Friday 31 May to Monday, 3 June 2019
We awoke on Friday morning in Melk and after breakfast headed up to the Benedictine Abbey. This is a vast complex of buildings that were extensively (and expensively) renovated from 1978 to 1995 after a fire in 1974. The abbey was founded in 1089 but the building that stands today was built in the early 18th century.
We couldn’t take any photos inside but it is beautiful. Our guide was passionate about religious relics and had traced many throughout Europe. The school in the grounds was reopened after the war and now has 900 students. We walked back to the Envision through the village of Melk.
We left Melk at 1130 to sail through the Wachau valley. Our Cruise Director, Akos, described the old castles and churches while we sat on the top deck.
We spent the afternoon cruising to Vienna, where we spent 2 nights due to the changes in our itinerary in the first few days. On our first day we did a city walk around the old town. It has many beautiful old buildings but lacked the charm of some other places we have visited.
On Saturday afternoon we took to the bikes with our Adventure host, Hristo, who has also been giving yoga and Pilates classes in the mornings. We crossed the river to the large island in the Danube that contains large parks and a rowing course.
When we crossed to the northern bank to were surprised by the number of nude sunbathers out in this hot afternoon. Eyes on the road was essential.
To finish a very full day, we went to an entertaining waltz and operetta concert in town.
On Sunday morning we headed into town and the Roman Museum. Vienna had been an important Roman fort town and excavations had revealed the remains of many buildings under the city.
Our afternoon excursion was to Schonbrunn Castle, the summer palace of the Hapsburgs, who ruled Austria and Hungary for over 640 years. The castle has 1400 rooms of which we saw about 20 on our tour (again no photos inside).
We left Vienna at 1700 for the final cruise to Budapest. We arrived about 0830 and immediately went for a bus tour around the city that ended with a short visit to the castle overlooking the Danube.
In the afternoon we decided to head out of the city on an excursion to 2 small wineries. Both were great locations with informative hosts and great wines. Hungary is known for its quality wine but most is drunk in Hungary.
Our last dinner was a time to say goodbye to new friends and then enjoy the Budapest lights from our home in the heart of Budapest.
