Wachau Valley - Durnstein, and The Benedictine Abbey of MELK !!

H A P P Y    T H A N K S G I V I N G   !!

I'm running out of energy and adrenaline .. these daily excursion adventures are wearing me out.   Maybe it's the excitement of seeing these historical and beautiful places for the first time.   Maybe it's the excitement of being on a luxurious river cruise boat for the first time.   Another full day of adventures requires a good breakfast :

Part of today's 'Daily Cruiser' information sheet was an interesting map :

First adventure of the day was a walking tour of Durnstein.    The Wachau Valley has a picturesque landscape.    Lots of interesting history and a superb wine growing region.   Durnstein is known as the 'Pearl of the Wachau'.   A highlight is the unusual blue facade of its monastic church and the ruins of the castle fortress high above the town.  The church was built in 1721-25.

The ruins of Durnstein Castle, 520 ft. above the town, are intestingly linked to the Crusades.   It was here that Leopold V held Richard the Lionheart of England prisoner in 1193, when he was trying to get back home.   Apparentlt bad blood existed from their time in the Middle East.

It's a very neat, very old town.  Here are some pics :

At the church we were ushered into a neat room to do some tasting of new apricot brandy, apricot jam, and chocolate  ..  yummy!

On the way out of this medieval town I took a picture looking through a small gated window looking down into a 1100's room:

Another look at the Baroque Tower from the courtyard :

As we were touring Durnstein the ship was motoring upriver to Melk where we met it and had lunch.   Then it was time for the fantastic Melk Benedictine Abbey.    Originally built in 1089.    Today's architecture dates from 1702-1736.    We couldn't take pictures inside so here's a few exterior shots.

here's the map

this is one of their seven massive libraries

We toured the church and it's many altars.   Since we couldn't take any pics inside .. I found a good one on the internet to show how impressive it is :

gold leaf everywhere!

and the massive library :

Back to the ship afterwards for Thanksgiving dinner.   Appetizer was 'Pate de Provence' .. mimosa salad, apple confit, spicy cranberry dip.    Soup was 'Soupe a l'oignon'  .. clear onion soup, cheese crouton.   Main course .. ranch seasoned roast turkey breast, cranberry sauce, brussels sprouts, classic stuffing, sweet potato mash ..

Dessert was 'Granny's Pumpkin Tarte'  .. with cinnamon ice cream, maple syrup

H A P P Y     T H A N K S G I V I N G    !!

Now for some rest as we motor to .. Linz.    Big day.   We're bussed 2-hours for an all day adventure in SALZBURG !