The Wachau Valley
The Wachau valley, to the west of Vienna, is one of the highlights of any Danube voyage. The river tapers as it passes through narrow defiles of the Wachau en route to the region of the Nibelungengau, homeland of the race of legendary dwarfs, the Nibelungs. An afternoon of trawling enabled us to appreciate this stunning scenery, with autumnal tints at their most bewitching. Staff deck commentary covered all bases from mallards to monasticism.
In the early morning we had berthed at the picturesque village of Dürnstein, overlooked by a dramatic hilltop castle, the setting for a romantic story about Richard the Lionheart who was held to ransom there on his way back from the Third Crusade, and a destination for our morning hikers. It soon became apparent that the grape harvest was in full swing as carts full of the local grapes - the white grüner veltiner or the red blauburger - hurried past us as we walked through the delightful ensemble of mainly sixteenth-century buildings. We saw a former convent, now a hotel, which had been sacked by the Swedes at the time of the Thirty Years War, the Swedes leading the protestant cause in the conflicts that followed the Reformation. The Stiftskirche was the centerpiece of our visit, a glorious example of Austrian baroque architecture, its vivid color scheme of Schönbrunn yellows and Marian blues proclaiming the triumph of the counter-reformation in the Habsburg territories. We celebrated a successful morning with a visit to a local heuriger where we sampled the local wines.
In the late afternoon we made a pilgrimage to the famous Benedictine abbey of Melk, a masterpiece of Baroque architecture that dominates the Danube from a vantage-point of some 200 feet. Our tour included the main rooms and corridors resplendent with artwork, the magnificent library and the abbey church where we were treated to a private organ recital, the instrument played for us by the recently retired abbot. Many chose to walk back to the ship through the narrow cobbled streets of Melk, including some who had earlier cycled the 20 miles between Dürnstein and Melk. This latter group, by common consent, had earned their place at the evening Danube Art Dinner, a fine dining experience created for us by the River Cloud hotel and galley team featuring an array of local specialties.
The Wachau valley, to the west of Vienna, is one of the highlights of any Danube voyage. The river tapers as it passes through narrow defiles of the Wachau en route to the region of the Nibelungengau, homeland of the race of legendary dwarfs, the Nibelungs. An afternoon of trawling enabled us to appreciate this stunning scenery, with autumnal tints at their most bewitching. Staff deck commentary covered all bases from mallards to monasticism.
In the early morning we had berthed at the picturesque village of Dürnstein, overlooked by a dramatic hilltop castle, the setting for a romantic story about Richard the Lionheart who was held to ransom there on his way back from the Third Crusade, and a destination for our morning hikers. It soon became apparent that the grape harvest was in full swing as carts full of the local grapes - the white grüner veltiner or the red blauburger - hurried past us as we walked through the delightful ensemble of mainly sixteenth-century buildings. We saw a former convent, now a hotel, which had been sacked by the Swedes at the time of the Thirty Years War, the Swedes leading the protestant cause in the conflicts that followed the Reformation. The Stiftskirche was the centerpiece of our visit, a glorious example of Austrian baroque architecture, its vivid color scheme of Schönbrunn yellows and Marian blues proclaiming the triumph of the counter-reformation in the Habsburg territories. We celebrated a successful morning with a visit to a local heuriger where we sampled the local wines.
In the late afternoon we made a pilgrimage to the famous Benedictine abbey of Melk, a masterpiece of Baroque architecture that dominates the Danube from a vantage-point of some 200 feet. Our tour included the main rooms and corridors resplendent with artwork, the magnificent library and the abbey church where we were treated to a private organ recital, the instrument played for us by the recently retired abbot. Many chose to walk back to the ship through the narrow cobbled streets of Melk, including some who had earlier cycled the 20 miles between Dürnstein and Melk. This latter group, by common consent, had earned their place at the evening Danube Art Dinner, a fine dining experience created for us by the River Cloud hotel and galley team featuring an array of local specialties.
