Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 sq.km and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres, and its highest point is 3,798 metres. The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. (Wikipedia). I would think that tourism is an important industry so most of the people we encountered, at least those in service industries, spoke quite good to excellent English.

     As fortune would have it the weather turned a bit unpleasant, low cloud and periods of light rain. The tops of some of the skyscrapers were in the mists but check out our visitors. I went down to the lounge and got some bread so they didn't leave empty beaked. We were not to be deterred so we headed off on the mid morning tour because we had to be back for an early dinner as web were going to a Viennese concert in the evening.

    Vienna - what a beautiful city. Because it was the emperor's city, the downtown buildings (inside the ring road) were all well cared for. Our guide gave us quite a bit of information which of course helped understand the role of Vienna in Europe. All the streets downtown are lined with great shops and I learned that "K&K or K und K" is similar to "by appointment to Her Majesty". You can literally read about the Hapsburg Empire for hours and hours, but when you see a sophisticated storefront you get an just a glimpse of upper society long years ago. In German and English:
       "...mit dem Schriftzug Kammer-Uhrmacher Seiner Majestät des 'Kaisers u. Königs' und dem persönlichen Wappen des Kaisers"
      "...with the word "chamber watchmaker His Majesty the Emperor and King," and the personal coat of arms of the Emperor"

         About 2 million citizens and over 1000 coffee shops/cafes, my kind of city. Not the Tim Hortons/Starbucks kind, but a place where you can go, relax, read a newspaper, and just visit as long as you liked - very civilized. Four of us found a table in this coffee shop and a minute later a lovely older Viennese lady approached and said they were leaving their more comfortable table and couch and we were welcome. Was it the little Canadian flags or... We all enjoyed had a Bailey's flavored latte and, what else, strudel.

     Then we were back on the rain soaked street and through the visitor's walkway in the Lipizzan horse stables and training institute located beside the Hapsburg Palace. Rather unusual to have an active stable in the downtown of a major city. The horses were being readied for an event in the evening so we did not get to see any of them being exercised, oh well.

Founded in the 16th century for the exclusive use of the Hapsburg Royal family of Austria, the Royal Lipizzans are unquestionably the rarest, most aristocratic breed of horses in the world. The pride of the Hapsburg Empire, the Lipizzan breed was first established by Archduke Charles at Lipizza.

photos had to be taken through a plexiglass:  ✧ just walking     ✧ waiting     ✧ waiting     ✧ mascot    

    The grounds of St. Steven's Cathedral date from 1147, the cathedral itself stands where two earlier churches were destroyed by fire.

    The choir and orchestra were practicing - what a treat. The acoustics were amazing, too bad we couldn't stay longer.

     By the time we had finished dinner and the bus ride to the palace there was a strong North wind with a hint of, was that SNOW? However the concert more than made up for any discomfort. I must confess I am not a fan of opera music but, sitting in the 4th row, listening to a live orchestra with singers right in front of us, I was moved to tears more than once. If you are ever in Vienna, go to a concert. from my log;
    "Last night after returning from our Strauss / Mozart concert at the palace (5* and simply the best experience), we returned in the wind and rain mixed with snow. We were ushered into the Amacerto lounge for hot goulash soup, wieners (Austrian) and all kinds of pastries. Of course we had a "coffee" with Baileys - only way to travel. AMA and CAA do everything right.
    A new day, we will be docking in Durnstein shortly, it is 8:02 am time to wander amidships."

  ✧ soprano     ✧ 1st violin and lead cello     ✧ tenor & soprano      ✧ entire cast    

     Our 1st small town, finally. Durnstein, population 875 in 2009, dates from 12th century, temporarily had its population increased by 17% when the Amacerto moored at its shores. What a pretty town - every corner or nook was a photo op.

    The tour included wine tasting, two varieties of white wine and a schnapps. Tough job but we Canadians were equal to the task. It's almost impossible to not buy something in your first "town". We limited our purchases to chocolates and peach schnapps - just the items to beat a cold.

    Durstein must be important to the history of Austria and to that end they have limited both traffic and parking as both or either would really detract from its old and quaint appearance. Just how far would they go to protect this town? Check the photo on the right. Little yellow arrows indicate where the TUNNEL around the town begins and exits. No through traffic- period. I'm impressed. We thought it was simply the most beautiful of the small towns we had seen along the Danube.
    And on the left, another great scene in Durstein, a very photogenic town/berg.

    We were coming down with colds and we knew that being up on the top deck during our cruise down the Wachau Valley would be "brisk to cold" so we decided to rest up and missed seeing Melk - next time. Thanks to Bob for this snap. Notice the snow!

    Both the Rhine and Rhone Rivers in Germany have hilly shorelines dotted with vineyards and old castles. On the Danube from Budapest to Nuremburg, this is the only stretch of the river that is somewhat similar; fewer vineyards and fewer old castles but every bit as picturesque. The only drawback for our rivercruise was the weather. While many passengers went up on the viewing deck to see the sights, only the hardiest passengers stayed. The weather was, shall we say, less than amenable.

    Back in Winnipeg, prior to the actual journey, I had visions of cruising up the Wachau, relaxing on the upper deck, glass of wine in hand, marvelling at the scenery, the coloured leaves, the castle ruins. Reality was somewhat different. It began at +3C with a 10km North Wind. In spite of many blankets provided by the crew, it was just too cold to stay up top. By the end of the valley it was +1 with a 15km North Wind and only 1 passenger was left, it wasn't me...

    The Amacerto came equipped with bikes for the more fit and adventurous passengers. On this leg you could bike up the Wachau and get picked up by the Amacerto further upstream, about 20 miles upstream! Our CAA president Mike was one of several to take the challenge. They actually made better time on the bikes than we did on the river, but then you don't do a rivercruise with the idea of covering great distances with great speed.

