Uniworld River Beatrice, 4/10/16 Budapest to Passau

A wise word to anyone reading this thread that is planning to take a Danube cruise that starts in Vienna - Pay attention to JP's next post! The day you board there are (of course) no offered tours ... but you might be able to get a flight that arrives in Vienna well before noon. Knowing how to navigate the subway system allows you to get a full day of sight seeing in, as we did in 2014. When we returned from the city, multiple guests asked us how we "knew what to do" and lamented that they had spent the entire day in the lounge since there were no included activities.

Thanks, ewizabeff. Prior preparation is key to being able to hit the ground running, and maximize your time when it's limited! And our preparation for today actually goes back almost 3 years, to the canceled June 2013 Danube cruise. I had looked up the boat dock locations at that time and was prepared, but I refreshed my memory prior to leaving for this trip. And we'd had some experience with the Vienna U-Bahn on the land trip as well. But there's nothing too out of the ordinary about this metro system as opposed to any other one.

One other thing that helped was last night's excursion to the concert. The bus drove right by the U-Bahn stop, and Tamas pointed it out to us. He also gave us a valuable tip: at this particular stop you must enter on the correct side of the tracks, because you can only catch the train one-way. If you enter on the wrong side of the street, you'll not be able to go the way you'd like. So we were quite well-prepared. Now, the odd thing was that the night before, Tamas had said (in the briefing) that the U-Bahn stop was a long way from where the boat docked and it was a tough walk. That was quite odd.

***

Wednesday, April 13 - Vienna!

We had a full day planned today in Vienna. After a quick breakfast, we were off the boat and heading out to the metro stop a little after 8:30. This map shows the route - it was incredibly easy.

From the boat (right hand side), walk inland and turn left following my red line; the stairs up the side of the bridge (Reichsbrücke) are impossible to miss (you can see them from the boat). Up the stairs, which lead you to a combined bike/walk path that runs along the side of the Reichsbrücke, but below the level of the pavement, so you're totally separated from any contact with car traffic.

Walk along the side of the bridge a few minutes until you pass UNDER the exit/entrance ramps, then the walking trail rises up an incline to join the sidewalk where my red line reappears. From here it's a few more steps to the Vorgartenstrasse stop. Stay on the right/North side of the road (don't cross) if you want the U1 into town. From here it's 4 stops to Stephensplatz.

We bought our tickets (2-24h passes for €17 or thereabouts) at an automated kiosk and I was able to pay by credit card, using my PIN, without any problem. Don't forget to validate them! I validated one ticket and my receipt by mistake; Chris caught that so I fixed it posthaste. We took the metro 5 stops to Karlsplatz, and arrived right around 9:00.

They had ticket checkers stationed at the exits of the Karlsplatz metro stop, so luckily we’d noticed my validation error and gone back to do it right!

We first headed to Karlskirche - which we had seen at the end of the day on our last visit, but we'd arrived after they were closed. Although the afternoon sun is very picturesque here, we wanted to see inside the church this time. The church is an architectural hodgepodge of different styles - there's a beautiful reflecting pond in front, but unlike last visit, it was drained dry. Also, in the morning the church is heavily backlit. I blocked the sun out behind one of the columns and managed to get a vaguely recognizable picture.

A most interesting structure! St. Charles was a 16th-century bishop for whom the church is named; the two columns have scenes from his life story - like a Trajan's column in Vienna!

Today we had the time to go in, and the interior was worth the visit. They have construction scaffolding erected in the church for a restoration project, and you can take a lift halfway up. From here, there’s a set of somewhat creaky stairs that climbs to the very top of the dome. It’s a little hairy, and the city view is fairly poor because the windows are dirty, but the up-close views of the ceiling paintings are very cool. Here's the highest part of the dome:

It's interesting up close - the "marble" actually looks like sponge-painted stone - because it actually is! Once you're at the top of the church, you can see that most of the "marble" really is painted stone. It looks prettier from ground level.

A little counter-reformation for you - the angel here is torching a Lutheran bible! They didn't mess around here.

Once you’re back down, you can appreciate how far up you really were, and it’s a bit scary. The platform and staircase are mostly open until you are in the very top of the cupola. It feels a little temporary and rickety - not 100% stable. I held on tightly and my palms were sweaty when I got down...but the views were worth it!

