Danube River Cruise - 5/7/14

Awake and up at 4:50 this morning in Vienna.  Showered and out to enjoy coffee and task of recapturing the previous day's events for our growing (up to six) reading audience. A pleasant and clear morning; good to know as today should be a busy one.

Off ship at 8:45 for the trip into Vienna and the "Hidden Culture Tour."  Others are on a standard City Tour and a Gentle Walkers tour.  All spend about 3 hours in Vienna, covering the same things from different angles. We all come back with the same information.  Vienna is a very old City and the guides all seem to want to impress us with the city's former glory and the power and glory of the past Austro-Hungarian empire.

After a return to the ship for lunch, it is off again on another coach trip to Schonbrun Palace.  This was the "summer" home of the Hapsburg dynasty, leaders of the Holy Roman Empire and then the Austro-Hungarian empire.  According to our resident expert, Deb, they were going for a competitive run against Versailles; Hapsburgs lost, but it is hard to see how from the opulence apparent in the interiors. We toured the palace and then had an opportunity to tour the grounds and garden.  With only 40 minutes to cover 7 square kilometers of gardens, we didn't make much of a dent.  A gentle rain started shortly after we reached the grounds, refreshing given our lack of moisture back home, but it did put a damper on the strolling.

We returned to the ship by 5:00 and sat for a lecture on the coming day in Budapest.  Then down to change and back up for the Captain's Farewell dinner.  This was our group's night to dine in the private dining room rather than the main dining room, so we didn't get to see the Captain down his fare.  However, given the small size of the vessel, he is a constant presence and we speak to him almost daily, so missing the chance to watch him eat wasn't such a hardship.

An early evening turn-in for some in preparation for our arrival in the final city destination of Budapest in Hungary, tomorrow morning around 8:30 AM.

Danube River Cruise - 5/6/14

Up at 6:00 AM this morning and out onto deck to watch the arrival at Melk, AU. Picturesque small town (pop. 5,525) along the Danube.  Primary point of interest is the Benedictine Monastery built on the hill side.  From the river, it is a short drive or 25 minute walk.  We leave via coach to tour the abbey and gardens this morning.

The building and museum are magnificent. The museum especially has been redesigned to present these very old artifacts (some dating from the 10th century) in a very modern setting. Upon reaching the actual church, we are bowled over by the magnificence of the interior.  Multiple alters surround the main knave. The high alter is completely covered in gold relief with sculptures abounding.  A true feast for the eyes.

Unfortunately, due to schedule and the crowd at the church, we had only 10 minutes to tour the garden, so barely had a chance to walk around the first lawn.  Obviously well tended, although the flowers were not quite in bloom. Hundreds of rose bushes covered in buds, tulips blooming and peonies beginning.  Lots of modern sculptures placed in the grounds.  It is a shame we didn't have time to investigate and tour.  We could have spent an entire morning just in the gardens.

Back to the ship for a cast off at 12:30, headed through the Waucha Valley of the Danube on our way towards Vienna.  A warm and pleasant afternoon of sailing and reaching our dock in Vienna at 6:00 PM. We had an early dinner as tonight we are taking in a Mozart and Strauss concert in Vienna.

The concert was held in a former city palace of one of the ruling aristocrats but to call this a house is not to do it justice.  The Concert room was magnificently adorned in marble with high ceilings. The orchestra was small, just 11 instruments including a piano, strings and a four piece woodwind section. The concert master was playing a Stradivarius which belongs to the City Orchestra of Vienna and is rarely played.  This evening's performance was being taped for Austrian television, hence the opportunity to listen to the Strad.

The group was outstanding.  They obviously enjoyed the music and their work.  In addition to the musicians, there were two opera singers and two ballet dancers performing the works by Mozart and Strauss. We left the concert at 9:50 and returned to the ship to be greeted by warm bowls of goulash!  Off to bed to rest for tomorrow's tours of Vienna.