Wachau Valley to Melk and beyond (infinity was busy)

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Ship sailed overnight again to get us to the start of UNESCO World Heritage Site the Wachau Valley by breakfast time.



We grabbed some breakfast and brought it up to the top deck, and watched this wondrous succession of steep hillside vineyards punctuated with charming little riverside villages, nearly all of which had a photogenic church on display. We were afraid to look away in case we missed something, and I actually found myself thinking at one stage, enough already - I have a breakfast roll to butter!



We were shadowed throughout by our sister ship Freya, and coming into our destination, Melk, we were all amazed to experience a display of parallel parking par excellence by these huge ships, us first, then Freya double parking alongside!



After lunch we were taken to the famous Melk Abbey, and we hate to be party poopers but we really should have listened to our friend Linda, who advised us to give it a miss. In the exhibition, a lot of money had clearly been spent on strange display cabinets, and very odd display concepts, including a room where every surface was mirrored, producing a harsh badly lit jumble of artefacts - everything was tawdry excess (but apart from that it was fine!). The excessively baroque church was no better, but we sat there for a while anyway. Carole was startled at one point to see me get down on my knees, but I was just recovering a lens cap I had dropped. Highlight of the trip, because of the humid heat, was a most refreshing fruit, ice cream and cream dessert.



During the daily teatime briefing about the following day's options we were alarmed to learn that instead of docking tomorrow at Passau, the ship had to go to the Linz shipyard for its regular inspection, and we had to leave the ship from 8.15. a.m. to 5.30. p.m. We would now have to take a 90 minute bus ride to Passau to start the various excursions, then a 90 minute bus ride back to the ship at the end of the day. This would have been extremely challenging for me with my back trouble, having no cabin to retreat to if I had a problem. However, Viking really stepped up to the plate, and are making a hotel room available to us in Linz and paying for our lunch and the taxis to and from it. Now we can explore a bit of Linz at our own pace, and rest whenever we need to. That is such a relief!



After dinner, a game of Shuffleboard on the top deck with our American dining companions, whilst the ship sails serenely on through the night.





Carole is sleeping quietly beside me now but if she were awake she would surely say she was fine. :-)

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