Austrian Magnificence

 Imagine waking up to see this site: 

I had been SO excited to capture this photo from the cabin, only to learn that we would be stopping there, by bus, first thing after breakfast.   The plan was that we would disembark for the bus, and the ship would travel north without us, meeting us at our next destination.  How clever is that? 

I was able to capture a couple of photos from the bus along the way.

It only took about 10 minutes for us to make the drive to Durnstein, where this beautiful church stands.  And, what is very interesting is that there didn't seem to be a way to capture a photo of the church from the village as it is nestled at the foot of a sloped hill. 

This is Durnstein, a small village along the Danube, that is known for wine making, as well as the production of Apricots.

Our tour guide was extremely entertaining and had to keep to a strict schedule as we had an appointment to tour Melk Abbey and it apparently is crucial to stay on schedule due to the policy of the Abbey.  So we really had only a very short time to absorb the beauty of our surrounds. 

We climbed a pretty steep stone walkway to make our way up to the main street.  Apparently 279 people live in this charming village. Our guide told us that in the summer months, there could be 15,000 visitors in one day as it is obviously a tour destination visit. 

The village is surrounded by rows and rows of grapes that seem to climb endlessly up the cliffs

There are walls at the base of the town.  They served different purposes over the years, acting originally as defensive positions, and when the need for that was no longer, it became used as a convent among other things. 

This town is simply charming and walking along the cobblestone streets was a delight.  I imagine it would not be as delightful if those scads of tourists were attempting to squeeze onto the streets.  We were fortunate that only about a third of the ship had decided to take our tour, about 48 people.

There appears to be only one main street, but charming sites to be seen while strolling along it. 

There was a castle ruins up on the hill but we would never have had the time to climb to the top for a visit, as we had 10 free minutes after the tour, which gave us just enough time for a few photos before scrambling back down the hill to the bus park.  The castle was built in the 12th century and has a history of imprisoning Richard the Lionhearted for two years in 1192 and 1193.  It was destroyed by the Swedes in the 30 years war and has stood untouched since. 

From here we drove about 45 minutes to the town of Melk where a stunning Benedictine Abbey stands. 

This Baroque style complex has been here on the outskirts of Melk for over 900 years.  There are about 29 present day  monks who continue to live on one of the wings, ranging in age from 25 to 95. 

No interior photos were permitted.  The one long wing of the abbey is set up for tours, with interesting artifacts among the rooms.  This same wing was the official residence of Queen Victoria when she would come to visit the area and I was quite surprised to see how large the bedrooms were along this one very long hall. 

The abbey holds a large library that is presently under renovation.  The old, valuable, books are being carefully digitized to preserve the contents, to safeguard the contents from any future loss.  

In the library stands a huge globe, about 4 feet in diameter.  It was made in 1620 and has an amazingly accurate representation of the world, particularly of North America that we could see.  It was noted that California looks like it has broken away from the continent, and most of Quebec was missing, but the general figure looked very much like what we would expect to see on a present day globe.  Personally, I find that fascinating.

In the back of the complex stands the church. 

The interior is quite ornate and very overwhelming.  There appears to be a substantial amount of gold, but it turns out that only 8 pounds of the precious metal was used as gilding over wood was used to create the glorious beauty.  I had seen that in St. Petersburg palaces when we visited.  

Outside the church is a courtyard that offers a view of the river. 

And there are substantial gardens that one could visit if one had time.

Unfortunately, we were stressed for time once again and unless we sprinted, there was no way we would have been ever to view them.  We walked briefly to explore, but the grounds near the entrance looked like a forested maze and we were concerned that we'd get lost and miss our transfer. 

Back on the ship, we once again traveled along the Danube enjoying the lovely views.

We docked in Grein where a lovely castle stands upon the hill.

We had an excursion to the castle, so we headed up to the base, and climbed up the 120 steps to the entranceway. 

It was built in the late 1488 and is considered to be the oldest residential castle in Austria.  The owners have direct ties to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.   The present day owner decided to open it up for tours so that the people could see the splendor of the interior. 

One of the rooms has this unique diamond shaped pattern for the ceiling.   

There was a "grotto" among the rooms, which offered cool relief.  I've never seen anything like it.  We walked inside and were stunned by the details. 

Everyone of the stones came from the Danube.  The grey and white are natural colors, and the red, black, yellow and green are painted.   It was a visionary delight!

There is a full sized altar off a large hall, with doors that can close in front. 

It featured a carving of the nativity in the center. 

Each of the rooms had one of these ceramic heating stoves tucked in the corner, or standing along the wall.  We had seen these unique heating devices when we visited many years ago.  I found them fascinating and quite beautiful. 

The tour was rather extensive, and Marty and I really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we made the trip back down the 120 steps, stopping to take this photo along the way.  

Isn't it stunning?

Once again, we had no time to explore the town as I had scheduled the special "Chef's" dinner for the evening.  But, no worries...we enjoyed several courses picked by the chef, each with complimentary wine to enhance the experience.  

Dinner took over two hours!  And we certainly had a grand time enjoying it.   (We had a record number of utensils to choose from when we sat down.  I told Marty that I needed Carson from Downton Abbey to instruct me on what to use when.  I went with the "start from the outside and work your way in" suggestion.  But there were two across the top!  No worries... the staff just comes and moves them around anyway.) 

Until next time....