Vienna and Danube River Birthday Cruise 2025
For my last birthday, John and I took a river cruise on the Danube, round-trip from Vienna, with 3 days in Vienna, pre-boarding. The cruise went to Budapest, Bratislava, Melk, and Linz, including a sail through the beautiful Wachau Valley. Last year, I took a Danube cruise with my cousin Gerlyn to celebrate our 60th birthdays. Some of the places on this trip were repeats, but they were all places that I was happy to re-visit for additional exploration. There were also new places - additional stops in Austria, as well as my first visit to Slovakia. (For this blog, when I share something that I wrote about more in-depth in last year's blog, I will place a * to indicate that you can go to the link <above> for the previous blog for more information, if you're interested).
Our trip started off rocky when we almost missed our flight from Palermo because of unexpected construction and traffic. They were making the last call as we approached the gate, and we only made that because there was no line at luggage drop-off and security let us go through FastTrack, since John had a crutch. Phew! Then onboard, the lady next to me was hacking horribly. No mask, no attempt to do anything. Fortunately, I had some disposable masks with me. I'm happy to say neither of us got sick on the trip! As well, after these mishaps, everything else went smoothly, and we had a wonderful time.
We arrived to our hotel in Vienna** around noon. We had a bucket list of foods we wanted to try, and I wanted John to be able to see some of the beautiful buildings and parks* from my previous visit. My plan for this half-day was to have a traditional Viennese lunch, then to take a walk in a park and around part of the city, based on our energy levels.
**Vienna is Wien. So when you see Wiener Something, you know what that means. Did you know that? I didn't!
Marienhof, a highly-rated restaurant with traditional Viennese dishes, was right across the street from our hotel and graciously gave us a table without a reservation. The photo I took of our dishes didn't turn out, so I had to take a couple from their website. We, of course, wanted to have the famous Wiener Schnitzel in the most traditional style, veal with lemon, potatoes on the side, and a little cranberry (not pictured). It was very tasty. We also had the Hühnerbouillon, which was a chicken bouillon with "noodles" made from something like crepes. My favourite was the Eiernockerl, a type of small dumpling cooked in butter and egg. It was delicious! I'd like to try making this at home. It seems pretty straightforward.
Here's the area we explored on our afternoon walk. We went to the large park called Volksgarten, passing the city hall and parliament buildings. We passed through the area with many of the Habsburg palaces. We stopped for a treat at Cafe Demel, and we stumbled upon the Italian parish Catholic church.
Austrian government buildings are quite grand. First photo is City Hall. The other three are various parts of Parliament. I like the hugging ladies (represent Justice?).
Volksgarten was a lovely park, including an extensive rose garden. In one of the photos, you can see City Hall's spire in the distance.
Next, we strolled through the area around the Heldenplatz, the huge public square surrounded by many Habsburg buildings*. The Heldenplatz was set up with displays for the upcoming Austrian National Holiday celebrations on October 26. This area is also where the famous Lipizzaner Horses are housed.
We paused a bit at the Sisi Museum, located in a portion of the Hofburg Palace. We were ready for a little rest. Nearby, we saw there were Roman ruins uncovered in front of the palace.
Very interesting! I'll leave here a photo of the sign that explains what we're seeing.
After all that walking it was time for a snack, something from our bucket list. We headed over to Demel, a famous coffee house, bakery, and confectionery. Established in 1786, the main location we visited is certainly worth a peek, not only for all of the treats, but also for the beautiful building. Above is a selection of the floor and ceiling. Demel is especially known for its Kaiserschmarrn, a type of pancake with fruit. There is even a walk-up window just to order that. However, we were on the hunt for something else.
Dukatenbuchteln are sweet yeast rolls filled with apricot or plum jam and served with vanilla sauce (like that which accompanies apple strudel). It was a tasty treat, although I'm not convinced it was worth 8€ for 6 pieces. However, when in Vienna...
