Today is the day that the ship is going to be dry-docked while the passengers spend a full day sight-seeing. We’ll be on the go all day today, but it does sound like fun. Ben (the hotel manager) is going to go along with us today and lead the GREEN group since Louise is not going to be coming back for our tour.
Our ship docked at Linz, Austria this morning, and then after breakfast, we hopped on our buses for the ride to Durnstein. But before our buses pulled out, the River Explorer left the dock and headed along the river without us. It felt odd like we were being left behind or something…
Along the drive, I tried to take pictures of the hills and the beautiful countryside of Austria, but again, it’s rather hard to get decent shots through a window. We passed the mighty castle fortress that once imprisoned King Richard the Lion-hearted of England. It sits above the town of Durnstein and is linked to the turbulent history of the Crusades. Within the towering stone walls, Leopold V (the Babenberg duke ruling Dürnstein) held the English King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England prisoner beginning in 1193. Eventually one of his men found where he was being held, the ransom was paid and King Richard was released.
Once in Durnstein, we had a long, steep walk from the parking lot to the town itself, and when we got to the town, we headed to the restrooms. I popped up to see the sweet little cemetery at the top of some stairs while the rest of the group stopped for a restroom break.
Next, we headed for our scheduled organ concert at the 15th century Dürnstein Pfarrkirche (or Parish Church). Originally part of an Augustinian monastery, the chapel was reconstructed in the baroque style, and the church tower is considered to be one of the finest architectural landmarks in the Danube valley.
The concert was pretty good. I walked around the church while the organist played, and I was bit stunned and shocked to find a skeleton enclosed in a glass coffin. I wondered if it was poor Snow White, who had not been rescued by her Prince Charming after all or what! But in reality it was just a saint in a glass coffin along with a memorial to them. It was a bit disturbing to see a skeleton on display like that. But then I spotted another one on the other side of the church, and so I had to check that one out as well. CREEPY!
After the concert, we had a few minutes to shop before heading back to the bus. Once back on the bus, we headed to Emmersdorf an der Donau for lunch at the Donauhof. Lunch was good and was followed by a wine tasting of 3 different wines. I discovered that I like “ice wine.” It’s a sweet wine and taste pretty good compared to some of the other wines I’ve tried.
After the wine tasting, we were held up a bit by a torrential downpour at the Donauhof. I eventually was sent to the bus with my umbrella so that I could get the umbrellas for the rest of my family and bring them back to where they were waiting. George gave them all a hard time about sacrificing “their daughter” so that they wouldn’t get wet, etc. But the truth is that I offered to do it. HA!
We then went to Melk Abbey for our guided tour. It was fantastic, and most importantly, photos were allowed inside. WOOHOO!! There were several exhibit rooms that we went through followed by a visit to some of the elegant rooms within the abbey. The grand hall was quite spectacular to see! The fresco-painted ceiling was breath-taking. We went out on the balcony and had an excellent view of the surrounding area as well. The rain had cleared up, and the sky was lovely once more. Then we visited the library, which was amazing! The chapel was highly ornate and baroque. I liked the spiral staircase that we saw on our way out, too.
We then came back to Linz, Austria via the bus, and thankfully our ship was there when we returned to the dock. YAY! When Aunt Peggy and I got to our cabin, we had a bottle of champagne and 2 champagne flutes along with a note. Apparently, the ship was slightly tilted in dry dock today, and the water from the AC spilled over into our cabin floor. So our carpet is still a bit wet. It also affected several of the rooms along our side of the hall. Our floor was mostly dry by the time we got back from the bus trip, but other rooms are still pretty wet.
We were soon sailing again. Tonight’s dinner was a German buffet with all kinds of sausages, etc. The crew wore traditional German clothing as well. I got some great shots of the sunset during dinner tonight, too. I just can’t resist…
After dinner, the crew provided our evening entertainment with songs, skits and other stuff. It was lots of fun! It was good to see them relax and let their hair down.
We all headed to bed laughing. It had been a great day.
Favorite Thing or Funny Moment
- Me: Discovering that there were real human skeletons on display in the church at Durnstein; and watching Alec and Valentine carry off their skit roles excellently.
- FEELING: Silly!
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