Vienna was a city I was really looking forward to see however, while there were various points of interest, I did not enjoy the city as much as the other towns and villages we had visited. Perhaps it is because Vienna is a city with its expensive up-market shops and as such loses the charm of other places along the Danube. The Danube (and where our ship is docked) does not flow through Vienna so we boarded buses for about a half hour drive into the city. Many ...

We have arrived in Melk which is in Austria. Melk has been and important spiritual and cultural centre in Austria for over 1000 years. It has been a Benedictine monastery since 1089 and it is still a working monastery. In the late 1970's there were extensive restorations of the Baroque buildings and it is not only a major tourist attraction, but also a school and hosts other cultural events. The gardens around the entrance of the Abbey are manicured and very ...

While Brad travelled from Melk to Durnstein by bike, I took the easy route and cruised down the Wachau Valley - much more relaxing I think. This area of Austria is renowned for wine and apricots and often the alcohol and the apricots are mixed to make an apricot brandy or 'Marillenschnaps'. After a very scenic cruise past various castles and churches, we docked at Durnstein - a quaint little town whose landmarks are the monastic church and the ruins of a castle...