loved the library inside, with its vast collection of books.

Getting out of the Abbey, we wandered around the picturesque town of Melk. The place was so medieval and charming and made us hungry. We ate an Austrian specialty for brunch - Kaiserschmarren (shredded sweet pancakes with raisins) and sipped Mélange, sitting outside on the cobble-stoned sidewalk. The cruise boats were located along the river, just across the Abbey. The day was nice and bright, so we sat in the open top deck. As the boat cruised along the river, the views of the small wine villages, vineyards and mountains of the Wachau valley were fantastic. We passed Emmersdorf, Spitz - a market town and approached Durnstein.

The village of Durnstein, is a fortified village at the foot of a ridge in the rocky Wachau region of the Danube river with castle ruins above it. When the Duke of Austria, Leopold V captured King Richard the Lionhearted of England during the Third Crusade, he imprisoned the monarch at Durnstein and held him for ranson in the very same Castle. During Richard's stay, until 1193, the King had an illustrious affair with the beautiful musician - Blondel. Eventually Richard was transferred to the Imperial Castle of Trifels in Germany and ransomed back to England. Interesting history!

The castle lies about a 45-minute walk up a twisting path from the village below. Dilapidated Roman walls form the skeleton of the fortress. Terraced vineyards line a ridge above the village, and produce the fine Heuriger wine for which the Wachau is famous. The town's main street, or "hauptstrasse," runs through the town end-to-end, bounded by a fortified gate. Inside, the Church of the Poor Clares tends to the villagers. The entire place was so antique and medieval, right out of a fairy tale book.

After a 1.5 hour of breathtaking, scenic cruise, our cruise boat dropped us at Krems, a 1000 year old town. Our combo-ticket offered us admission to the Kunsthalle Krems - a museum of changing exhibits only a few minutes from the boat dock. We decided to skip that and instead went on a fun walk through the old buildings and streets of Krems to the city center to have another Austrian dessert, which we never got tired of.

Finally we took the train from Krems back to Vienna. It was about a one hour ride back to Franz Josef Bahnhof. We boarded the tram to Westbahnof to catch our train to the final country of our vacation - Switzerland. As I sat in the train station, eating Vietnamese food bought outside, I thought about what a very beautiful day it had been and how fast our vacation had gone by!

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Comments

[Andreas]

Wachau is really a great place
Wachau is really a great place to be. On a sunny day in spring this THE location to be for leisure and sports activities like biking or rock climbing. Webtip: http://www.wachau-blog.at with lots of locals talking about the Wachau... Br, Andreas