Austria

We entered Austria at night and apparently waited awhile through the locks, but our cruise director was pleased we arrived on time in Melk.



We boarded buses and drove through several towns hearing about the Wachau Valley, the vineyards, and the many monasteries…



Our agenda for today was Melk Abbey or in German, Stift Melk which is a Benedictine abbey. It was donated by the royal Babenberg family and therefore very palatial. As my childhood priest was Benedictine, this stop as part of the itinerary was appealing and as we have visited monasteries in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Montserrat in Spain, and of course Latrobe, Pennsylvania (our annual trip to pay our respects to our beloved priest). Here we are as we enter the complex:







As we’re not allowed to take photos inside, here are some of the courtyard area - in addition to being a working abbey and monastery, it’s also a school:







We walked through the museum and royal dining room to an overlook of the Melk and Danube rivers. Since we were outside again, we could take photos:











We couldn’t take photos in the famous library, but here’s a photo from one of the courtyard exhibits:



Then we entered the baroque and gilded abbey church and then made our way through the gift shop. I managed to take a photo of one of the famous staircases as we exited:



We returned to the boat and stopped by our room. A certain passenger wanted to stay in the cabin, but I insisted we join the talk in the panorama lounge as the cruise director was narrating the scenic Wachau valley and playing classical music. This certain passenger ended up enjoying it more than she expected with her hot cocoa and asked me to take photos of her:



The highlight of the float-by was Dürnstein Castle on the hilltop where King Richard the Lionheart was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria due to a dispute during the Crusades. Also, you can see the blue tower of the Dürnstein Abbey (Stift Dürnstein):





For lunch, we stayed in the lounge where we enjoyed a bistro lunch, a more casual version of the buffet in the dining room. The local specialties included Zwiebelrostbraten (minute steak) and Sauerkrout soup with potatoes which my mom thought tasted like kimchi jigae (stew).

Back in the room while napping and resting, we got to observe going through one of the many locks in the river:



In the afternoon, there was an Austrian Cookies Tasting and presentation explaining the tradition and the different kinds of cookies:



For dinner, we didn’t have the full four courses and just ordered a soup and entrees and shared a salad. A collage below of the Alt-Wiener Suppentopf (Austrian beef broth) with root vegetable and vermicelli noodles, Wiener Kartoffelsuppe (Viennese potato soup) with forest mushrooms and marjoram croutons, Wiener Schinkenfleckerl (Viennese pasta) with sautéed ham, Spring onions and shredded cheese, and Wiener Schnitzel with cranberry jam and mixed vegetables:



After dinner, we booked the optional excursion to a concert in a nice hall in an old palais, or wealthy person’s home. They played delightful Strauss, Mozart, Sound of Music, and jingle bells along with some ballet and operatic performances. It was pop classical music and very enjoyable:



Back on the boat, they treated us to goulash and a little piano playing. I was excited for the goulash night cap even though I wasn’t hungry. As our time in Budapest was cut short, we didn’t get to visit a popular goulash spot:



I ended up chatting with some Texans who were super sweet. Everyone on the boat has been very kind and we all love talking about travel and have nothing but nice things to say about the shared experience!