The Spectacular Wachau Valley

[This day is the other without photos. Images here from Wikipedia.]

We sailed all night, trying to make up lost time. We docked at Nussdorf in the morning, to pick up the buses, the road being faster in this area than the river. Our first stop was Dürnstein. Actually, we were a day late for these excursions, but the tour company had managed to reschedule everything, which was pretty amazing for Melk Abbey. But first things first.

In Dürnstein we had several tours: a bicycling tour along the river and vineyards with a wine tasting; a walking tour of Dürnstein; and I think there was a third. I was on the bicycling tour. I don't bike as much as I used to, being in the city. While the city is getting much more bike-friendly, I just don't trust the traffic, which has at the same time gotten worse. So outings like these are always welcome.

This is a view into town across the vineyards. The vines were full of leaves and grapes during our visit. I did have photos.... 

It was a beautiful ride! About 7km in length to the wine tasting, cool and overcast, stopping along the way for several discussions, including among the ripening grapes and at a beautiful little church. The tour director who should have been with us ended up staying behind after a participant accident just as we were leaving. Sigh. Thankfully, all was well in the end. But the other tour director and I got along well and we had the back of the "peloton." She's from Amsterdam, so the bike is like a third leg for her. Good thing.

Our guide was not our normal guide, owing to the excursion shift, but overall it went well and I think folks really enjoyed the outing. On the way back, after the tour director was already stopped for one traveler, I stopped for another. I'd been fighting my bike the whole ride; in addition to some trouble with the gears, it pulled left, making going right really hard. One in the group was a veteran rider and when I said I thought I was crazy he said no, it probably was a problem with the fork, maybe the frame. But that led to my crash.

In restarting after checking on our person, it was on an incline, just past a curve. I thought I was clear. I started up, and the bike had its own idea, and I couldn't pull it fast enough, as people came around the corner, of course with no bells. But I heard her yell, and I stopped, and so did she-- into me. In losing my balance then and going down, my foot was trapped between the bikes. Ouch.

Back at our meeting point, my regular tour director didn't like my limp and decided to go for ice, and got some from one of the German ships docked there. We had packed lunches from the ship, and one of the other tour directors really likes the sausages from this spot (they have cheese inside), so all of us staff had sausages for lunch, me with my foot sideways on the bench under an ice bag. I had also cut my hand on the shrubbery along the rock wall and I was sure I had some bruises on my calf. So I stayed put and never did see the pretty town of Dürnstein. 

Yes, the church is blue. Dürnstein is the site where Richard the Lionheart was held captive. The town is famous for its stunning location on the Danube and picturesque streets. Because of the itinerary shuffling, we had more time here than is usual on the tour, and folks did have time to wander the whole town.

 The view of the river from the castle ruins. The Wachau Valley is famous for its scenic splendor, including rolling hills lined with vineyards and charming towns. 

Our second stop was the town of Melk, famous for its abbey. The original abbey dates to the 11th century and the Benedictines. It suffered much over centuries of sacking, raiding, and burning, and the present Italian Baroque style is from the 18th century. Famous for its scale and scenic views of the Danube, it is also renowned for its library, with 85,000 books clad in gold leather, about 16,000 of which are on display. 

  Yes, the abbey is pretty incredible. The tours are all guided, and we had a bit of rain, rare for us on this trip. But the paintings, gilding, decorative elements, all were amazing. I understood why the directors worked hard to keep this part of the itinerary, and why it was a highlight for many of the participants.

A view of Melk from the abbey.

Then we were back to Dürnstein to board the ship, where we found it bustling! The lock problems had not only messed with our itineraries, but also with the ship's. While we were off touring, they were reloading nearly all day. I'd heard from the captain the day before that they needed meat, produce, fuel, and water. In fact, the galley was still loading as we were boarding, and all hands were around bringing crates and boxes aboard in between our bus groups.  

This was our final night on board the ship, which was bittersweet. I've had several cruise trips now and I've enjoyed them all, meeting some wonderful people and having some great experiences. But I truly loved this ship and crew. So I was up late talking with folks. One of the tour directors, on seeing me around midnight, made a mention about it being nice that I was already packed. In fact, I hadn't yet started! But I figured, it only had to get on the bus and go to Prague, it didn't have to be ready to fly, so while that still took some time, all was good.