While meandering our way back to the hotel, we stumbled upon ABC, which happened to be the Italian parish of the city. The church was Madonna della Neve, and they were celebrating 400 years this year. Since our town saint is also Maria, and on this day they were celebrating her in Capo D'Orlando (also in a significant year, as 2025 is our town's 100th birthday), we felt it only appropriate to go inside!
There was some pretty stained glass and memorials to Mary and St. Francis (who, I recently learned at school, is the patron saint of Italy).
The most eye-catching feature of the church was this huge mosaic of L'Ultima Cena. Fortunately, the explanatory sign was also in Italian, so I could learn more about it. The dimensions correspond to the original, and it weighs 20 tons! It was commissioned by Napoleon in the early 1800s (Roman artist Giacomo Raffaelli), later acquired for the Belvedere Palace (we visited here later) by Viennese Emporer Frederico II. In the mid 1800s, Emporer Ferdinand gifted it to the Italian Congregation.
For less than the cost of one hotel buffet breakfast, we enjoyed all of this in a beautiful environment.
After breakfast, we were off to the city centre with a full agenda. We wanted to visit the famous St. Stephen's Cathedral*, including going up in the North Tower. We also planned to attend an organ concert at another church, St. Peter's. Additionally, we had several items on our food bucket list to conquer (lunch was going to be progressive, LOL). John really wanted to have an authentic pretzel, so we were on the lookout for that.
St. Stephen's is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral. It has the tallest spire in Austria. After taking a spin around the outside, we explored the inside, a good portion of which is available to tour for free.
After exploring inside, we were ready to go to the tower, but there was a long line. So, we decided to return later in the day. Next stop, sausage!
I remembered the delicious Bratwurst I had last year was from a stand near St. Stephen's. Zum Goldenen Würstel was exactly where I remembered, and it was just as yummy. I opted for the bratwurst with cheese on a plate, and John chose the traditional bratwurst in the bun. They impale the bun on a spike, then put all the requested extras inside.
There are many interesting sights around the area of the sausage stand, including a water refill station. Kudos to Vienna!
In addition to every high-end store you can imagine, this area also has the Wiener Pestsäule, a memorial (late 17th century) to victims of the Plague. Look at that cherub - he's hardly cherubic, LOL! I also spotted the Lindt store - I had to go there!
In the window was a display of St. Stephen's, filled with candies. Pretty accurate.
I selected some pieces by the kilo for me and John. I chose flavors I've never seen before, including popcorn and champagne. Champagne was our favorite. I also got the famous Mozart candy. This is a chocolate filled with marzipan and some type of filling, in this case pistacchio. Since Sisi is so important, there was a variation for her. I think that filling was apricot.
Next, we were off to St. Peter's Church for their (free, donation accepted) afternoon organ concert.
ABC! A visual feast.
Look at the detail on the pews.
The organ and our program. It was really enjoyable.
1.5 minutes of lovely organ music and church view.
Bucket list foods before returning to St. Stephen's for the tower. We had watched a video about Vienna "cheap eats," and LaoLao grandma's homemade dumplings came highly recommended. They were delicious. And, of course, we had to have a slice of Sacher torte*, Vienna's most famous cake. We ate lots of delicious foods this day, but John never found his pretzel.
The roof of St. Stephen's is a symbol of Vienna. It is very colorful and in great condition. Because of its slope, snow slides right off. The roof was destroyed in a fire and had to be recreated.
Tourists can view the roof from the two towers. The North Tower, which we took, has an elevator, while the South Tower involves climbing about 350 steps.
You can also see one of the bells at this spot. And, with the height, it affords beautiful views of Vienna. You might know that I have some issues with height, so this excursion was challenging for me, especially since it was windy. I hope you like the photos! :)
On tap for our next day was a visit to the Vienna Central Cemetery, as well as an evening concert at yet another ABC. As you can see, the cemetery is nowhere near the center. However, the Uber ride there was interesting. We got to see the neighborhoods where the regular folks live.
This cemetery is huge! Above one half of the entrance gate, and the church found inside. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the handicapped entrance, so we weren't able to check out the inside of ABC.
