April 20 - Melk and Durnstein

During the night we cruised down the Danube, through locks and arrived at Melk as most of us were getting up and headed to breakfast.  The morning tour had buses taking us up the hill to the Babenberg Castle that was eventually donated to the Benedictine monks who converted it into a fortified abbey. The 900 year old abbey, sits high atop the granite cliffs, crowned by towers, resplendent in a golden hue. Like many of the historic buildings it requires constant renovation, refurbishing so there is usually scaffolding and workers meticulously cleaning to preserve original structures.  The abbey was huge, with room after room of treasures and the library and marble hall, the painted ceilings, and church were outstanding.  I picked up a souvenier book as it is impossible to capture the scope with my small camera.
Back on board we set sail through the scenic Wachau Valley (a UNESCO World Heritage listed region) and, as a change of pace, lunch was offered on the sundeck with a very popular grilled hamburger station. Our next stop was the small town of Durnstein for the Domane Wachau winery tour...taste testing of four different white wines, then down to see how it is all made with the modern technology, huge oak barrels (which by the way have to be crawled into (via a small door at the bottom tap area of the barrel) to be meticulously cleaned by hand before each new harvest is put in). The tram took us back to the ship, while some opted to check out the town or hike up to the ruins of the castle where Richard the Lionheart, King of England was held for ransom for two years.
During cocktail hour we were treated to a historical sketch featuring the monarchs Empress Sissi and Emperor Franz Joseph. Dinner tonight was the Epicurean dinner, another set menu with matching wines for each course. Starting with "Gebackener Bergkase mit Prieselbeeren" which is deep fried breaded mountain cheese with cranberry jam, followed by seasonal salad mix with breaded fried chicken tossed with Syrian pumpkin oil vinaigrette, then beef consomme with sherry and a cheese stick, then the main course choice of roasted duck breast in Burgenland red wine sauce searved with braised red cabbage, sauteed cinnamon apple rings and dauphine potatoes, or Broiled filet of Hoki with apple horseradish, accompanied with root vegetables and herb-potato mash, and for dessert Creme brulee with bourbon and cappuccino icecream served in a honey tuile, then the cheese board and petit fours (like you have room for anything more). The idea is to have us try some of the local epicurean fare and wines to match, from the Austrian white with the cheese and salad appetizers, Austrian red with the main course and a Hungarian dessert wine to round things out.