on
Dürnstein
The ship spent the night docked at Dürnstein. We sailed by, but did not stop at Dürnstein in 2019 on our Vienna to Amsterdam river cruise.
Dürnstein is in the Wachau Valley which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We started the morning with a tour of Dürnstein with a local guide, Erica. The village had a wall around it that joined up with the castle above in the 1100s. Portions of that wall still exist.
The wall had gates that allowed a road to pass through the village.
The village is small, there are 18 students in grades 1-4. Two students in one class. Her son and cousin.
The former Clarissa Convent was used as a granary for a while after it was closed in the 1700s.
On the hilltop behind Dürnstein are the ruins of Dürnstein Castle, where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned returning from his crusade in 1192 AD. It’s been in ruins for 500+ years.
We walked up to castle and back in 90 minutes. There are a series of panels giving some of the history of the area along the path to the ruins.
In the afternoon, Donna took the optional tour to a Marillen (apricot in German) Farm near Krems. Krems is known for its apricot brandy.
The ship has some e-bikes on it, and I was able to get one and ride 5 miles to the larger neighboring town of Krems.
The Church of our Lady has some dioramas around it’s base that portray the gospel message.
The Parish Church of St. Vitus is known as the Cathedral of the Wachau.
There is plenty of traffic on the river in addition to the tour boats. Here is a barge
Back at the ship before dinner, there was a talk by one of the program directors on the history of Vienna after World War II. They gave three movies set in that era:
Tomorrow, October 26, is Austria National Day. The treaty was signed in May, but the last foreign soldier left on Oct 25.