Danube River Cruise - Spring 2013

Thursday March 28

We were supposed to dock at Melk this morning but somehow they didn't have a slot for us, so instead we docked at Pöclarn and took the buses to Melk Abbey, which was only about 20 minutes.  So we had an early start since we had to be on the bus at 8:15.  As we were riding through Pöclarn, Katie snapped this little fellow (right) who is a cold, damp European robin.

The Melk Abbey (Stift Melk) is rather amazing.  It has been a working Benedictine Abbey since 1089; the school was founded in 1160.  After several incarnations, it was rebuilt beginning in 1700 in its current Baroque appearance. Just as it was finished, it was severaly damaged again by fire and finally completed in 1745.  Today, the monks run a co-ed public secondary school (around 1000 students) in the building; tourism is an important industry for them and, to that end, much of the monastery is a museum and a restaurant operates in an outer courtyard.  They also have many acres of vineyards and wine produced from them can be purchased in the gift shop!  Through these activities, they manage to finance the upkeep of their continuing parish work as well as the maintenance of a huge, and beautiful complex.  At left above is the view of the Abbey and the entrance path from the parking lot.

We entered the Abbey through the Eastern Facade at the left.  You'll have to enlarge it to see some of the details.  At the top is a reproduction of the Melk Cross (see more on that later).  The inscription under it translates to "Glory only in the cross."  Just above the arch is a small balcony where the Abbot could greet guests; on either side are Saints Peter and Paul, the patron saints of the monastery.  Between them is the monastery's coat of arms: the crossed keys. Beyond that arch is the Gatekeepers courtyard and beyond that is the trapezoidal Prelates courtyard pictured above, right, with a fountain (brought to Melk in the early 1800's) and small, modern frescoes on each of the four sides representing Justice, Wisdom, Strength and Balance.  The one we see, under the dome, is Wisdom.  Even enlarged, you may not be able to see the figure clearly - it is a man looking into a mirror: "Know Thyself" is said to be the first step to wisdom.

We had a great tour - amazing views, incredible art and lots of history.  I'll just share some of the highlights here!  We started by going through several museum rooms.   At the left is a portable altar that dates from the 11th century and contains relics of Saint Cyriacus.  In the center is an image of the Melk Cross (the cross itself is locked away in a vault) brought to Melk in 1040 and said to contain an actual splinter of Christ's Crucifix in a compartment inside the jeweled cross. At the right is the 643 foot hallway containing guest rooms (the monks were required to offer hospitality to anyone) with paintings of Austrian leaders up through the Habsburgs.  See the low wooden doors along the left side of the hall?  They open into ceramic heaters in each room and allowed servants to add wood to the fire without disturbing guests.  


After the museum rooms, we then went into the Marble Hall (below left), which is sometimes still used as a dining room for special events.  Only the door frames and gables (center picture) are real marble - the walls are stucco.  The ceiling fresco (on the right below) was done by Paul Troger in 1731 and is full of symbolism.  At left (in the blue cape) is Athena representing wisdom; below her is Hercules, representing strength.  The angels in the center are restraining the lions with reins representing moderation!  The philosophy of the time held that moderation can overcome the forces of evil and create a place of good and beauty.


We exited the Marble Hall onto a terrace.  At the open end, you get lovely views of Melk and the surrounding countryside, at the other is the entrance to the Library.   At left you can see an arm of the Danube meeting the river and at the right, taken from a different location, is a view of the town of Melk.  The center is the facade of the Abbey Library.  The two towers were rebuilt after the 1738 fire and you can see their Rococo style.  The statue of the risen Christ with the cross, between the towers, is said to indicate this is a sacred building in spite of the Baroque appearance - the message is clear (says a booklet published by the abbey): Christ, in his victory over death, gives meaning to all human life.


No photos were permitted in the library - it also was full of wonderful art and history and many, many books.  But from the library we moved on to the Church itself.  It left no doubt at all about the Baroque influence as you can see below!   At left is the santuary; in the center is the organ and at right is part of the ceiling.


We had some time in the gift shop, where I bought some library postcards (since I couldn't take pictures), a small bottle of wine for John to sample and a little Melk Abbey booklet that is a great trove of interesting information.  There are loads more pictures of the Abbey in the picture collection if you want to see more!  The only other ones I will include here are our "tourist" picture, taken by one of our shipboard friends before we loaded back into the bus to return to the ship before our 11:30 cast off time and finally, a view of the Abbey from the ship as we passed it on the Danube, beginning our afternoon cruise through the Wachau Valley.

The Valley was lovely and I enjoyed being able to watch what we were passing.  I thought the cruise was a good balance between cruising at night (so it didn't "cost" us time in towns) and during the day (so we could enjoy the scenery).   Just after leaving Pöchlarn (left picture) we went through a lock.  It wasn't much different than any of the others, except for the line of cormorants who appeared to be standing guard duty on top of it!

After lunch there were several activities in the lounge - a presentation on Vienna Coffee Houses and cafés and an Austrian tea with apple streudel lessons.  They had a hard time luring me away from the scenery, though.   One of the first things to catch my eye (on the left) was Schönbühel Castle, known as the "Watchman of the Wachau."  Originally built in the 9th century, it has been modified several times - the current building was completed in the 1800's.  An example of the scenery is to the right, below - it must be stunning in the summer!  We passed a barge full of new cars and watched a barge being loaded from a quarry.  Shortly after, we passed the ruins of Aggstein Castle (at left below), originally built in 1231 and used by robber barons to plunder passing ships and wagons.  Weissenkirchen, pictured in the center, is one of the lovely wine-growing villages in the valley. The name means "white church" after the central church, built in the 14th century, as not only a place of worship, but also a defense against plundering Turks.  If you look closely at the enlarged picture, you can see the fortified walls all around it.  The tower was added in 1531.  At the right is a sample of the many terraced vineyards we passed - wine is the primary product of the area; Riesling is said to have originated here in the Wachau Valley.


Only about 3 km past Weissenkirchen, we came to Dürnstein, shown at the left below.  Above the town are the ruins of the Kuenringerburg Castle where Richard the Lionhearted was imprisoned at one time.  Katie got a closer look at the ruins with her zoom - in the center.  And finally, a group of swans peacefully tending to themselves and ignoring us.


We had an early dinner tonight then docked in Vienna where many went off to a concert.  We had a hard time deciding about whether or not to attend.  It wasn't held anywhere notable and some of the people who went were quite disappointed.  Apparently the music was great, but the venue was not.  The chairs were small and uncomfortable.  People were not allowed to bring coats into the auditorium, but there was a charge to check them!   I think I am just as glad we didn't go.  Instead, we ventured forth and took the underground into central Vienna.  It was only about 5 blocks to the subway station;  it cost 2€ each way and was easy to remember to get off at Stephansplatz (the Plaza where the big St. Stephan's Cathedral is). We walked around until we got cold - we saw some of the major landmarks, including the Hofburg Palace (at left) and then strolled down the pedestrian shopping mall and drooled over the chocolate store (right) before heading back to the ship to get warm and go to sleep

Friday, March 29
   
This morning we had a choice of a bus tour or an "up close and personal" walking tour.  We took the walking option - starting with the underground trip into town center (Stephansplatz) that we had done last night - which would have been best except that the guide was not a good one.  She didn't use the sound system between stops, so we had huge periods of silence as we walked from place to place.  She didn't even seem very comfortable with the material; she talked a little about the 4 or 5 places she stopped, but her stories were mostly about previous tours she had given and silly things people said.  Not a good use of time - about half the group had dropped out before the end.  We stuck it though, saw some interesting things and learned a bit.  At the right is St. Stephan's Cathedral - we came back later and went in when it was less crowded.

One of the things Caroline showed us was the "standards" on the front of the church (left).  We'd seen the standard measure bars before, but this one also had a circular shape: the standard size for a loaf of bread!   We passed by the Trinity Monument (pictured at right) - designed in gratitude for the end of the plague.  It was completed in 1693.  At the very top is the Trinity: in the enlarged picture, you can probably see the Christ figure with the cross on the left; but the Father and Holy Spirit (dove) are hard to discern.  In roughly the center, vertically, is a kneeling Emporer Leopold giving thanks for the end of the plague and, below him, on the base, is a woman holding a cross and killing an old hag, symbolizing the victory of Faith over the Plague.  

A couple other things that Caroline showed us were the Lipizzaner stables - the horse at the left was being led from the stables across the alley to the Winter Riding School located in the Hofburg Palace.  On the right is the Augustiner Kirche, in another wing of the Palace - picture was taken in Josephsplatz (the statue of Emporer Joseph II stands at the center of the plaza and is not in the picture).  The hearts (literally) of 54 Habsburg family members are inurned there.  The people standing in line were waiting to get into the Lipizzaner Show on the other side of the plaza.

On our own, we walked to the Albertine Museum.  Unfortunately we wouldn't have time to see much so we didn't go in, but we did take pictures on the terrace.  On the left is Barb with the Vienna Opera House in the background; on the right is the Monument against War and Fascism in the Albertina Plaza.  It was created in 1988.  The large white granite blocks are known as the "Gates of Violence."  The figure on the ground just behind the "gates" is a Jew forced to scrub the ground with a brush.  The next statue to the left is hard to discern from this distance, but it is a figure on the right side, facing left, walking into the stone (Orpheus entering the underground) - a reminder of what can happen if the citizens aren't paying attention - and finally the tall slate in the back has parts of the 1945 declaration of Austria's second republic engraved on it.  The monument stands on a site where hundreds of people hiding in the cellar of a house were killed during a WWII air raid.  

About a block behind the Augustine is the Burggarten, a garden behind the Neue Burg Wing of the Imperial Palace (the palace is HUGE, covers many blocks, houses many museums, institutes, libraries and presents numerous facades).   In the garden we found a monument to Mozart (left).  I liked the clef of flowers in front of the statue!   We passed the Goethe statue (not pictured) and came around the side to the front of the Opera House (at right).   Other sites of note in Vienna included St. Peter's church (at left below); in the center is the Michaelertor, the main gate of the Imperial Palace.  Michaelerplatz (the plaza in front of the Michael wing) is shown in the right hand picture.  An edge of the palace is on the left of the picture.  The building on the right is the Looshaus which caused an uproar when it was built in 1911 because it was too modern and did not "fit" with the other architecture in the area.  It now houses a bank.  The center building is the Palais Herberstein that now houses, on the ground floor, Café Griensteidl, the oldest café in Vienna that opened in 1847.   In the middle of the plaza, in front of all of those buildings, is an excavation site (with the little fence around it).  It is ongoing but they have already unearthed a Roman house and medieval foundations.  


Running out of time, we went back to St. Stephan's Cathedral to see some of the interior.  After having seen other old, 12th century, gothic churches this week, this one wasn't especially memorable.  On the left is the main sanctuary - the crucifix was covered in purple cloth because it was Easter week - and on the right is the organ.   We grabbed the subway across the square from the cathedral and went back to Vorgartenstratz - our stop close to the river.  I also took some more pictures walking back to the ship.   At left is the eye-catching St. Francis of Assisi church, sited very near the Danube River; the center is a dog park we passed (just inside the gate to the left are doggie bags and refuse can - Vienna is a dog-friendly city) and on the right, the highway that the pedestrian overpass goes over!  You can see the river at the far right of the picture.