There were many interesting graves to look at, and it was very pretty with the Autumn colors. However, our primary goal was to see the Musician's Corner (Ehrengräber).
Johannes Brahms. His was the least ornate of the musician graves.
Franz Schubert
Johann Strauss. Several of his family members, also musicians, are nearby.
Ludwig Van Beethoven. This spot is his third resting place. Along with that of Schubert, it was moved when the Währinger Ortsfriedhof cemetery closed and became a park.
One might assume that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is buried here. In reality, no one knows exactly where Mozart is buried! He was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Marx Cemetery in a different part of Vienna. A memorial stone is placed in the general area in which his remains are believed to be. At Vienna Central, there is this memorial for Mozart in the Musician's Corner.
I also found the rather modern grave of more contemporary composer (and music theorist) Arnold Schoenberg.
We only scratched the surface of the cemetery. I had hoped to visit the Buddhist section and to find the grave of Alfred Adler, a famous psychologist. I also learned that Antonio Salieri is buried there, as well as the singer Falco (Rock Me, Amadeus). However, it was quite chilly and windy, so we settled for a visit to the cafe, which is a branch of a famous Vienna cafe. John had sausage - again! - while I opted for a vegetable strudel with herb sauce. Yum! The prices weren't horrible, given the location, until I saw the cost of our water - 9€ for two small bottles! We could have had a fancy coffee for the same price, crazy!
We took an afternoon pause at the hotel, since we had an evening activity. Our second concert was a program of Vivaldi music by Orchestra 1756, a group that specializes in music performed on historic Baroque instruments, like the beautiful harpsichord above. Additionally, the singer was a countertenor, which I really hadn't experienced live before. The goal is to experience the music as close as possible to the way it would have sounded during the composer's time.
The concert was held at St. Charles, ABC! I didn't get any exterior shots, because it was already dark outside when we arrived. As well, they didn't really want us wandering around while they were seating people, and photos / videos were not allowed during the performance. If you are curious, the link above leads to videos, as well as information about the musicians and instruments.
It was a little cold, blankets provided! While the program was lovely, and I enjoyed it, I preferred the organ concert that we attended the previous day.
The next day was embarkation day - yay! However, since we were due to report to the ship at 3, I had a final Vienna activity planned for this portion of our vacation - a visit to the Sigmund Freud Museum. The museum was much more interesting than I was expecting it to be.
Here's a short background for context. Freud lived in this home for 47 years, including many years practicing here in his home office. He was forced to flee in 1938, leaving much behind. His daughter, Anna, tried to recreate his office in their new home in London. Very little of the original furnishings are here, but rather in the Freud Museum in London. A few weeks before our trip, we had watched the film Freud's Last Session, which is the fictional telling of a meeting between Freud and C.S. Lewis just before Freud's death. (It was a good film - recommend!) While it is fictional, it gave me a context that helped me explore this museum more deeply.
The museum has an extensive section on anti-Semitic persecution as related to Freud's family. While Freud was able to leave (because of his fame and extensive 'taxes' paid), his four elderly sisters did not survive. They were first sent to 'nursing homes,' and then transferred to concentration camps, where they were all murdered. The exhibition also covers the extensive efforts of Freud's heirs to have their belongings returned. None of this material lent itself well to photos, but if you are interested in exploring further, you can check out the museum's website.
Elements of the house, including courtyard view.
Freud's waiting room is the only room that has been fully reconstructed. If you are interested in how they were able to reconstruct this important historical sight, this article is very interesting - from architectural, photographic, and historical viewpoints.
It was here that I found a photo containing Carl Jung, my personal favorite.
Freud's office / study was sparse, but there were a few interesting things. First, this is a mirror that would be behind him, facing the patient. I have read several different ideas about its therapeutic purpose; I'm not sure which is correct.
Based on the photo reconstructions (link above), this is where the famous analytical couch was placed. The spot on the wall shows where there was a decorative carpet behind the couch.
