DAY 148 - DAY 3 MOZART

DANUBE SCENIC CRUISING/CROSSING THE SCENIC WACHAU VALLEY/DURNSTEIN, AUSTRIA, MELK, AUSTRIA

Michael you are right.  I had taken a photo of the name of the Church and two names were listed and since the writing was not in English it was difficult to distinguish. We should have said St Francis of Assisi Church.

Theresa glad to hear that Linda also took care of your room last year.  She has been terrific.

We wanted to begin with some photos of our room.  We are staying in a PH category.

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We enjoyed a pre-cruise drink in our room yesterday afternoon.

We wanted to mention how attentive the crew has been.  Anne Marie mentioned to one of the members of the reception desk that the detergent for the washing machine was scented and that scents bother her.  Upon return to the ship in the afternoon, the reception person let Anne Marie know that they obtained unscented detergent and placed it in the laundry room.  

When we met with Concierge Andreea earlier in the day we were discussing the upcoming ports of call and she mentioned that she can assist us in any of the ports.  At the end of the conversation without us asking she said she would send to our suite a complete set of maps  for the ports on this voyage.  When we returned from our walk she had sent an envelope containing a complete set of maps for all of the locations we will be visiting on this itinerary.

These are just some examples of how the members of Mozart go out of their way to make the experience special for each guest.

These are the dinner menus from Waterside from last evening.

Before we talk about where we had dinner we wanted to mention dinner on-board the ship.  

Waterside was open starting at 7:00 PM and took guests until 9:00 PM.  This is its standard hours.

On selected nights they have Dinner at Bistro Mozart.  and they had this last night.  Reservations are made at Reception as seating is limited.  As we understand they serve Tapas.  

Another option for dinner is from the room service menu.

As we understand in the early days  of Crystal River Cruising there was an opportunity for all guests to have dinner one evening on shore at a Michelin Restaurant at no cost.    In time this was limited to the suites.  We are in a PH suite and a few months ago learned that going forward the there will be a charge for those in the PH suites as there are for those in the standard rooms to attend the dinner.  Since we booked this voyage prior to the change we were grandfathered and there was no fee.

On the first day we received the tour tickets for this dinner and a detailed letter from Andreea Zala the Concierge.  

The letter confirmed our dinner at Das Loft in Vienna.  It noted the Epicurean Experience included a four-course dinner and wine pairing detailing the wines for the pairing and that water, soft drinks, coffee and the would be provided.  She also noted that should we have any concerns or dietary requirements to stop by the reception desk.  

One of the aspects that makes this restaurant unique and special are the extraordinary views of Vienna.  We were fortunate to be seated at a two-person table by the window and that was special.

We enjoyed a nice dinner with beautiful views.

The menu included:

Tuna & Belotta.

Turnup & Cabbage Soup with Seafood.  This was very tasty.

A choice of seafood  or beef.  We chose Monkfish which was over a tasty sauce and accompanied with spinach.  The entree was wonderful.

For dessert there was Fermented Banana.  We were asked ahead of time if either one of us has food allergies.  Anne Marie is allergic to two different fruits (not bananas) and evidently one of them is an ingredient in this dessert.  They served a chocolate dessert with ice cream in its place.  Anne Marie enjoyed it.  Keith passed on it although it looked delicious to him  We didn't get a photo of the dessert.

We enjoyed three different wines.

It began raining about an hour before we left the restaurant   With rain in the forecast, we brought one of our own umbrellas.  Before we walked from the restaurant to the bus the driver brought over umbrellas for everyone.  A couple of members of the extraordinary Mozart team met us at the bus after we arrived back to the vessel to see if we needed assistance.   Another example of wonderful service on-board the vessel.


All in all a wonderful evening.

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We got to sleep later than usual and slept well.  The ship left a couple of minutes after we arrived back.  

​Keith took the morning off from an early morning workout.  We had coffee and breakfast in our room.

We enjoyed scenic views from our room.

We were moving faster along the river than we imagined.

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​We arrived to Durnstein a couple of hours ahead of schedule. Durnstein has a population of 900 people.  The major drivers of its economy include tourism, wine cultivation and agriculture.
 
Major points of interests include: Kuenringerburg Fortress, Augustinian Abbey, Parsh Church and the Ossuary, Main Street, Durnstein Castle, Kellerchlossl Castle and City Hall.

With an early arrival, we walked into town on our own.  This turned out great as no other tourists were there.  By the time we left groups from two of the other three vessels were heading in the direction of the town for their respective walking tours.

We saw young age children on bicycles riding to the Monastery.  It reminded us of the late 1950's/to mid 1960's in our own country where children could do the same without parent supervision.

The town was certainly charming.  Locals were friendly.  We went into the small shops that were already open.

Our granddaughter's name is Emma.

When we returned to the ship, Hotel Director Sonja was with the Captain and gave Anne Marie a box of candy and wished her a Happy Mother's Day.  There was also another box on our bed.  Anne Marie was happy.

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We signed up for a two-hour walking tour of Durnstein and the Monastry. Most of the tours are inclusive with a few that have a fee such as ones with private vehicles.

Our tour guide was born in this town.  She said that only four hundred people live there on a full-time basis.  There were more people visiting today  by River Cruise than residents.  

The major  wine produced from this area is Riesling Wine.  Also, apricots are the main fruit produces and you can find them in the town in a variety of items including jam and  liquors.  

The street that they refer to  as Main Street is the only street of the town so very easy to find and not a town you can get lost in.  LOL.

Most of the homes are five hundred years old.  

She discussed flooding of the Danube which tends to happen every ten years.  She also spoke about how in the old days many ships used the Danube to  take supplies between towns.

She also spoke about perspective of driving time.  For example saying that driving one hour somewhere seems like a long time and that is because to drive one side to the other side of Austria only takes a few hours.

It was good that we visited early before the tour.  As the tour began there was a light drizzle which turned into some heavy rain.  With umbrellas it would have been more challenging to take photos.
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​In our room are the handheld devices used to hear the tour guide which worked perfectly on the tour.

Shortly after returning back to Mozart we enjoyed lunch at Waterside where we had a salad entree.

We enjoyed scenic cruising from Noon to almost 4:00 PM.  At 2:30 PM  there was a lecture given about the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918) by local historian Karin Bruch.  We arrive to Melk late afternoon

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We are posting early.  

Happy Mother's Day.

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith