Vienna, Austria

Passau was the final German city to host our ship, but we all loaded on to buses to be driven across the German-Austrian border and into the Austrian Alps to the historic city of Salzburg. The guided tour of the old city was fascinating, and it was followed by a short drive into the hills to an authentic hillside restaurant to be wined and dined with delicious Austrian fare, including apple strudel. What followed would probably be expected for this region of Austria, as the hills came alive with the sound of music. A small orchestra of strings, brass and percussion provided backing to some exceptional singers performing songs from the 1965 film “The Sound of Music”, as well as some other traditional tunes. Earlier in the day we saw several locations from the famous Julie Andrews film. Afterwards the bus returned us to the ship that had by now moved further down the Danube to the Austrian city of Linz.

The staircase where Maria and the children sung "Do-Re-Me".

Part of the "Sound of Music" orchestra

The last Saturday in September for 2017 will always be a memorable day for us. Our incredibly resourceful Cruise Director, Werney, was able to locate and set up an internet connection and a large television screen to enable a bunch of Australians to watch the AFL Grand Final between Richmond and Adelaide.  The minor issue of it being screened live at 6:30 in the morning was not a problem – beers and German sausage were available and plentiful. We had a couple of Tigers supporters on the ship who took front row seats, and they were ecstatic by the end of the game. It was a momentous win by one of the original Melbourne football clubs, ending a 37 year drought.

The game finished just in time for a 9:30 departure to tour the massive Melk Abbey, a baroque Benedictine monastery in the quaint little medieval village of Melk. Founded in 1089, there were parts of this building that were a thousand years old. It was quite the spectacle, with statues, painted frescoes, and 800 year-old printed parchment, and an incredible library of antique books in a huge room with a balcony on the second level.  Leaving the abbey, the walk back to the ship took us through the old village of Melk with its narrow cobblestone streets and tiny one-room stores and cafes.

The birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in Salzburg.

After lunch, a large group of us each took one of the ship’s bicycles for a guided tour of the Danube valley. It was a one-way trip, as the ship met us downstream in another quaint little medieval village called Durnstein. Things that made this ride very special – it was flat (which was simply heaven for a bike rider from Tasmania), the bikes had a little electric motor on the back wheel, and the scenery was varied and beautiful. Whenever you became tired of pedalling, you simply turned on the motor and enjoy being taken for a ride. We rode through several small villages, with the front doors of some homes opening directly onto the narrow cobblestone street. We rode through a large vineyard, with grapes dangling in all their fullness ready to be harvested. Indeed there were several workers in between rows with buckets of freshly picked bunches. The Danube River was always nearby, as if guiding us, and on the other side were rocky cliffs or steep vineyards or farm houses or a church spire. It was a quiet, peaceful, leisurely and scenic 32 kilometre ride.

Biking on the Danube.

We had an a two-day stay in Vienna, which was a bonus for us because it enabled us to spend a day with two special people, and locals as well. We met Alice when we first visited Vienna 8 years ago, and that chance meeting has grown into a wonderful long-distance friendship that has lasted. Alice and her partner Matt met us dockside in Vienna and the four of us spent a lovey day exploring Vienna, catching up and making the most of the nine hours we had together on this Sunday afternoon. It being Alice’s birthday was an added bonus