I learned that Freud was a passionate collector of antiquities, and I remember these types of objects being all around in the film. This is a portion of the almost 3,000 pieces he collected from a variety of cultures.
A few of Freud's personal items. The hat was worn when he left for London.
The Freud family story is a heavy one, so I'll wrap up this section on the lighter side of our visit. Being the genealogy nerd that I am, I enjoyed looking at Freud's family tree. I learned that his nephew, Edward Bernays is considered the Father of Public Relations, as he applied Freudian concepts related to the unconscious to marketing. Additionally, his great-grandson Matthew Freud led an internationally-known Communications firm. Well, this was an overlap of mine and John's careers! It made me laugh, because there was another overlap of our careers in the form of a man named Hugo Münsterberg. He is considered the Father of Industrial-Organizational Psychology, but he was also a prominent person in the history of Film Theory (John's college major). Our dog Hugo (those who have known us a long time will remember him) was named after Münsterberg.
Hugo. He was always a good sport.
A portion of the museum had a rotating art exhibit. I thought this one was funny. It's called Amor and Psyche. The sign said the artist uses everyday objects to embody the principles of male and female. I guess? I also found the Freud Sacher Torte in the cafe amusing.
I've never heard this quote before. It's true!
The bench outside of the museum contained stickers of visitors past. We contributed ours, then we were off to the nearby Sigmund Freud Park.
En route, we spotted this. I thought it might be close enough to satisfy John's pretzel urge, but that was sugar, not salt. The crust was pretzel-reminiscent, but not exactly. The search continued!
Sigmund Freud Park is a nice green space across from ABC. I would have liked to have explored the interior of the Votive Church, but it was time to go collect our luggage and head to the ship!
This was our itinerary. There were some slight changes (common with river cruises) and one unexpected surprise that I'll talk about later. We cruised with a company we've been wanting to try, VIVA, because of its all-inclusive concept, generally at a more affordable price than many other river cruise companies. Our ship was MS VIVA Enjoy.
VIVA is owned by Swiss shipping company Scylla and is headquartered in Germany. Therefore, I was Frau and John was Herr. But, no worries, both English and German are spoken on board. The pianist was from Calabria, and the cruise director was multi-lingual, so I was even able to speak some Italian.
Home away from home for the next week. VIVA gifts a bottle of bubbly to every stateroom. We were excited to have a "balcony" (sliding glass door) room, even if the weather was a little chilly. I was able to get a deal for this cruise that included the balcony upgrade and $50 OBC, which I applied toward a birthday massage. Unlike most cruise brands, the massage price was very reasonable, the same price as on land, not X2 or X3 the normal price - and no product sale attempts.
Having the balcony allowed me to get a couple of nice sunrise shots.
Our first dinner did not disappoint. River cruises typically feature dishes from the port at dinner (other choices available too). I tried the Austrian Tafelspitz, which is boiled brisket served with root vegetables. It was much more delicious than it sounds. The appetizer and dessert were also fabulous. Look at the beautiful presentation for the dessert (black tea eclair). In the lounge (drinks inclusive) I tried black currant juice. I'm obsessed with black currant after our London time this year. This juice was delicious, and later in the cruise I asked the bartender to make me a drink with this and Amaretto. I like Amaretto with cranberry juice and thought this would work. It did! I told him he could call it Christine's Cocktail.
Up and ready to greet a sunny, and crisp, day in port in Vienna. As I told the cruise director, we were Vienna-ed out, so we had a leisurely morning. I had my birthday massage, and then took a walk along the nice linear park where the river cruise ships dock. After lunch, we headed out on a tour to visit the Belvedere Palace, specifically the Upper Belvedere, which houses many of Vienna's most treasured artworks.
Approaching the Palace. This Baroque palace was built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. We got really lucky with this tour. There were only 4 of us plus the guide. He was very enthusiastic in his explanation of the history of the Palace, and we were able to ask all the questions we wanted.
The gardens were quite beautiful. We had a quick, chilly, look around while our guide collected our tickets. The Palace and its gardens are a UNESCO site.
Prince Eugene was famous for his exotic animal collection, housed in the gardens of the property. This is the only structure that remains, which I think was the lions' house. It was fun to learn about him, an historical figure I knew nothing about, but with an interesting life.
Some interiors.
Our guide said this is the most photographed view of Vienna.
While the gallery has an extensive collection, our tour was focused on who must be Austria's most famous artist, Gustav Klimt. I enjoyed taking a deep dive into his works, since I knew little about him. The museum has pieces from his many different periods, as well as his most famous work, The Kiss.
Portrait of a Woman, from Klimt's Realism period, about 1893. Earlier in his career, he completed many portraits.
Sonia Knips, about 1897. We talked about how Klimt's female portrayals were different to others in the time period, where women were typically the object of paintings. In his paintings, as you can see from these samples, the women are subjects.
Judith, 1901. Do you spot the head of Holofernes?
Fritza Riedler, 1906. While her expression tells us nothing of her inner thoughts, her hands give the viewer a clue.
Flowering Poppies, 1907. I was surprised by this one. We learned that Klimt was influenced by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. As well, he did much to support and promote them, as most were not as financially well-off as Klimt was.
Nearby, a less typical Monet. The Chef, 1882.
Avenue to Schloss Kammer, 1912. The color combinations are inspired by the French Impressionists.
The Bride, 1917/1918. This is an unfinished work discovered after Klimt's death in 1918.
The Kiss (Lovers), 1908. I wasn't able to get great shots, because so many people were making selfies in front of it. In fact, some people were visibly annoyed when I took my place in front to look at it closely - imagine, taking time to actually look at a painting in a museum! (The times we live in - *eye roll*) Most interestingly, we learned that this painting is different to what Klimt originally designed when it was intended as a personal portrait of the artist and his lover. When the painting was to be sold publicly, Klimt changed some of the elements to make the people less recognizable. In another part of the museum is a display showing his original vision.
When we returned to the ship for the evening, this nice surprise was waiting in our cabin. A great 2025 birth-day!
The next day we continued sailing toward Budapest, where we were scheduled to arrive in late afternoon. It was nice to look at all the beautiful scenery as we sailed along and enjoyed a leisurely day on the water.
Scenery along the Danube.
We passed the Basilica and Castle of Esztergom. The Basilica is the Mother Church of Hungary, its largest. The Castle is the site of the first Hungarian cathedral and a medieval palace and fortress.
VIVA Enjoy has two specialty restaurants, both included in the fare. For lunch we tried the Italian restaurant. I wanted to try the pasta in the cheese wheel. After the chef prepares the pasta, they swirl it around in that big wheel of parma. It was tasty.
Dessert was an ice cream bar in the afternoon. Fancy!
Arriving to Budapest. The yellow bridge is the Margaret Bridge, and the green one is the Liberty Bridge (near where we docked).
Parliament
The Danube riverfront between the two bridges is a UNESCO site. (I did not learn that on my last visit.*) I can understand why, as it's full of beautiful architecture and historical sites. Later, in the evening, we had a night tour along this section of the Danube.
Since we arrived a little early, we got off the ship to stretch our legs. I wanted to take John to the market that I visited last year. He was on the hunt for sausage. Central Market Hall is on the Pest side. It was built in the late 1800s and is the largest indoor market in the city.
We really enjoyed our night tour along the Danube. The river is lit from sunset until 10 or 11 p.m., depending on the season. It was very cool to see all of the buildings lit up. This is the Vigado Concert Hall, mid 1800s.
Bálna (The Whale) is an interesting building combining a 19th century warehouse with a modern structure built from glass and steel.
The sports arena cast beautiful reflections on the river.
St. Mattias / Fisherman's Bastion and The Chain Bridge*
Parliament
Margaret Bridge
The next day we signed up for a bus tour of Budapest. I had taken a bus tour on my previous trip,* but this one had some different locations and stops, plus John had not toured around Budapest. As well, the tour included a visit to St. Stephens Basilica, which I had not had an opportunity to visit last time (I had intended to, but the weather was so pretty, I decided to stick with outside activities).
