Cruising overnight to the small town of Durnstein whose claim to fame was that Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner here in 1192/93 in Kuernring Castle which overlooks the town.
The town is in the Wauchau area of Austria known for its picturesque landscape, history and local wines.
From here there were two options to get to our next port of Melk - either a 35km bike ride (which Bill took) or the ship.
The cruise went through lovely country dominated by terraced vineyards on the hills leading to the river and of course some beautiful buildings, particularly churches. Each village seems to have its own church - a reminder how important churches and faith were in the lives of people in centuries past.
On arrival in Melk, Kim embarked on a walking tour of the Abbey first established over 1,000 years ago and where Benedictine monks have lived continually for over 900 years. The Abbey is known as one of the finest Baroque buildings in Europe. The Monks are active in the local parishes, schools and local communities and the Abbey is a living church. Again it was a very warm day.
Bill joined 17 others including three crew for a guided bike tour. It was easy peddling and it was enjoyable to see the river and attractions from a different perspective. If we were not looking at the river (and the Amalegro) it felt like we were cycling through a Europen forest (oh that's right, we were) and that was very easy on the senses.
The day ended with a wonderful dinner and local entertainment.