Today we entered the Main (pronounced Mine) - Danube Canal; 170kms long with 16 locks with the two largest stepping a staggering 25 metres each. This canal links the North Sea with the Black Sea enabling ships to cruise from Romania to the Netherlands. The canal first took commercial shipping in 1996 and is an engineering marvel. Photos don't do it justice.But with a large number of vessels on the canal following a routine maintenance shutdown of the locks two we...

Another perfect morning on the Danube - blue skies, beautiful scenery and the best massage I think I've ever had. This ship has it all!We were sailing to the German city of Regensburg and as we have commented often, against a very substantial current. Arriving after lunch we forsook the normal walking tour of the town and undertook an optional coach tour to the Weltenburg Abbey and Danube Gorge. There were lots of people about, it being the May Day holiday.The Ab...

We embarked at the town of Linz which is the third largest in Austria (population 8 million) on an optional two hour coach tour to Salzburg. On the way we travelled through some of the most beautiful countryside....... rolling green hills with the snow capped Alps in the background as it had snowed the previous week. The 'Salzakammergut' or Lake District is postcard picture perfect....exactly as it was in The Sound of Music. Absolutely stunning! On the way we sto...

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 terrace...

Wow! What a day! We docked at Vienna early and as normal undertook a walking tour of the city with a guide. Vienna, of course the capital of Austria is a bustling city of 1.7 million people with the centre of the city circled by the 5 sided Ringstrasse, effectively a city ring road on which the main cultural institutions are located. Some of these institutions were impressive to say the least with Kim's jaw literally dropping as we sighted the Imperial Palace whi...