    On the left is St. Michaels's - the parish of St. Michael, was first mentioned around 987 and is one of the oldest church buildings in eastern Austria. The church stands on the site of a small Celtic sacrifice. The weir was built in 1500 to 1530 and around the same time the present church was built. The west tower was originally Gothic, after a fire in 1544 but was rebuilt in Renaissance style. The "Seven rabbits" on the gable of the church of St. Michael is an architectural feature of the Wachau. Today the "rabbits" are copies, the originals are preserved in the Weinstadt Museum Krems. The seven sculptures are sometimes not clearly identifiable, recognizable as perhaps horses or deer. In legend, the animal figures are thought to be rabbits. The story goes that during a particularly severe winter, the rabbits were able to walk through the deep snow up on the church roof. The snow melted suddenly and seven rabbits could not get down, so they sit on the roof.


    "An interesting part of the 12th century history is the imprisonment of Richard the Lion heart, the King of England, at the Kuenringerburg castle (now in ruins) above the Durnstein town for the reason that he insulted the Babenberg Duke, Leopold V by showing disrespect to the Austrian flag (he had thrown it into a drain). Even though he was traveling in Austria (returning from the Holy Lands) in disguise (he had grown a beard to escape detection), he was identified in an inn in Erdberg, now a suburb of Vienna. He was finally released after paying a kingly ransom of 35,000 kg of silver" (Wikipedia). I was on the little train for the less physically able for our Durnstein visit and our guide entertained us with stories about Richard. Her version of the insult is different. All the soldiers loved Richard because he was an involved leader, always with his men. When Leopold went to call on him, Richard was to be found with his troops, building a defence stone wall. When the duke offered his hospitality Richard dismissed it and said he could join him building the wall. The duke, who would rather be drinking wine in the castle, departed, insulted in front of mere soldiers. While Richard managed to endear himself to armies of men, he incurred the dislike of all royals he came in contact with so he could not call on allies in Austria. He was politically naïve. I like our guide's version better.

    For many of the ladies (and quite a few men too...), mention Salzburg and immediately "The Sound of Music" or at least the name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart comes to mind. We found that while the Austrians are quite (justifiably) proud of Mozart, they only give a passing nod to the Trapp family musical. Seems that many citizens have no time for the Hollywood version of the Von Trapp family story as it is far from the truth and Austrians prize honesty. So, if you come to Salzburg looking for "Sound of Music" souvenirs you will be disappointed; lots of Mozart memorabilia but very little Von Trapp.

    Day 7 was a long day by bus from Linz on the Danube to Mondsee, then on to Salzburg, finally ending at Passau on the Danube. It was sort of billed as a sound of music tour but there was very little of that, which was OK by me... We boarded our bus in Linz and began heading for the Alps. It was snowing hard for at quite a while and the autobahn into Linz was bumper-to-bumper for many, many miles. Eventually the snow tapered off to low cloud which obscured the view of the mountains. There was off and on snow all the way to Salzburg. The locals said it was unusual for this time of the year but it did make for a pretty drive. Our day began with a stop as Mondsee (Moon Lake) where the wedding scene took place in "The Sound of Music". We bought Mozart Balls in Mondsee as we thought perhaps this particular chocolate treat would not be available as we proceeded North towards Nuremburg. Turns out we were wrong and right, lots in Salzburg but more expensive.

    Finally Salzburg in the afternoon, clear skies finally but a brisk, cold North Wind. After a thorough briefing by our guide Irme we were off at a good clip. Briefings are required as if you miss the departure point and time, they may wait 10 minutes, no more, and the bus leaves and you are on your own hook to rejoin the Amacerto - pay attention! We had two departure meeting points, one near where we began near the Mirabel gardens, the other in front of Mozart's house. On the left, Mirabel gardens with its featured 10,000 red roses. I forgot to take a picture of the roses peeking through the fresh snow... On the right, the staircase that was featured in the "Sound of Music" - Heather took that picture.



    In the old town we left to tour to go on our own and also find a restaurant. Great to wander around the old town as there is very little traffic and for the pedestrians, streets are interconnected with halls; shops on either side on the ground floor, while apartments and suite are on the 2nd, 3rd and above floors. Mozart's family lived in third floor. The apartment still exists but a different family now... Lots of shopping and restaurants and beer halls as this is also a university town but many eating places were closed as we were late in the tourist season. We did manage to find an excellent restaurant. Heather had goulash soup, bread and beer while I had sauerkraut mit bratwurst, bread und beer - of course. Check the date on the menu.



    The size of all shop signs in old town Salzburg is strictly regulated. McDonald's yellow BIG M isn't, big that is...


     I should mention our guide Irme, an Austrian Grandmother. On the initial part of the journey on the snowy autobahn she didn't say much but when we left the highway to the mountains she played music (CDs) which featured the style of the province we were travelling though along with additional information. She led a speedy group through Mondsee and then onto Salzburg where she led our group for an hour long tour. We left the group before the cathedral tour as we were feeling peckish. On the long ride (in the falling daylight then darkness) from Salzburg to Passau, she played Mozart and when we were passing near Oberndorf bei Salzbur where the carol "Silent Night" was written and performed on Christmas Eve 1818, we listened to a version sung in German. Simply a singer and guitar - hauntingly beautiful. When we were about 20 minutes from the Amacerto she handed out sheets with the revised words to Julie Andrew's "Favourite Things" from the "Sound of Music". The song was certainly appropriate for our age group ("when the joints ache, when the hips break..."). We all sang a capella led by Irme's surprisingly good voice. A fun way to end a long, long day. Irme certainly was an excellent guide, the best we experienced.