From Karlsplatz, we walked over to the Musuem of Viennese Art and History, but we were expecting it to be closed. According to their website, the museum was closed through today to work on new exhibits, but we wanted to make sure that it wasn't closed UNTIL today. Unfortunately our first assumption was in fact correct. So, we headed over to the Nachtmarkt. On the way, we passed a monument to Brahms.

Off to the market! Always safest to visit these places when you're not starving, and we had just eaten breakfast...

Wednesday, April 13 - Vienna

We walked from Karlsplatz to the Nachtmarkt, and spent some time wandering the rows of shops. Even though it was early, the array of delicious foods, complete with the great smells, were making us hungry! This place would be dangerous if we were looking to eat… an overwhelming array of choices. We considered stopping for a coffee and something sweet, but decided that we were eating so much food on the boat that it didn't make sense to eat more. Always so practical!

We walked from the market to the opera house; we'd driven by it last night and couldn't get a good picture then. The lighting was better now.

Near the Opera House was the Albrechtsbrunnen (or the Danubiusbrunnen); this fountain represents the relationship between Vienna and the Danube. It was heavily damaged in WWII and restored thereafter.

We passed the Hotel Sacher, and arrived at Augustinerkirche, which we had also walked by last visit. This time, we went inside for a bit. Here you can see widows on the right hand wall; that's where the Habsburg royalty watched mass, away from the common folk.

This is the Canova memorial, erected by Maria Theresa in memory of her favorite daughter, Maria Christina.

Moving on from the church, we passed into the main courtyard of the Hofberg, on our way to the museums at the Neue Berg. The main courtyard, complete with horse-drawn carriage:

And the Schweizertor, a 16th-century Renaissance-style gate.

Lots of beautiful architecture and art to see in Vienna. But we're just getting started with our long day...it's barely 10:45, and we don't have to be back on the ship until dinner at 7:00!

Many thanks for directions from the Vienna docking area to the metro stop. Our Grand European cruise on Viking is supposed to be docked there for two days and we're planning to use the metro.

In your picture of the opera house, there's something in front of it, not a building but some kind of shelter. Is that a metro stop? A bathroom?

Wednesday, April 13 - Vienna

 

We walked from Karlsplatz to the Nachtmarkt, and spent some time wandering the rows of shops. Even though it was early, the array of delicious foods, complete with the great smells, were making us hungry! This place would be dangerous if we were looking to eat… an overwhelming array of choices. We considered stopping for a coffee and something sweet, but decided that we were eating so much food on the boat that it didn't make sense to eat more. Always so practical!

 

We walked from the market to the opera house; we'd driven by it last night and couldn't get a good picture then. The lighting was better now.

 

 

Near the Opera House was the Albrechtsbrunnen (or the Danubiusbrunnen); this fountain represents the relationship between Vienna and the Danube. It was heavily damaged in WWII and restored thereafter.

 

 

We passed the Hotel Sacher, and arrived at Augustinerkirche, which we had also walked by last visit. This time, we went inside for a bit. Here you can see widows on the right hand wall; that's where the Habsburg royalty watched mass, away from the common folk.

 

 

This is the Canova memorial, erected by Maria Theresa in memory of her favorite daughter, Maria Christina.

 

 

Moving on from the church, we passed into the main courtyard of the Hofberg, on our way to the museums at the Neue Berg. The main courtyard, complete with horse-drawn carriage:

 

 

And the Schweizertor, a 16th-century Renaissance-style gate.

 

 

Lots of beautiful architecture and art to see in Vienna. But we're just getting started with our long day...it's barely 10:45, and we don't have to be back on the ship until dinner at 7:00!

Loving reliving our trip-need to download my pics today! The U-Bahm ticket monitors were out at one stop with is, as well....

Robin

Loving reliving our trip-need to download my pics today! The U-Bahm ticket monitors were out at one stop with is, as well....

 

Robin

Thanks! They are all over the place in Budapest as well - but in Budapest, they check your tickets before you enter the Metro. In Vienna, they checked as you were coming out.

Many thanks for directions from the Vienna docking area to the metro stop. Our Grand European cruise on Viking is supposed to be docked there for two days and we're planning to use the metro.

 

In your picture of the opera house, there's something in front of it, not a building but some kind of shelter. Is that a metro stop? A bathroom?

Yes, the U-Bahn is easy to use. Have a great time!

