Wachau Valley

We sailed from Vienna upstream towards Melk through the Wachau Valley which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our ship cruised through the scenic river valley. There are 300 wine producers, but many are very small. Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are the two primary grapes grown here.

Göttweig Abbey sits prominently on a hilltop.

We sailed under two low bridges, one of the sailors came on top of the ship and showed we could almost touch them.

We passed by the small village of Dürnstein and our guides told the story of the capture of Richard the Lionhearted and imprisonment in Dürnstein Castle on the hilltop. The castle is now in ruins.

In the afternoon, we toured Melk Abbey and church. The tour company provided busses for the 10-minute drive up to the cliff top, but it was a nice day and only a 20-minute walk, and we chose to walk with another woman. We left at the same time they started loading the busses and were at the abbey entrance waiting for everyone else.

No photos are allowed inside the abbey. There is a museum in the apartments that were used by the Hapsburg rulers when they visited. There is also a library of rare books. They are in the process of digitizing them.

There are nice gardens, but we don’t have a lot of time and the upper gardens are closed for renovation.

Inside the pavilion are nice murals on the wall.

There are a series of sculptures of crows and owls in the gardens.

Then walked back to the ship through the town, with a quick stop for gelato. We saw a wedding party celebrating, the bride wore a bright yellow Durndl dress.