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| Melk Abbey took my breath away |
Today, we awoke the find the Longship Tor cruising the stretch of the Danube between the villages of Krems and Melk. This beautiful stretch of the river, the Wachau Valley, is as far from the urban centers we’d just visited as could be. Here, medieval towns and castle ruins are strung between terraced vineyards that produce Austria’s best wines, renowned for their quality. Austria’s reputation is built on its great whites. However the appearance of Austrian Pinot Noir at the dinner table aboard the Tor suggests that reds are making inroads. Barely 3 percent of the country’s wine crop comes from this Wachau Valley but its fame far exceeds that figure.
We spent most of the morning on the top deck, which is outfitted with sun umbrellas and lounge chairs. There’s even an herb garden which the Chef uses daily to season our meals. It sits right up top next to the putting green, and yes, a shuffleboard court, the only nod to a traditional cruise ship on the Tor.
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| Note the mechanism under the Wheelhouse which raises and lowers it to pass under bridges |
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| The Gardens are almost and spectacular as the Abbey itself |
Every town is dominated by a Church. Catholicism is deeply imbedded in Austrian culture to the point that a common greeting is “Grüss Gott”, or God bless you. Nowhere is this domination of a village landscape more visible than the Melk Abbey. This is Austria’s second most visited landmark, bested only by the Shöenbrunn Palace in Vienna.
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| The Stiftskirke or Abbey Church |
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| The Village of Melk as seen from the Abbey |
Quite honestly, if this trip ended today, I would truly have felt that I had experienced everything this cruise has had to offer. Even the views of the village below reminded me of so many childhood books of fairy tales and castles and everything I’d ever imagined a fairy tale kingdom to be.
