Two Towns in One Day

Almost without exception, river ships will visit Dürnstein and Melk in the same day. They aren't that far apart, and neither town is very big. Dürnstein's draw is its totally picturesque nature, and Melk's big draw is the Benedictine Abbey.

We arrived at Dürnstein at 8:00 a.m. and were set to leave, a few guests short, at 10:30. Those intrepid folks had opted to do a bike ride between the two stops. We had done that in 2012 and gotten rained all over, so we decided to sail instead.

We had heard that the shops would probably be closed (oh, no!) because it was the religious Feast of Corpus Christi holiday, and, of course, this part of Austria, like Bavaria, is heavily Catholic. What we weren't prepared for was how the town itself was 'dressed up' for the occasion. The main street in the old town was covered with grass and there were small tree branches along every wall. There were also 4 river ships docked, so, perhaps they got special dispensation from the Abbey for the shops to open, as many of them were.

Dürnstein's other claim to fame is that Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in the castle behind the town for 14 months. After the Crusades, Richard was making his way back to England, but had to go through hostile Austria to get there. In disguise, he had been quite successful until he paid for a meal using a coin that someone recognized as foreign. He was arrested and held at Dürnstein until his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, raised the ridiculous ransom of 100,000 pounds of silver, for his release.

Our ship docked at Dürnstein

The town looks even prettier with the rushes
and branches decorating it

Just one of the local ladies dressed for
the religious holiday

In the courtyard of the Town Hall

Vestiges of the castle wall show up in
the strangest places...

This spot is the 'Malerwinkel', or
Artist's Corner, for obvious reasons

A view of the town and
castle from the vineyards next
door

View of the abbey and the castle ruins
as we sailed away

 

This statue of Richard the Lionheart is
no more than a kilometer outside the
town

Vineyards along the valley

The town of Weissenkirchen. This church
has been rebuilt about 4 times in its history.

Another church dating back to the 1400s

Another gorgeous vista along the Wachau Valley

After our couple of hours sailing along the beautiful Wachau Valley, we arrived at Melk and headed up to the Abbey for our tour. As always, there are no photos allowed inside the buildings. The museum at the Abbey is very interesting, giving an idea of the history, from its establishment in 1089 until now. It is still a working Abbey, with 24 monks currently in residence.

Other than the church, the most impressive rooms are the main dining room, where Imperial visitors were welcomed by the Abbott, and the library, with over 100,000 volumes in its shelves. 

Melk Abbey's main courtyard

The Abbey Church is beautiful inside

The Abbey overlooks the Danube from
high on a hill. Stormy weather on the
way in the distance.

After the tour we opted to walk back to the ship, hoping to beat the rain. It only took 15 minutes, and we had a quick look at the town of Melk. Again, it is a place worth a bit of a longer look, but none of the ships seem to stay very long after the Abbey tours are done.

The town of Melk. Very pretty, and
dominated by the Abbey complex.

The Abbey from below. Very impressive

There is a second, casual, dining option, Arthur's, at the
aft of the ship. We had dinner there instead, and this
platter was Monica's appetizer! Delicious, but with
a couple of rolls, it would make a great lunch for 2.

One of the towns we sailed past at sunset.