Sailing towards Passau, Germany

 Another lovely  day! A great mix of castles and other river scenes.

We passed an area where there were a lot of terraced vineyards. 

The ship repositioned to Melk to allow us to tour the abbey there.  It was originally  a castle about 900 years ago but was turned over to Benedictine monks.

Now in addition to being home to 40 monks, the abbey houses a day school for about 800 mostly local students and a lovely church. 

Beautiful interior  spaces. 

And lots of historical artifacts.

Quite the touristy attraction. 

Amazing ceiling fresco.

Out on a balcony, lovely view of surrounding area.

This fresco is in a library....there were several  libraries with ancient tomes.

And lastly,  we toured the ornate church.  Frescoes on the ceilings.  

And each alcove was a different scene.

Pretty over-the-top ornamentation....

After the church we had a nice walk in the adjoining garden area.

New friends Rosana and Gus from Arizona happened by and took a quick photo of us!

And a last view of the valley before heading back to the bus and then boat waiting below. Another great day.

Sailing between Melk and Grein Austria

 Beautiful  scenery  along the Danube!  Flock of swans.

Lovely small towns.

We stopped at the small town of Grein.  

We walked up the rather steep hill to tour the Greinsburg Castle.  Lovely streets. 

Up the hill to the castle.

View back along the Danube. 

Original structure was built in the 1100's and is now owned by a Duke's family that has pledged to keep it available to the public.

Amazing mosaic room, the pattern is made by millions of tiny river stones!

Loads of original interior remains.

And a view of the Danube from the other side of the castle.

There was a scheduled cooking lesson to learn how to make apple strudel.....the chef is quite the comedian....asking for a volunteer assistant  from the cruisers. It was fun and lively for all the rather older attendees.....

And of course we were given a printed recipe and sample after the lesson....

More sights along the Danube....not sure why but these piles of cut timber are being irrigated.....

And a herd of sheep along the riverbank. 

That's about it for the day....we will tour the beautiful ornate Melk Abbey tomorrow. 

I haven't  really commented much, but the food served on board is just fabulous!   And WAY too much, too often!