Durnstein and Melk-Austria

This morning we arrived in the small town of Durnstein. One of the apricot centers of Austria. Everything apricot!!!!!!. Liqueurs, schnapps, lotions, soaps, candies and more. This quaint town has a population of 400. They also are surrounded by vineyards and produce many wines, mostly white. They have the perfect climate for white wine grapes. 
Durnstein has many historical sites such as the Augustiner Abbey with the beautiful blue clock tower, the remains of Kuenringer Castle where Richard the Lionhearted stayed after the Crusades and a small town area with shops. We tasted many varieties of apricot liqueurs and other products. We are bringing liqueurs home.
Walked back to the ship and we sailed thru the Wachau Valley. Vineyards are terraced up the hillsides. Beautiful churches and castles can be seen from the water. We had a picnic lunch on the sky deck as we cruised.
Around 2 pm, we arrived in Melk, Austria. We visited the Benedictine Abbey Melk which is the first Benedictine Abbey in the world, established the the 11th. century.(1089 AD) A huge, place high on the hill that was first built in 976 by Leopold II, who later invites the monks. We toured the museum, Marble Hall, Abbey library ( holds over 100,000 books) Abbey Garden and finally the Abbey Church. We were not allowed to take photos anywhere inside, we bought a few postcards. The church was breathtaking. Words cannot describe what we saw. Melk is a charming little town with a variety of shops. Larger than rthe town this morning. The Abbey stands above the town in all its glory. 
I purchased some hand-spun Austria wool to make a scarf.
We will continue to sail thru the night and will end up in Germany later tomorrow.




















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