Some scenery from our bus tour. The morning had pretty blue sky with dramatic clouds, nice for photographs.
Can you see the Hungarian flags on the Chain Bridge? Like Austria, Hungary had recently had their national holiday.
The Italian Embassy has a very pretty building.
The Hungarian Geological and Geophysical Institute has a beautiful blue roof.
Technical university, where the inventor of the Rubik's Cube taught. Interesting fact: He is the only person to become a millionaire during Communist rule in Hungary!
Next up, our visit to the Basilica. John's crutch was a benefit in this situation, as we were whisked through a back handicapped-accessible entrance, while the rest of the tour had to go through the main entrance. We got about an extra 15 - 20 minutes inside to meander around.
The Basilica certainly falls in the ABC category, as there is something beautiful every direction one looks. It was built between 1851 - 1905, and it's the third largest church in Hungary.
The Basilica contains many works of art by famous Hungarian artists. I learned that one can attend organ concerts here. Next visit!
The Basilica is named in honor of Stephen I, the first king of Hungary, as he established Christianity in the Kingdom. The church is famous for having the relic of Stephen's right hand, housed in this ornate box.
Our final stop was Heroes' Square, a large plaza which celebrates the founding of Hungary and its heroes. I was glad we stopped here, because my previous tour only had a drive through. The plaza abuts City Park, so it was nice to see that as well as to get a closer look at the monuments. The building in the background is "Cinderella Castle," a fake castle that showcases the various architectural types found in Hungary. The lake surrounding it, in the foreground, was being prepped for conversion to an ice skating rink for the winter.
This day's choices of regional specialties on board were fabulous. I tried Chicken Paprikash and Goulash.
I was excited to see Garlic Soup on the menu, as I'd been on the hunt for it. John was equally excited by the appetizer offering of sausage selections - there were sausages made from all kinds of meats, including horse.
I passed on the sausage. My favorite waiter mixed me up his special version of the Hugo Spritz. It had a lot of extra mint, and was super tasty! He said he felt bad because he forgot to wish me Happy Birthday the previous day. I assured him that was not expected, and he assured me it was. :) River cruises are a little different! This dessert I had to end my day's culinary adventures was beyond delicious, but I can't remember what it was called.
One thing not everyone realizes about river cruises is that there is usually more than one ship at a dock space. The ships just stack up against each other, and passengers cross through - or over - the ships before theirs. To add extra confusion, sometimes the ships switch places while passengers are out touring, so your ship might be in a different spot than when you left!
Crossing over is more complicated than passing through. Up steps, across, down steps. Three ships stacked up.
On VIVA's top decks, there are bikes passengers can check out to ride around in port. This evening, I returned from our Budapest tour to find our "balcony" was looking into the laundry of the ship next to us!
Our next port was Bratislava, Slovakia. Since our port time was about 6 hours, we decided to just have a meander around the charming streets and pop into ABC. Our primary target was a self-planned "excursion" - to Kormuth Confectionery. This coffee and pastry shop is known for its delicious cakes, but more so for its over-the-top Renaissance-style decorations. It's also a sort of museum, as all of the service pieces are vintage.
We had nice weather for our approach to Bratislava, enough to enjoy a coffee out on the top deck.
We went through a big lock* at breakfast.
This structure is called the Bratislava UFO. It's an observation tower and restaurant with panoramic views. It looks like a UFO!
The city looked very pretty as we approached, ready to dock by connecting to one of those other ships.
Scenes from our walk around. I really enjoy just having a ramble through a new city. One of the great things about river cruises is that the majority of the time, you dock right at the city centre. It makes it so easy to explore.
The Opera House was beautiful. We strolled past a building where Mozart had given a concert at the age of 6!