I think the structure in front of the opera house had something to do with the tram stop. Didn't get close enough to see whether there were stairs that went down to the U-Bahn; if so, it would probably be an entrance to the Karlsplatz station. But I don't think it was.

Wednesday, April 13 - Vienna...Museums galore!

Next was the Neue Berg, with its interesting mix of museums. It's a short distance from the Hofberg to here. It contains a very strange mixture of museums: one of Ancient Ephesus, one of antique musical instruments, and the third is an exhibit of armor and weapons collected by the Habsburg Emprire.

We started off with the museum of Ephesus. Two bronze statues: an athlete cleaning himself with a strigil, and Hercules fighting a centaur.

Some carvings from the Celsus Library here.

And also from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Some decent exhibits on the history of the site, its excavation, and a nice overview model of the site that put it into good perspective for us. We've been to Ephesus twice and this was a nice refresher of what we'd seen there before.

We headed off to the next wing, to the musical instrument exhibition. The Hofberg itself is a beautiful building with nice decorations.

There were plenty of neat instruments here, including some used by Mozart and other famous musicians, but we just enjoyed the exhibits without taking pictures.

Hi, JP and Chris---We just got back this week from our Viking Rhine River cruise with time in Switzerland and Holland on either end. In a word--Wonderful!!!

I need to sit down and gather my thoughts to do a trip review, but as I spend a day or two recovering from a wicked sinus attack, I decided to cheer myself up by catching up with your review. WOW!!! I have just added Budapest to my bucket list!! It is right up there with the fijords of Norway.

As usual, your pictures are great, and your info is amazing---especially the little details of just how to get to this place or that.

Looking forward to the rest of your story!

Hi, JP and Chris---We just got back this week from our Viking Rhine River cruise with time in Switzerland and Holland on either end. In a word--Wonderful!!!

 

I need to sit down and gather my thoughts to do a trip review, but as I spend a day or two recovering from a wicked sinus attack, I decided to cheer myself up by catching up with your review. WOW!!! I have just added Budapest to my bucket list!! It is right up there with the fijords of Norway.

 

As usual, your pictures are great, and your info is amazing---especially the little details of just how to get to this place or that.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your story!

Welcome home! Glad that you had a wonderful time on your cruise. Budapest was fantastic and we enjoyed it thoroughly. I wish the weather had been a little better but what can you do?

Hope that your sinuses behave themselves soon and I'm looking forward to seeing your review. How was Lucerne? Did you end up walking to your hotel, or did you get a cab?

Wednesday, April 13 - A whirlwind tour of Vienna!

So after wandering through the Ephesus museum and the Antique Musical Instruments, we figured we'd buzz through the exhibit of arms and armor. We wanted to get out of here by 12:30, so don't blink or you'll miss it!

We liked the kid-sized suit of armor here. No, they didn't send kids to war (we don't think) - that was supposedly for a young royal in training.

A group in formation.

Some very uncomfortable gloves - with nice gold fingernails!

And another view of the beautifully detailed decorations in the hallway. The place is a bit of a maze but we found our way out - only about 20 minutes later than we'd wanted...

We figured we should start thinking about something to eat. I wondered if there would be some food around the Rathaus. Sounds logical...

Wednesday, April 13 - more Vienna

From the Neue Berg, we strolled through the Volksgarten, but we didn't stop to smell the roses...they aren't in bloom yet! The Rathaus towers peek over the trees from here. The Volksgarten is nice but we've been here before, so no lingering...we did stop at a bench for a second to plot our next move.

Once we found a way out of the Volksgarten (one of the gates was locked) we crossed the street and headed to the Parliament building.

We climbed up on the portico behind the statues for some shade and views of the landscape. After enjoying the scenery, we headed next door to the Rathaus, hoping to find something to eat in Rathausplatz right in front of the building. We were disappointed that the Rathausplatz was fenced off - apparently the spring festival was still setting up, and it was not yet open, so no food in the Rathausplatz for us to eat. Worse yet, when we checked out the Ratzkeller inside, it wasn’t open for lunch either! Well...that was a total miss, and now it's almost 1:30, and we're hungry!

So we headed back across the street to look at a few cafés, and settled down at the Italian café on the corner called 3Raum. As always, find a table and act like you own it; we found a nice seat outside. They had a very nice weekly menu (Wochenmenü), with specials every day of the week for €7.90! Today's special was a bowl of carrot ginger soup, and then a nice place of Schwein cordon bleu with fries. We had some drinks (beer for me, Gruner Veltliner for Chris) and felt quite refreshed. The drinks probably cost as much as the food, but it was all pretty cheap for Vienna!

