Entering the Wachau Valley from Melk |
Tuesday, 13 June (continued). On the sail toward Vienna, the ship would pass through the scenic Wachau Valley. We had done this in 2003, too, but in the opposite direction. Among the sights we passed along the Danube were the Schönbuhel Palace, the hilltop castle ruins of Aggstein (12th century), and the village of Willendorf (where the 25,000 year old fertility statue, the Venus of Willendorf, was found in 1908), . . .
Sptiz Castle | 
St. Michael fortified church | 
Village of Weissenkirche |
. . . the village of Durnstein (with the ruins of a Kuenringer castle where King Richard the Lionhearted was held for ransom in 1193), and the village of Krems (which marks the end of the Wachau Valley).
Richard the Lionhearted statue | 
Durnstein below castle ruins | 
Krems marks the end of the Wachau |
A little beyond Krems, I spotted another large abbey on a hill in the distance. I learned later that this was the Abbey of Göttweig (founded 1083). I don’t think anyone else on the ship saw it because they were already in the dining room for lunch. But I remembered it from our 2003 trip and was watching for it.
The river banks were less hilly and less scenic now. We finished our books and did some more packing before the ship reached Vienna at 18:00. It docked close to Mexicoplatz and the fortress-like Kaiser Jubilee Church (1898-1913), built to celebrate the 50th jubilee of Franz Josef’s ascension to the throne.
Göttweig Abbey in the distance | 
Arriving in Vienna at Mexico Platz | 
Kaiser Jubilee Church |
Passing by the Prater |
We had dinner early (18:00) because we were going on the “Musical Vienna” optional tour at 19:45. On the bus ride to the Kursalon (1867) in the Vienna City Park, we saw some familiar sights, including the Prater with its giant Ferris wheel. We greatly enjoyed the 75-minute musical performance featuring selections of Viennese music (Strauss), opera (Mozart), and ballet. The director (also first violinist) had a mischievous twinkle in his eye and really seemed to enjoy performing. The bus had us back to the ship at 11:15, leaving us little time to sleep, but it was worth it.
Vienna's Kursalon | 
The dancers end a number | 
The singers in action |
.JPG)