We returned in time for lunch and then, at 1:15 PM, boarded buses for our tour of Schönbrunn Palace - the summer palace of the Habsburgs.   Below are some of the sights we saw driving through Vienna to get to the palace.  On the left is the Wiener Riesenrad (Ferris Wheel) at Prater Amusement Park; in the center is a house where Johann Strauss lived (there is a plaque on the left side but it's all in German) and on the right is a little glimpse of the Naschmarkt - the city market that goes on and on for blocks.  It includes food, clothes, crafts...  just about anything you could want to buy.  By the way, one of the afternoon activities that we didn't know about before we signed up to go to the palace, was that the Chef took a group on a field trip down here to the market to look at foods!  That would have been great fun.


When we arrived at Schönbrunn Palace (left), we found another Easter Market in process (right).  There was definitely not a shortage of shopping opportunities this time of the year!   Please notice we have blue sky once again.  It's too bad it was so rare that I have to get excited about it each time.  No photographs were allowed inside the palace so I don't have them to jog my memory.   I'll see if I can remember some highlights.  The name means "Beautiful Spring" and it was opened in 1699.  The style is mostly Rococo.  Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780) seemed to dominate conversation - she was the only female ruler in the House of Habsburg and it was under her rule that Schönbrunn became a large part of court life.  She and her husband (Francis I) had 16 children, including Queen Marie Antoinette of France, and apparently she preferred this "summer palace" to the sprawling Hofburg Palace in the city center.   One of the rooms we saw was her bedroom - since she was pregnant so much of the time, she frequently had audiences in her bedchamber and it was appointed appropriately.

When our inside tour was concluded, we skipped the gift shop and headed outside to the gardens.   The left photo shows the view, standing at the back of the palace, looking across the Great Parterre up to the Gloriette.  Of course, we HAD to climb the hill for the best view!  At the right is Katie's "tourist" picture taken from in front of the Gloriette looking back at the formal garden, the palace and much of Vienna!  On both sides of the Great Parterre are more gardens and pathways that are open to the public without charge.  (You have to pay to go inside the palace but not to explore the gardens.)

Below, left, is a closer view of the Neptune Fountain (completed in 1780) with the Gloriette behind it.  The Gloriette was completed in 1775, with many of its features (columns, arches, friezes) brought from the Neugebäude Palace which was begun 1568 and never completed.  Maria Theresa ordered valuable parts to be brought to Schönbrunn for use in constructing her gardens there.   The Obelisk Fountain (aka Sun Fountain) at the right was erected in 1777; the obelisk above the grotto stands on the backs of 4 golden turtles symbolizing stability.  (You can sort of make them out if you enlarge the picture and you know what you're looking for.)  The golden ball at the top represents the sun (hence, its alternate name of Sun Fountain) and the eagle on top of the sun represents the ruling family: situated between earth and heaven. 

I wish we had had more time!  One could easily spend several hours just in the gardens - there were numerous other sculptures and fountains, not to mention the actual plants!  At left is one of the paths we took on the way back down - the palace grounds are a huge park used by bikers, joggers and strollers.

As we came around the front of the palace again on the way to the buses, I took one more picture of the front, somewhat closer.  I was struck by the similarity between some of its architectural features and those of the Melk Abbey.  This shouldn't be surprising, I suppose, since the Abbey was built only 30 years or so later.

We cast off for Budapest at 5:30 this evening and, even though there is one more night onboard, tonight was the Captain's Cocktail Reception and Dinner.  We toasted the crew, got all of the necessary information about disembarkation for Sunday, and then had a wonderful 6-course meal that started with caviar, lobster bisque and saffron risotto.  For the main course the options were fillet mignon, poached jumbo prawn and the vegetarian entree: celery root pikata with spaghetti and pesto.  That was all followed by dessert and a cheese plate.  We did eat well all week!

In the middle of dinner we passed Bratislava Castle (the capital city of Slovakia) and fortunately I had my camera in my pocket and could jump up and grab a picture!  It's especially impressive all lit up at night.   The next morning we arrived in Budapest around 9 AM which was nice because we were up and ready with cameras so could take pictures of some of the impressive sites from the river.  But that's Part 3 - the last section of the trip!