A cancelled trip-Kazakhstan

Well this weekend I was supposed to be on my way to Astana, Kazakhstan for a conference. Sadly, despite having my airticket in hand and my passport away to get my visa my trip was cancelled Too many cooks was the effective decision, so I was left behind whilst other colleagues went to the event.

In the "time off" I managed to catch up on some work but over the weekend also took a new Australian colleague and his wife on a tour of the Wachau. Sunday was a beautiful day so we left Vienna at about 1000 and set off in the car. A fairly good drive apart from a detour at roadworks when I managed to take a wrong turn so we had a bit more of a "scenic" drive along the north bank of the Danube amongst the villages until we reached Krems. There we got back onto the "romantikerstrasse" and headed for Durnstein.http://www.duernstein.at/sites/ueber_geschichte_en.php.

Durnstein from the south bank with the majestic (and colourful) church tower by the river and the old castle above.

Once there we had a gentle stroll around the old village and along the river bank. The vineyards are all looking good with the spring growth. Durnstein is the site of the castle where Richard 1st ("the lionheart") was imprisoned on his way back from the Crusades.

The old castle is in ruins as you can see!

Next we drive to Spitz and crossed over the Danube on the cable ferry that I have used before. The ferry has no motor and relies simply on the action of the current on the rudder. Very environmentally friendly. The ferry also has a "camera obscura" aboard which gives an all-round view of the valley.

The ferry on its way back to Spitz.

You can just make out the cable over the river and the link back to the ferry in this picture (from another trip).

Once over the river we drove to the "post" gasthaus near Agstein for lunch. We sat outside as it was such a sunny day. After lunch it was off up to the castle at Aggstein.

View from the front of the castle

Located on the side of the gorge, about 1000 feet above the river the castle site has been restored and is now a tourist attraction and wedding/meeting venue as can be seen on their website: http://www.schoenbuehel-aggstein.at/index_e.htm

The others went for a tour of the castle but I chose to sit in the sun with abook and admire a Mercedes 300 SL in great condition that was part of a classic car rally.

Finally we ended up in the village of Melk to have alook at the outside of the maginficent Monastery and grab a coffee and a cake each before retruning to Vienna by the main east-west motorway. All in all a great day out.

The monastery at Melk.