Durnstein and Melk (8th June)

This morning we woke up to find we'd arrived in Durnstein. This is a small village at one end of the Wachau Valley.  Going into the village was a bit like going back in time. The cobbled streets are all on an incline - as the village is on the side of a hill, and most of the streets are too narrow to get a car down them. Not even a Fiat 500.

Durnstein's main claim to fame is that it sits below the castle where Richard the Lionheart was captured and imprisoned by Leopold of Austria on his way back from the crusades. Richard's minstrel, Blondel was then supposed to have found him by going around Austria singing under the windows of all the castles until he came here and Richard sang back to him.

The morning was rounded out by a bus trip to a local winery for some wine tasting.

In the afternoon we had a few hours of scenic sailing down the Wachau Valley, which is a UNESCO world heritage site.  The valley is full of small villages and castles. Becky and I sat out on the sun beds on the top deck and made the most of the view.

At around 4pm we arrived in Melk for a trip to Melk Abbey.  It's a huge place, decorated in Baroque style, so it's very grand.

That Viking Baldur ship was docked behind us at Melk ..... I'm still convinced it's following us.