As soon as you cross the border to Austria you know it, even without border crossings. Same train but now the information comes to you in understandable English. The number of people boarding the train doubles and the countryside takes on the well cares for look we've come to expect. Slovakia was a delightful surprise bit Austria is just unique. It took us 4 conductors, 8 hours and lots of miles to arrive on Vienna and we were ready!Off the train and on t...

We woke up in the lovely Wachau Valley surrounded by one of the most beautiful regions in Austria. A riot of Fall colours embrace the hillsides with their terraced vineyards and apricot orchards. The ship had docked at the village of Durnstein which our "Daily Cruiser" newsletter described as "the Pearl of the Wachau". In this case I had to agree. What a stunning setting. Not only is the village quaint and steeped in history it has a castle you can climb up ...

Today we enter the world of the Habsburg Monarchy with our first stop being Bratislava. So much of what we have learned on this journey has centred around the more recent Communist governments or the distant tentacles that clawed their way north from the Ottoman Empire and Rome. Here we become immersed in the land of Mozart and the ever changing Habsburg Monarchy.Because the Habsburg's lost and gained territory on a regular basis we have most likely been in t...