Friday, 27th December, 2013 - Durnstein, Austria

During the night we woke a couple of times to find we had slimy stone walls outside the window, blocking all air and views. Eventually we realised these were locks that we were navigating. I think we have been going down to lower levels each time but as it has always been in the dark it's hard to be sure. Also, the ship seems to turn midstream now and then so it is always moored facing the same way. This too usually happens while we are asleep so I find I have totally lost my sense of direction which is very disconcerting.
This morning we woke up in a town called Melk. It is not overly large as towns go but it's claim to fame is its massive abbey, which of course was the focus of this mornings excursion.
They turned on coaches to get us up the hill to the abbey (the first and original Benedictine Abbey I think) and from there we walked in our groups through the museums many rooms ending up in the library with an amazing ceiling which, through the use of trompe l'oeuil looked like it was vaulted but was in fact dead flat. Amazing what can be achieved with paint.
The final stop was the chapel which easily outdid any others we have seen in terms of grandeur.
We opted to walk back as it was a pleasant sunny morning and, as we were scheduled to sail through the Wachau Valley for an hour or so from 1pm, decided to have a light lunch up in the lounge with its big picture windows. Very pretty countryside.
Finally mid-afternoon we tied up here in Durnstein, a small city (and apparently it is actually designated a city) of only 800. There was another walking tour of an hour and a half's duration scheduled for 3.30 so we joined that and admired the pretty vistas from the higher areas.
We were quite glad to get back to the ship though, as it gets very chilly once the sun goes down.

The Wachau Valley

View from Durnstein