A nice break - here's the view of our outdoor patio (far right) and the square. Right across the street is the University.

From lunch, we wandered by the Beethoven Pasqualatihaus, but decided not to go in. He lived there...we were there too! Close enough.

From here our next goal was to head back to town for the Austrian National Library. The U-Bahn stop was a few blocks from here, and it would have left us a bit far from our destination - this line doesn't go back to the center of town. But as we started off towards the station, I saw a Bus labeled "1 - Stephensplatz." If it does go there, that would be way better than walking all the way to and from the U-Bahn...let's try it!

Wednesday, April 13 - Vienna, last installment!

So the #1 bus headed back into town and I tracked the position on my map as we proceeded. At Michaelerplatz, we hopped off and headed to the Austrian National Library. We bought a combination ticket, and started off by visiting the very impressive state hall, which had a lot of exhibits on Franz Joseph.

Some old books hidden below the display cases

And an antique globe; there were four of these in the state hall.

There were very interesting historical exhibits here about every aspect of Franz Joseph's life. This year is the centennial of his death so there is a renewed interest. We found out some things we didn't know, or remember from last visit - like his affairs! He was married to a renowned beauty, Elizabeth (Sisi), yet she hated the Viennese court and traveled quite a bit to get away. It seems that she arranged for him to meet at least one of his mistresses...so that she wouldn't feel guilty about leaving! Twisted!

From here, a quick trip back to the Neue Berg for the papyrus museum, which was very quick because only half of the exhibits were translated into English. And no photos were allowed...

From the Neue Berg, we headed out a few blocks for the globe and Esperanto museums, also included on our Library ticket. They were harder to find because by this point, my phone battery had died and I had to navigate by map! How archaic...but we found them and spent a few minutes. The globe collection was pretty impressive and the Esperanto museum was interesting. I had only recently heard of Esperanto (an attempt at forging a universal language) but apparently it's been around for quite some time.

We tried to find the Neidhart frescoes, but were not successful by using the map alone. Oh well, next time!

Next stop was the Römer Museum, which was quick, just a few exhibits from the legionary fortress that had once existed here on a bend of the Danube. This building style looks familiar...I think it was the officers' housing, thus the nice heated floor.

Not much else to the exhibit, so that left us time to try to tour the Mozarthaus. This is an apartment where he had lived with his family for a few of his best years. Some interesting historical exhibits in the apartments, and the audioguide is included, but the audio segments are *very* long. So we had to cut some of them short so we had a chance to finish the museum in time to get back to the ship for dinner!

Finally, at 6:30, we left the Mozarthaus, walked to Stephensplatz, hopped the U-Bahn to Vorgartenstrasse, and we were back on board at 6:45. Such an easy and efficient transfer! We cleaned up and changed for dinner, and were even a few minutes early for our 7:00 reservation. An impressively full day!

Tonight’s dinner was a special chef’s table, which our butlers had arranged, so we felt obligated to be on time. It was a nice affair in the Captain’s Club. They greeted us with a Kir Royale as we entered, then served a four part appetizer with mini servings of pumpkin soup, pastrami with a cornichon, shrimp with horseradish sauce, and fried cheese with cranberry sauce.

The next appetizer was mushroom risotto with a slice of lobster. Our entrée was two beautifully cooked slices of beef tenderloin with brown sauce and mashed potatoes. Dessert was a trio of cheesecake, crème brulée, and a fruit tart.

Wines were an Austrian Chardonnay (lightly oaked) and a delicious Blauburger - not to be confused with a Blauburgunder (Pinot Noir) or Blaufränkisch (Lemberger). The Blauburger is a hybrid of Blaufränkisch and one that we'd never heard of, Blauer Portugieser. That's a lot of Blau!

**

During dinner it started raining and there was an impressive display of lightning, so we wondered if we’d get to go to the Prater for the Ferris wheel. We had planned to try to sneak out after dinner to ride the wheel before the boat left tonight at midnight.

Since it was pouring, we stayed on board for the show of local musicians who had come from Bratislava, the Pressburger Duo, and they put on a nice show. They played some unusual Slovakian instruments, many of which were varying types and sizes of pipes. There were (obviously) only two musicians but they were incredibly talented and each of them could play many different instruments with ease.