Medieval City Walls
A pop into ABC for me. John stayed on a bench to people watch and managed to have a chat with a local, even though neither knew the other's language. St. Martin's Cathedral dates back to the late 1400s. It has gone through many additions and reconstructions. It served as the coronation church for the Kingdom of Hungary from 1563-1830.
St. Martin's interior, an interesting mixture of older and newer (all older by American standards). There was also a crypt to explore, but I had to forgo that. It was time for cake!
Now, you cannot just go into this cafe to have a look around. You have to buy a pastry and a drink per person. There's a sort of guard at the door who lets potential customers know this. Several people in front of us turned away, but we were there to partake and enjoy. They missed out!
Your first task upon entering is choosing your cake. Oh my, which to choose?! When my eyes settled on the poppy seed cake, I knew that had to be one of our choices. On our Budapest boat tour, we had learned how popular poppy seed items are in the region. I asked which of the other cakes are most traditional, and ended up selecting the Esterházy torta. This is a multi-layer hazelnut cream cake with a fondant topping. The look reminded me of a multi-layer caramel cake that was popular in south Georgia, and I wondered if that cake was a descendant of this one.
The next difficult choice was the beverage. I was super intrigued by the hot chocolate with black currant liqueur (remember by new black currant obsession - there's a liqueur!?). However, I really wanted to have the fancy serving pieces and that meant tea. John opted for a berry lemonade.
Our snack excursion did not disappoint. It was very refined with all of the fancy serving pieces, and the food and drink were delicious. The poppy seed cake was the best of the two. After tea, I had a look around the building at some of their decorations.
Even the toilet was decorative! My favorite was the ceiling in our room with all of the astrological symbols.
On the way back to the ship, I was on the hunt for a liquor store that sold that intriguing black currant liqueur. Success! I learned this is called Creme de Cassis, and it is an element in the Kir Cocktail.
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Back on board, we were treated to music by a local duet. Their day jobs are as conductor and lead violin for the opera orchestra, so they were no amateur duo. They played both classical and traditional folk music. The violinist played more than 20 instruments, of which he played about 5 or 6 for our performance.
Thirty seconds of folk music. This particular pipe only had one hole. Amazing the sound that was produced!
Our next day's focus was the trip through the UNESCO-listed Wachau Valley, about a 30 km journey. This was my favorite part of my last river cruise, so I was very excited to experience it again and share it with John. We traveled through the Valley on the way to our next stop, Melk, Austria.
Our tour began at the town of Krems, where we could see the famous Göttweig Abbey* from the river.
Next we approached Dürnstein, Austria. I don't remember what the first building was. I think it was the church in a small town called Mautern. However, I do remember the blue one. It is a Baroque tower - in its original blue color! - at the former Augustinian Canons Monastery. In the background, on the hill, you can see the ruins of Dürnstein Castle (850 years old). Richard the Lionheart was held captive in the dungeons of this Castle after a shipwreck left him stranded in enemy territory. Once he was recognized, Leopold demanded a ransom for his return; monies from the ransom were used for building in various places in Austria.
The Wachau Valley is famous for its wine production, with origins of viticulture dating back over 2000 years. Our journey passed so many vineyards, many of which were historically owned by Abbeys. Common varieties are Veltliner and Riesling. We ENJOYed sampling several wines from this region at our meals.
Some of the beautiful scenery between towns. Isn't that blue sky against the Autumn colors just gorgeous?!
The village of St. Micheal is known for this late Gothic church with the 7 Hares on the roof ridge. Lore says they were petrified there during a cold winter. When these clay figures were removed for restoration, it was discovered that they are actually a variety of different animals.
The wine village of Spitz is also known for its apricots, and it is a market town. Six hundred years ago, the wine ships were pulled by people, then by horses, on towing paths to transport the wine upstream. It was time for lunch after we passed this area. :) Pumpkin risotto to match the Autumn colors, yum!
Ruine Hinterhaus (Hinterhaus Castle Ruins), which date back to the 12th century.
