WACHAU VALLEY/GORGE & MERKLE
Well, today was another beautiful day. It was up to 28C and a blue, blue sky. We cruised up the Danube through what is called the Wachau gorge. Very beautiful part of the Danube with old castles and miles of vineyards along the steep sides of the river. Our port for the day was Merkle, Austria, a small town famous for its Benedictine Abbey. It was originally a fortress built around the 800s but was gifted to the Benedictine Order who turned it into a monastery. The tour inside was very crowded but the guide filled us in on its history. Pretty interesting. We are back in our room now and the boat just started cruising again heading for Passau, Germany. We did spend a lot of time on the top deck, viewing the scenery and chatting with others around us. Most are American, one NZ couple, and 3 other Canadian couples. Our dinner tonight is quite sumptuous, as usual on these cruises. I'm going to have clam chowder soup and then chicken Parmesan. Don't know about dessert yet, I'll wait to see how full I feel.