At 10:00 we decided to go for it. Though the rain had only just slowed, the lightning seemed to have stopped, and we made it to the U-Bahn without getting too wet. It was one stop from Vorgartenstrasse to the Prater, and we made it to the park only to find that the Ferris wheel had closed at 9:45. It looked pretty, though!

Turns out that the website must not have been accurate - we had both checked the opening times and it was supposed to be open until 11:45 tonight. Disappointing, but we made it back without getting too wet. No energy for dancing after that, so we went to bed.

**

So our second visit to Vienna was pretty successful. We saw almost everything on our list except the Museum of Viennese Art and History (which was closed), the Ferris Wheel at the Prater, the frescoes, and the Belvedere. We'll just have to come back another time...and I'll bring a spare battery for the cell phone!

Funny enough, I have a nice backup battery that I bring on trips, but I took it out to charge it before the trip, and forgot to repack it. That's the only thing we forgot, so all in all we did pretty well. It was fully charged and waiting for us when we got home. :rolleyes:

Loved the National Library! The Ferris Wheel....meh.....old, dirty, rickety.....I can post some pics. We tried to get to the Danube Tower, but it turned into being quite a hike, so, we passed......

I have to figure out how to post big pics like you!

Robin

We did the Donauturm in 2013. There's a bus that runs the length of the island. It stops right at the tower, and will take you right to the U-Bahn stations at either end. Minimal hiking involved!

Hope you post your pictures. You can't upload directly to the forums - you have to upload them to another online site like Picasa, Flicker, etc. Then when you are writing your post, you insert a link to the picture. It's a pain! There are a few threads about this. I'll try to find one for you.

Edited to add: Here is a thread discussing this topic: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1714741

Thursday, April 14 - Dürnstein, Wachau Valley, and Melk

Today looked like it would be a busy day. But after yesterday, relatively speaking, it would be relaxing for us. Both of these towns are small and we're sticking with the basic ship's excursions today. It was a dark cloudy day today and cooler, much less pleasant than yesterday.

Dürnstein is a tiny little place with pretty much one claim to fame - above the town is a castle ruin. Back in the late 12th Century, Richard I (the Lionheart) was captured while returning from the Crusades, and he was held prisoner for a time in that very castle. Since he didn't have his cell phone with him, it took some time to find him!

The Burgruine, up above the town - it looks forlorn given its ruined state, and the ugly skies overhead.

Breakfast as usual, and then we were ready for our 9AM tour. Today we're heading a bit East and across the Danube, to Weingut Nikolaihof, for a tour and a wine tasting. It's only a few km from the boat as the crow flies, but we had to take a somewhat longer route to get there because the bus couldn't use the closer bridge. Still, it was only a 15-mnute drive and then we arrived at the Weingut.

They were based in a very old building steeped in history, like almost everything in this area. Their website says it best, so I'll quote from there:

From http://www.nikolaihof.at/en/home/

This is the "new" chapel, in their main courtyard, where we assembled to meet the Saahs family and hear about all of the activities that go on at the Weingut.

In addition to making wine, Christine Saahs is a gourmet cook who's published a cookbook, and one of their sons is branching out into producing cosmetics from biodynamic grapes. They're covering all the bases!

This X marks a Celtic power spot. Not totally sure what that means but like good tourists, we nodded and took pictures.

We toured the pressing room and then the wine cellars. The cellar is full of beautiful old wooden barrels, many with intricate carvings on the ends. They have made one barrel with each of their children's names on it, but this barrel is dedicated to St. Severin. A very special wine is stored in here!

It's a touch dark in the cellar and flash would ruin the mood. So thus the motion artifact in the picture.

We headed into the restaurant where we snacked on freshly baked bread with two spreads - one was cream cheese with herbs, the other was bacon fat with bits of crispy bacon. They went well with the wines - we tried three of them and all were delicious.

After a nice relaxing tasting we could buy wines and assorted other products. Christine also had her cookbook for sale. The recipes looked delicious and we were tempted but we didn't end up buying anything. They do import their wines to the US so we can always pick something up here. Her cookbook is also available on Amazon if we change our minds.

Soon it was time to head back to the boat. As is often the case, the large group tasting, followed by endless shopping, had been slower than anticipated and our free time was going to suffer. As we headed back to the boat, Tamas called the ship to see if the Captain could push back our departure enough to let us at least set foot in Dürnstein for a few minutes...but looking at these clouds, do we want to?