Schloss Schönbühel (Schönbühel Castle) is nicknamed the Guardian of the Wachau. Dating back to the 9th century, with various expansions since then, it served as a stronghold for the territory over several centuries. A first peek at Melk Abbey, as we approached our port destination for the afternoon.
Our time in Melk was just the afternoon (or so we thought), and I was a bit tired from running all around the ship taking pictures through the Wachau Valley. Since there (surprisingly) weren't any excursions to the Abbey, and I didn't want to take on walking there nor walking into town, I decided I would just take a short walk around the port area. When I went to debark, I sensed something was amiss. The Captain and others were scrambling around the gangway, and they held us back from debarking for several minutes.
I was able to get a nice shot of our beautiful ship in this port.
The port had this cute camping area nearby. I learned that RVing is another popular way to see the sights in this region.
A closer view of the Abbey and an interesting sculpture.
I returned to the ship and had a brief nap in order to be energetic for the evening's Gala Dinner. When I awoke and saw we were still in port, my earlier suspicion was confirmed. We learned that we would not be leaving Melk any time soon, as one of the mooring ropes had snapped and become wrapped around a propeller! A diver had been working, unsuccessfully, several hours fixing the issue. We were now waiting for a more experienced diver to arrive from Germany; he was en route from his 7 hour drive.
They were able to move the ship away from the main port into this alcove. This is where we were when I awoke from my nap. It was very confusing, LOL! I got a pretty sunset shot, though.
The plan now was to go by bus the following day to our next port, Linz. These kinds of changes are quite common on river cruises, but they are typically caused by problems with water levels, not a freak accident! The primary concern was whether or not we would be able to sail back to Vienna to debark. Organizing bus transfer arrangements would be a nightmare, but imagine the impact on the next scheduled cruise! I felt bad for our cruise director and the rest of the operational staff. Onward to the Gala Dinner...
This was a fabulous meal (not that they all weren't wonderful). Such beautiful presentation, including the napkin folding and table decorations! On this evening, dinner was the same in all of the restaurants, so John and I opted to go to the quieter Italian restaurant. The cruise director, entertainer, and other staff were doing the same - we're no dummies!
For Linz, Austria, we only had one bucket list item - to try the famous Linzer Torte. (In retrospect, I'm thinking maybe this blog should have been called the cake cruise!). Since our time in port was cut short with the bus transfers, there wasn't much time to do anything else but walk around. The cruise director told us that we could join the guided walking tour for free, but John and I decided we would go on our own.
A benefit of the switch to buses was getting to see some of the pretty Austrian countryside.
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Our first stop was the main square. We found that a farmer's market was going on. Bonus!
Linz has a Plague victims memorial similar to the one in Vienna.
There were many beautiful flowers and plants.
John had one last opportunity for sausage. :) He liked this better than the one in Budapest. We also ate some delicious fresh bread, but I forgot to make a picture.
A few piccies from our walk around town. No time for ABC at this port. The denim strips were interesting. I think they were to make a statement about fashion waste.
For the Linzer Torte, we were happy to discover that a famous and highly-rated cafe-bakery, K.U.K. Hofbackerei, was right near us. Located inside a medieval period building, it was a charming spot to sample the area's specialty. The Linzer Torte was good, but that bear claw pastry was even better!
Back on board, it was time for High Tea (served once per cruise). Wow, they went all out!
So many treats! What to choose?
My final selection. All was delicious!
At the final toast with the Captain and Crew, I received a special surprise - I was the winner of the previous night's music trivia and was awarded a voucher for 250€ toward a future cruise. Bonus - yay!
I'm happy to report that the diver was successful, and that we were able to sail back to Vienna in a timely fashion. Another fun and memorable trip in the books! For anyone who likes statistics, my updates after this trip: 35 countries visited (I added Slovakia this trip), 55 cruises, 38 UNESCO sites (amazingly, that's only 4%!). And John finally got his pretzel ... at the Vienna airport!
When I asked the vendor if he had mustard, he gave me the stink eye and said, "No eat pretzels with mustard!"
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