Yay! I didn’t have to set the alarm today because I am only going on the afternoon excursion. I met Laura and Stu for breakfast. The honeydew is still wonderful. For a change, Laura and Stu signed up for the walking tour of Durnstein. The boat was docked about a 15 minute walk away and I decided to stroll over.
It’s a picture perfect medieval town, of course smartened up for the tourists. From the embankment there is a steep cobblestone walk up to the town. There is a beautiful abbey church at one end, then lots of souvenir shops in old buildings. Every so often I saw an old house with a tiny door. I guess the lack of good nutrition kept height down!
The shops were selling a lot of apricot products, liqueur, wine, jam, candy. It’s a specialty of the area. There is wine, too, the terraces for the grapes line the river.
The ship pulled out and we had the most beautiful scenery ahead of us. We entered the Wachau Valley, a UNESCO protected area.
Just in case you’ve gotten the impression that I’m not eating enough, there’s more!
At 12 in the lounge, there was Fruhschoppen. A chef was carving a baby pig, there were cabbage salads, sauerkraut, three kinds of sausage, a boiled beef specialty of the region, different mustards, horseradish, breads, and more. Everything was very festive.
Then at 12:30 lunch was served. We stuck with salads, though the four course lunch was being served all around us. Of course we had to try the Linzertorte.
We went up to the sun deck to watch the scenery go by. We went by the town of Willendorf. For all you art history buffs, the Venus of Willendorf was found nearby.
We docked at Emmersdorf, the town opposite the river from Melk Abbey. Laura, Stu and I got on the bus, I chose the excursion, the cruise director graciously allowed the kids to get a ride up to the abbey. They didn’t want the tour, just wanted to walk around the old town of Melk.
It was hot.
The place is enormous, has tons of history, and an incredible baroque church.
Laura and Stu toiled up the hill from town and met me at the bus for the ride back to where we were moored. Instead of going back to the ship, they asked me to join them at a well rated fish joint by the river. I let them go unencumbered by me. They had a whole fish on a stick that had been cooked over a charcoal fire and said it was fantastic.
I went to the lounge to wait for the talk about tomorrow’s excursion, and saw that there was a lock coming up. I quickly texted Laura and Stu and we met at the bow. Such excitement! We slowly cruised into our lock, and could see the boat rise. Then out the other side.
The other four locks we have been through were during night or early morning so this was a first for us.
We weren’t really hungry for dinner but went through the motions. The Caesar salad was served with a delicious bruschetta. I ordered the second course of gnocchi with artichokes for my main course, Laura and Stu had a red curry. They were also serving duck a l’orange or halibut.
The dessert was panna cotta. Stu decided to get chocolate ice cream which was served with whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a pirouette. Also good!
Big day tomorrow……Salzburg.
Love,
Lynn
Lady of a Certain Age 
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