Sep 20, 2018 - Vienna

We cruised into Vienna in the middle of the night. We spent the next 2 days exploring this area. We took the bus downtown for a city tour, and a visit to the Art History Museum followed by a walking tour of Vienna. Like all the old cities we have toured, most of the historic city center is pedestrian traffic only. There is so much history here, After dinner we took a bus to the Abbey of Klosterneuburg for a Mozart and Strauss concert. The seven piece orchestra and two singers were incredible. We ended the evening in the bar visiting and...

Sep 19, 2018 - Durnstein

Last night we moved further south on the Danube to Melk. It is a quaint town of 5000 people, with a World Heritage designated site, the Melk Monastery. The abbey was founded in 1089 when Leopoldo II gave one of his castles to Benedictine monks. A monastic school was founded in the twelfth century, and the monastic library soon became renowned for its extensive manuscript collection. The monastery was also a major site for the production of manuscripts. There are 12 library rooms, home to thousands of historical books. This afternoon we...

Sep 18, 2018 - Linz, Austria

First stop: Mondsee ( Moon Lake ), and St Michael’s Basilica where the Major and Maria were married in the Sound of Music. It is a beautiful town, in the Austrian Alps, with houses and shops painted in pastel colours. Next stop: Salzburg, Mirabel Palace and the gardens were beautiful. The palace was built in 1606 by the Archbishop of the time, for his mistress and their 15 children Salzburg Cathedral originally built in the 700’s, renovated in the 1600’s, and again in 1959. It took 14 years to replace the dome that was bombed during the...

Aug 19, 2018 - August 17 & 18

Dear all, Well we have spent two nights in Vienna. On the first night we went to a small concert which was ire ally lovely. It was in a lovely room. Apart from the 9 piece orchestra they also had two soloists and two ballet dancers. The whole production was wonderful. The steps leading up to the concert were really interested. Next morning we were off early, to beat the crowd of tourists and the heat. We visited the Schronbrunn palace. It was really beautiful inside but no photos allowed, but the gardens were lovely. We did the usual walk...

Aug 13, 2018 - Heading along the Danube River

After the disappointment of yesterday we headed east out of the city along the Danube. It was a lovely day. We enjoyed a walk along by the river, although it was too hot to go too far. We then drove along by the Danube and found the lovely little town of Grien . not only was it by the river but it had a lovely town square with the oldest theatre in Austria dating back to 1791. Further on we had a look at the locks and generating stations neat Ybbs before heading away from the river up to Maria Taferi with its huge pilgrim church and great...

Aug 12, 2018 - Linz

Today we headed into Linz. First getting into the city was a bit of a nightmare as it had a very complex one-way system and very poor signage. We found somewhere to park then walked through the town to the Danube river. The city was very unappealing everything looked shabby and untidy. Walking along the Danube the parks were untidy with litter bins overfull, graffiti everywhere very unlike any other town we had visited in Austria We decided we would return to base – very disappointed.

Aug 11, 2018 - St Florian and Steyr

Our campground was near the small town of St Florian and according to our guide book “hides one of Austria’s finest Augustinian abbeys” Yes, another abbey! This was our first stop. The abbey dates back to at least 819 and has been occupied by the Canons Regular, living under Augustinian rule, since 1071. It’s style again was baroque. The church was again exuberant but this time with stucco work and wall paintings. The composer Anton Bruckner was buried in the church. We then travelled south through a patchwork of fields studded with...

Aug 10, 2018 - Our final stop in Austria- Linz

Today we made our move to our final stop in Austria- Linz. Leaving the campground at St Pölten was a little bit of a challenge but we made it. We had a good journey and it was an easy in and easy set up in the campground at Linz. The weather is forecast to be a little cooler for the next few days.

Aug 8, 2018 - Melk Abbey

The one must do in this area is to visit the Stift Melk or Melk Abbey. The Abbey sits on a high cliff above the town of Melk and the Danube River, and visible for miles. The site was originally a castle but in 1089 Leopold II of the Babenburg Margrave of Austria gave his castle and church on the Melk cliffs to the Benedictine monks, who converted it into a fortified abbey. Fire destroyed the original fortress so in between 1702 and 1736 the magnificent sunny-yellow Baroque building seen today was built in accordance with plans by Jacob...

Aug 7, 2018 - Spitz an der Donau and into the hills behind

The one thing the Wachau is not short of is churches, monasteries, and castles, many dating back to medieval times. We continued are exploration along the Danube despite the weather continuing to be extremely hot. Our first stop was at Wösendorf in der Wachau which had three generations of church/ fortifications. We were able to climb the original tower. From there we continued along to Spitz an Der Donau. This small town had a church , an old castle , and a lovely riverside location where we sat and watched the hotel boats. We drove the...

Aug 6, 2018 - Schönbühel and Aggestein Castle

Today we were determined to find the castle on the Danube that was on the front of our Lonely Planet Guide for Austria. We found it at Schönbühel It was certainly impressive and huge but privately owned – must be some Russian Oligarch! We walked along the Danube to get the perfect shot! From there we decided to head to Aggstein Castle ruins which stands high on a hill above the Danube. It was an impressive place to visit not only for its views , but also the history surrounding the castle. The excellent audio guide took you to some...

Aug 5, 2018 - Dürnstein and Weissenkirchen in der Wachau

Another hot day. There is only so much you can do when it is so hot! Our first stop today was Dürnstein, a very popular stop. Two things strike you as you approach the town- firstly the blue-white bell tower of church of the Augustinian Monastery. Secondly the ruined castle high above the town. You could tell the town got a lot of visitors as there were two large carparks outside the town walls We enjoyed wandering the cobbled streets with its mixture of Gothic, Renaissance and Boroque architecture and the best views of the Danube was from...