The Captain agreed to push back 15 minutes so we had to be back by noon at the latest. It was already 11:15 when we pulled up to the edge of this postage stamp of a town.

From here, we were told that it would be a 15 minute walk back to the boat, so we had less than 30 minutes to "explore" the town. We were a little disappointed that we wouldn't have time to hike up to the castle ruins but we figured we'd see what there was to see in town before we get rained on!

Thursday, April 14 - Dürnstein in 15 minutes

We headed into town as soon as we could, stopping for a second to get our bearings and memorize the route back to the boat. Here Chris caught me, temporarily distracted, ogling all of the wine bottles stacked up outside this building. Further on, a typical view of the one main street in town.

We walked to the end of the main street, then turned and circled around the back of town on a narrow uphill "street" that at times, more resembled a footpath. The views were very nice, though.

We climbed a little more and found the path to the Burgruine, right where the map said that it would be. But it was almost 11:30 and as much as we wanted to make a run for it, we just didn't have the time to make it there and back. So close, and a little frustrating that there was no time! We both hate leaving things unfinished, and we could almost see the target...

Back near the main street, we came across an old cemetery.

The large building in the middle of the cemetery had a crypt, which held a surprise...

We later found out that this was the aftermath of another epidemic of plague.

That was pretty much it for the town. Time to head back to the boat and sail on through the Wachau Valley, to Melk. A little disappointed, we started back.

Thursday, April 14 - Leaving Dürnstein

On our way back to the boat, I had to take a minute to climb the vineyard wall for the view.

A view of some grapevines and the Danube in the distance. Our boat is docked to the left of this picture.

We made it on board with a few minutes to spare, and sailed off a few minutes before noon. The views of Dürnstein were quite nice from our vantage point along the Danube; the beautiful blue Abbey Church is picturesque. And from its vantage point high above the river, the Burgruine taunted us as we sailed by...

The Abbey Church, along with Schloss Dürnstein on the left side; it is now a hotel and restaurant.

Of these three buildings, the one on the right had some interesting history. Apparently it used to belong to the town's public executioner. He was not a very popular person...

We left Dürnstein behind and sailed down the Danube. I wonder if it's going to pour? Oh well, it's 12:15, and time to grab some lunch. Then we will see whether the scenic cruising is scenic, foggy, or cold and rainy!

Thursday, April 14 - Wachau Valley

We went down for lunch and grabbed a nice table with a window view. The view of Weissenkirchen was a nice accompaniment to the tasty food and wine. It still didn't look too inviting out so we took our time.

After lunch we ventured out on the top deck but it was starting to sprinkle. The valley looks nice despite the clouds and fog, but the shelter up top is just a fabric sunscreen, and it isn't waterproof - so just a quick picture, and then it was time to seek some indoor shelter.

We settled into the lounge and made an afternoon of it. We had a glass of wine (of course), and Chris labeled pictures on my laptop while I caught up with a few days' worth of the trip log on my tablet. Every now and then we'd head outside for a picture; there is a little overhang surrounding the lounge where you can stand and not get too wet. This is (as best I can tell from Google and my geotags) a church called Sankt Michael, in a hamlet called Mosinghof. From the map, this place looks even smaller than Dürnstein!

And a few minutes later, the town of Spitz. That's the Hinterhaus perched on the mountainside above town. Another castle ruin that we can't get to...

After that, the weather got really ugly for a while. It rained steadily and heavily for what seemed like a long time. Given the driving rain and the cold temperature, we were very happy to settle in the lounge for the afternoon and look out the windows. I put in this picture of Burgruine Aggstein not for its quality, but to give you an idea of the conditions this afternoon. It's raining buckets, cold, and foggy. And, another castle ruin...

We did a lot of computer work so I ended up needing to grab my power supply and adapter. I had outlets to spare, so I shared them with others who needed to charge their phones. Eventually the rain slowed down and I was able to get a better picture of Schloss Schönbühel.

It was a little after 2:30 and Melk Abbey was just coming into view. If the rain stops, maybe the tour here won't be a total washout! One can always hope.

Aw, no stop in Weissenkirchen? I loved that little town......

Aw, no stop in Weissenkirchen? I loved that little town......

