Tuesday was a busy day.
We awakened in Durnstein, and headed out on a village walk after breakfast. Our guide was a particularly charming young woman from a nearby village, who does one or more of these walking tours every day during the rather long tourist season. She talked to us about the history of the area, of course, but also current life. She showed us the flood mark from the floods of 2002 and 2013, both of which were so-called 100-year floods.
Durnstein was a charming small town, with castle ruins high overhead. Even though it makes its bread and butter off tourists, it was still very appealing. Besides tourism, wine is a big thing locally, as Durnstein is at the edge of the Wauchau Valley. The other primary source of income here is apricots. Signs about apricot products are everywhere--apricot liqueur, apricot jam, apricot soap.
Being in a village was a welcome change from all the city touring we've been doing. And we had some free time to wander around the town and enjoy the views up the Danube.
We then headed on up the Danube through the Wauchau Valley and its vertiginous vineyards. Such a pretty area. Definitely the most scenic portion of the river we've seen so far.
We arrived in Melk by early afternoon. This was one of the expected highlights of our trip--a visit to the Melk Abbey. It is a large complex on the brow of the hill above the river. A striking structure in a lovely setting.
Our guide through the abbey referred to it as having been "Baroquecized," meaning it was not built in Baroque times but was restored in a Baroque style. Let's just say it's quite an eyeful.
We also got some nice views down to the town of Melk and to the river.
Back on the ship, a treat had been planned for us--a special tasting of several of the wines of the Wauchau Valley. We got to try a Gruner Veltliner (a crisp, dry white with which we're familiar), a Riesling Smaragd Terrassen (dry and very nice), and a Zweigelt (a local cold climate red, also quite nice). This was a nice touch on the part of Avalon. It was just right to be able to taste the products of the grapes we'd seen growing as we sailed through the valley earlier in the day.
Unbeknownst to us, we were to get a treat at dinner as well we were sharing a table with our new friend, John, from Edmonton, and new friends, Char and Lou, from Ohio. (As a side note, we Americans on the Impression are quite outnumbered by mostly Canadians and lots of Aussies and New Zealanders.) As we finished the main course, the lights in the dining room suddenly went out. Then a cake with sparklers came out from the kitchen borne by a band of wait staff, who circled the entire room before stopping at our table and presenting the cake to Char, with singing and much embarrassing fanfare. It was indeed her birthday, and she was very surprised. Her husband was quite clear that he had not arranged this spectacle. We still don't know if it was the all-knowing, crafty crew or if Char's children had arranged it. (My money's on the crew. They are on top of everything. Within 2 days at least, they would simply hand me my boarding passes when I approached the reception desk. No need for me to identify myself or give my room number. They simply knew who I was. Impressive I think, given how many people are on board and how many changes of passengers they must encounter in a season.)
All in all, quite a full and busy day. Charming sights, scenic sights, impressive sights and a rousing flourish at the end.
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