Departing Vienna, our ship started north, upstream, on the Danube. Our first stop was in the Wachau Valley, a famous wine producing area of Austria. Known for its' white wines, this beautiful mountainous area reminds me of Napa and Sonoma as regarding the topography.
Stopping at the small town of Krems, we rode our bikes to Melk, a few miles upstream, touring the wine country along the way. There were numerous beautiful old churches and castles along the way, in addition to thousands of tourists from the other River cruise boats.
Riding our bikes along beautiful wine trails, we arrived in Melk, a quaint small Austrian town. Home of the Melk Abbey and Schallaburg Castle, we toured both.
If you look closely at the top of the picture, you will see an unusual frescoe. This is at the Schallaburg Castle. Our guide explained this as the response from the craftsman, having worked on this castle for 20 years, and then being told at the end of his engagement that the royal family had gone bankrupt building this massive sturucture, and they could not pay his final bill. So he finished his work with a fluorish.
Vineyards of the Wachau Valley
This river and it's importance via the present and historical lense of Peter Zeihan's books, make this trip even more fascinating!
ReplyDeleteSo many beautiful places and funny story about the fresco too
ReplyDeleteLove it and the pictures are breathtaking
ReplyDelete