That's the problem here. Every little town is charming and deserves a visit. When we read each town's description in guidebooks, we end up wanting to stop in all of them! And they are all worth a visit. :)

Good morning from the River Ambassador! I am lying in bed reading your most recent post JP and Chris.

We are entering a lock at the moment, on our way to Regensberg, and it is going to be another glorious day. (It is 5:45 am)

we are on the first of the season Danube Discovery and Prague going from Prague to Vienna, so am hoping your report on Melk is posted before we get there.

A big thank you for your posts.

RB

Good morning from the River Ambassador! I am lying in bed reading your most recent post JP and Chris.

We are entering a lock at the moment, on our way to Regensberg, and it is going to be another glorious day. (It is 5:45 am)

we are on the first of the season Danube Discovery and Prague going from Prague to Vienna, so am hoping your report on Melk is posted before we get there.

A big thank you for your posts.

RB

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great day in Regensburg. We went there as the 2013 floods were starting to recede. We went by train, as a day trip from Nuremberg. It was chilly and overcast but still a fun place to spend the day.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Melk posts should be up soon, so you know what you'll be in for on Friday! Doubt I will get to Passau in time for your visit there on Thursday, but I'm sure you will have a great time anyway. When you are in Passau, please have a look at the June 2013 high-water mark on the Rathaus; that's the flood that we saw the remnants of in Regensburg. Scary.

Thursday, April 14 - Melk Abbey

So, a little after 2:30 we got our first glimpse of Melk Abbey. The twin spires and the church dome are coming into view in the distance. That was our signal that it was time to start packing up and getting ready for our upcoming tour. And on cue, the rain had let up!

We docked a little before 3:30 and were on our buses about 10 minutes later. It was only a 5 minute ride to the Abbey, and that was the long way - around the back of the town. We assembled into our tour groups and headed in through the main gate.

The first gate led to an outer courtyard, with ticket booths and rest rooms, then a second gate.

In the inner courtyard, there is a nice fountain and amazingly, I had a second to catch it free of people before everyone lined up to pose with it!

There's a nice clock on the wall here but it's running about 10 minutes slow, I think. My picture's timestamp says 3:56...

From here, we entered the museum which is a series of small rooms, with lots of exhibits tracing the long history of the Abbey. It began with Leopold II bestowing his castle in Melk to the Benedictine monks, who have lived and worked here ever since. The monastery has had its ups and downs over the course of almost 1000 years. There is more information at http://www.stiftmelk.at and plenty is available in English.

But we're just starting to explore the beautiful sights here. More to come.

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great day in Regensburg. We went there as the 2013 floods were starting to recede. We went by train, as a day trip from Nuremberg. It was chilly and overcast but still a fun place to spend the day.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. Melk posts should be up soon, so you know what you'll be in for on Friday! Doubt I will get to Passau in time for your visit there on Thursday, but I'm sure you will have a great time anyway. When you are in Passau, please have a look at the June 2013 high-water mark on the Rathaus; that's the flood that we saw the remnants of in Regensburg. Scary.

We were here in Regensberg and Passau the Christmas before and the Christmas after the flood of 2013. It is truly amazing to see how quickly they can restore their buildings and infrastructures.

Temperature is mid 20's, sunny and sitting on the top deck with a cold one is pure bliss.

Thursday, April 14 - Melk Abbey

One of the highlights, at the end of the museum section, is the marble hall with its beautiful ceiling frescoes dating from 1731. It's painted in trompe d'oeil fashion on a flat surface, so if you stand in the center it looks domed. If you stand at one end it looks very skewed.

A closer view of the ceiling; in the center you can see Athena pulled in a chariot drawn by lions, and Hercules off to the left. The Habsburgs had a high opinion of their wisdom and their military strength...or were these just ideals that they wished to strive for?

From the marble hall, we stepped out to a terrace with nice views of the town. That's not the Danube, but it is a river that joins the Danube. Not surprisingly, it's called the Melk River.

This bridge looks like a good alternative pathway back to the boat. I had been checking out the local area on my phone, using Google maps. We will have a chance to walk back to the boat if the weather holds. We are docked off to the right of this picture.

From the terrace, you can see the Baroque Library on the left, and one of the church towers on the right.

One of the towers is undergoing restoration work, thus the scaffolding. It doesn't make for the prettiest picture, unfortunately.

We headed into the library next, but no pictures are allowed here. Cameras off, until we get into the church!