Hotel Wachau Melk

... for group tours after October 31st, so we didn’t get to see the interior, but the grounds were very nice. Afterwards we meandered back down to the town center and had lunch (Schnitzel and Potato Salad, yum) before catching the train to Krems. I’m not entirely certain why Krems is such a tourist "must see," but it was a very cute town. We spent most of the time there wandering through the old town photographing the ...

... the town, I was being spat upon again. Time for a quick salad and frittatensuppe (clear beef soup with strips of pancake) before hopping on a bus for Durnstein.
Durnstein's claim to fame are the ruins of a castle on the hill above the town, where Ric*************heart was apparently imprisoned in 1193 while on his way back from one of his frequent Crusades. I doubt that he was very comfy there, but he certainly had a spectacular view ...

... bus to the next town,
We had to walk about 10 minutes along the river to get to the buses that would take us to the Abbey. The Abbey is very beautiful, especially the exterior view with its location on the hill above the town. It is a working abbey so we only toured the Imperial Rooms, the library and the church. Magnificent ceiling paintings and gold leaf. Displayed were centuries old manuscripts and vestments which are still used today on special occasions ...

... but not too far inland, so from the top you get an excellent view of the river weaving through the lush green valley, wineyards and corn fields. The ruins themselves are enchanting. It was really nice to stand on the top walls and soak up the sun and the view. Also from the castle ruins you can see a corn maze down below. The maze is groomed to look like a knight on horseback, and you can see that clearly from so high above.

Last night we drove from Salzburg to Melk. When we got there, we couldn't find any available hotels in Melk but one very nice hotel we tried called a few nearby hotels and found us rooms. It is located out of Melk but only a short distance along the river. We arrived and were greeted by one of the very friendly owners who had no problem with Lincoln staying in our rooms and dining with us at ...

From Alice's Diary
" We left Vienna at 2.30am which none of us noticed because we were fast asleep.  We got up to find we were sailing through the most beautiful gorge.  The scenery is something else.  The only thing that is a little disappointing is the weather.  After breakfast we sat up on deck, not wanting to miss out wrapped up in blanket.  Kevin, Lois, Noel and Betsy joined us.  The six of us are getting along and we have the same sense of humour, so we ...

My parents decided to come visit for the day in Gaming. It was such a nice surprise to walk into noon mass after a morning of classes and see my parents sitting in a pew with Sarah B. After mass we went to lunch at the Kartause-Keller (the restaurant at the hotel we're connected to) with Sean Crofford and Celeste and Sarah. I can't explain how amazing it was to just be with ...

... man made it was really strange, next we headed up the hill to something on the hill where Tim could of one in and had a look inside a WW2 bunker, but we hadn't got any money out yet and you would have had to pay! Following another path we ended up at the river/ bridge, there were lots of random / weird buildings along the river that weren't even on the map, but really interesting! So we went for a bit of a wander and then on a little tikee tour of ...

... so far danke is my only word....my feet are no longer cute, but a mess....my hair NEEDS conditioner...i need a haricut....my skin is not liking wearing sunscreeen every day...i want to shop more...my right knee is going to be amputated tomorrow---k, not really but i wish....i miss my kitties...oh i'm sure there is lots more....but its midnight here and i'm shutting down. love you all...can't wait to get home and share pics and stories! the pic count is up to 1350...yikes! shelby