Central Europe Day 7: The Wachau Valley River Cruise

For our last day in Vienna, we boarded a train that would take us west to the small town of Melk, Austria. The journey took about 1 hour and 30 minutes. The plan was to buy tickets for a cruise down the Danube, heading east, to arrive at the town of Krems where we would board a train back to Vienna. We stepped out in faith that the trip would fall together well, armed with instructions from Go Real Europe, Rick Steves, and the rail station app. It was such a relief that everything fell together and that the weather would be partly sunny for visiting the beautiful Wachau Valley.

We arrived in Melk and went straight to the boat docs to buy our tickets. The cruise would stop at a town called Spitz, Dürnstein, and finally Krems. We could get off the boat at any of these stops, visit for a while, then return to be picked up by another boat to continue the tour. In the interest of time, we planned to spend time in  Melk and Dürnstein, then travel to Krems to catch the train back to Vienna.

Once our tickets were purchased, we set out to explore Melk. What a beautiful little town this was! The focal point was the abbey. We didn't take the time to go through the abbey, but rather spent time in the gardens that gave us a great view of the town below and of the abbey itself. We also wandered through the quaint, medieval streets until it was time to board our boat for the river cruise.

          

While waiting, we sat on a wall next to a group of Americans comprised of a group of female family members who were doing a tour similar to ours. We had a great conversation comparing our adventures and sharing places to visit. When it came time to board the boat we parted ways and found 3 seats that were open. Before too long a group of German women made their way to our area and practically forced us out of our seats. Meagan was fuming! In the end, it all worked out, but things were tense for a while. Its too bad that so many people were rude on our trip. We are so losing the values of respect and courtesy in our society these days.

As we traveled down the Danube, we enjoyed seeing small towns, old castles lying in ruin, and miles of vineyards and apricot groves. The Wachau region is known for their good wines and apricot products, such as preserves and liqueurs. We went into a little shop in Dürnstein that allowed us to taste the apricot liqueurs. Of course, I had to purchase a small bottle, which we would later drink in our hotel room in Salzburg. I was planning to get a bottle for Earl at a duty-free store before leaving for the states, but was unable to due to time constraints. Fortunately, Pam special-ordered one for me from one of her liquor stores in PA when we arrived in the USA.

     

Our boat briefly stopped at a town called Spitz, but we did not get off here. Someday it would be nice to return and follow the bicycle trails in this region going from town to town. Instead, we continued on to Dürnstein and disembarked there. This also was an amazing medieval town with quaint houses, a large gold-colored abbey and a beautiful blue church. We wandered around several vineyards along the old walls of the city. Once again, we did not have time to visit the abbey or the church, but enjoyed coffee on the banks of the Danube while waiting for our boat to Krems.

          

From Krems we returned to Vienna and thought it best to stop at another ATM before leaving Vienna. We returned to the opera district and were surprised to find that they were broadcasting the live performance of one of Wagner's operas on a large screen in the street. How great would it be to sit in a cafe and watch what was being performed in the opera house! Next time I come, I would like to take in some of the musical events that are offered throughout the city. The culture of Vienna is so rich in the arts. Maybe someday...