The Wachau Valley From Melk to Dürnstein
The Danube has its counterpart to the Rhine’s Lorelei. Her name is Isa, and she waits to beguile sailors and destroy their vessels just as they enter the Wachau. Fortunately, our Captain Harry Ripson managed to escape Isa’s wiles once again, so we docked at Melk safely late in the evening. The capricious mid-October weather did not dampen our spirits either. Although the weather was chilly and the sky overcast, everyone was in an adventurous mood.
The ochre-colored Abbey of Melk dominates the hill upon which it sits, high above the small town of the same name. This place was the primary residence of the noble Babenburg family, the first Germanic rulers of Austria in the 9th century. When they moved to Vienna, the Babenburgs founded a Benedictine monastery here in 1089.
Our guided tour through this elegant Baroque abbey took us through almost 900 years of history. Our excellent guides led us competently and with enthusiasm through the museum, explaining the culture of Austria under the Babenberg and Habsburg dynasties up to the present day. Already in the 6th century Saint Benedict devised rules for running a monastery, and later Charlemagne imposed these rules on all the monasteries in his realm. We learned that the first of Benedict’s rules was to “listen.” Another, “ora et labora e lege,” calls for the monks to pray, work and read.
Their primary work has traditionally been to copy and illuminate sacred and secular manuscripts, but another has been to make bread or beer or some other useful product. In medieval times Melk was already famous for its large library and learned monks, and it remains today a center of learning with a library of many thousands of volumes in several languages. Some may remember Melk Abbey from the book by Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose, or the movie starring Sean Connery, who played the learned medieval monk from Melk.
After the tour we broke into three groups with various options including wandering in the abbey gardens, shopping or relaxing on the ship. A special treat was the annual October 13 market called Kirtag in honor of Saint Koloman, who is buried at the abbey. Some hardy bicyclers pedaled from Melk to Dürnstein together with our wellness expert Ines Bustamante. Others on board reveled in the UNESCO protected valley scenery with deck commentary. The subjects ranged from rock formations, wildlife and aspects of village life along the Danube, to architecture, wine growing, the 25,000 year old Venus of Willendorf, and Richard the Lion Heart.
After the commemorative statue of Richard the Lion Heart and his minstrel Blondel, we saw the tall blue and white tower of the Augustinian monastery church of Dürnstein and the famous fortress where Richard was held captive for three months in 1192. Part of the money paid for his ransom was used to build the walls around Vienna, which protected the city from the Turks in 1529 and again in 1663. Our guides led us through the small cobblestone streets and alleyways to the nunnery of the Poor Clares and the Augustinian monastery where Lucy and Ray Russell sang in the church. The fine acoustics were complemented by the sunshine pouring into the church through the amber-colored window. We also enjoyed a stunning view of the Danube from the terrace.
Charmed either by the wrought iron grave markers in the cemetery or the so-called drunken apricots, we headed to the Cloister Cellar for a wine tasting, which was held in an exposed brick wine cellar. The Wachau with its micro-climate is famous for its fruit orchards and grape vines, and this evening we sampled the two major wine sorts of the region: the light, dry Grüner Veltliner and the more robust yet dry Riesling.
Afterwards, we had our recap in the wine cellar and were entertained by Lucy Russell’s rendition of The Song of the Niebelungs, Sharon Grainger’s stories of the history of chocolate accompanied by a chocolate tasting, and Ray Russell’s commentary on the coffee culture of Vienna. The evening afforded us an extended view of the illuminated tower and ruins of Dürstein.
