Dürnstein-Melk
The Danube Trip
Early in the morning we left the Mia and got on the bus. Our goal was Duernstein, a romantic little town that clings to the mountain below the medieval castle. Legend has it that Richard Lionheart was imprisoned and held for ransom after a falling out with the local strong man. The singer Blondel, his loyal follower, found him eventually after singing an English song in front of every castle along the Danube. Richard knew the second verse to the song and the rest is legend - of course the same story is told at castle Trifels
A view of castle Duernstein
Bemerkswert ist die blaue Kirche. Es waren leider ausser uns noch unheimlich viele andere Touristen da, so dass die Schoenheit des Städtchens nicht so richtig zum Tragen kam.
Duernstein's famous "Blue church"
A view of the Danube through a gate of the town wall
view of Duernstein
We continued our trip to Stift (monastery) Melk. The bus route paralles the river and we passed the Mia along the way:
View of Melk
After a rather lengthy wait we were finally able to ascend the "Imperial Stairs" and admire the rooms reserved for visits by the emperor and other important guests. We enjoyed the artifacts that represent the impressive history of the still active monastery - our guide was a young man who had just completed his college prep education in the school attached to the monastery.
The library at Melk
We were most impressed by the library which contains about 80,000 volumes, including a fragment of the original "Nibelungen Lied", the medieval story that became the foundation for Wagner's "Ring of the Nibelung" cycle of foour operas. Additionally, the library contains a beautiful fresco ceiling that has maintained its original glorious colors because the library was never used with artifical lights.
Ceiling fresco in the library
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Once we returned to the Mia we began the final leg of our journey. We spent one more night on the ship, reaching Passau at six am the following day. Our departure, like our arrival was pleasant: Bus to the Globus garage, reasonable traffic and we arrived at two thirty in Egelsbach (the town where Birgit lives), satisfied with our trip, filled with memories of many beautiful sights and experiences. Birgit claims she did not gain any weight, I am not so sure about myself.
Oettingen Heidenheim Donaufahrt Vienna Esztergom Budapest Bratislava Melk Messel