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| day 11 Daily Cruiser page 1 |
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| day 11 Daily Cruiser page 2 |
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| day 11 Daily Cruiser page 3 |
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| day 11 Daily Cruiser page 4 |
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We received a disembarkation form to fill out in order for the ship's staff to coordinate post-cruise arrangements.
Day 11 breakfast menu:
We went on the "regular pace"
Melk Abbey tour as no active options were offered. There was a "pink/gentle" option available for guests who had difficulty climbing stairs; they were driven directly to the front entrance.
The Benedictine abbey was magnificent, as well as its expansive grounds. No photos were allowed inside; the Melk Abbey
museum website shows examples of what we saw.
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| on the bus to Melk Abbey |
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| walking down from the bus dropoff to the entrance |
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| entrance |
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| map of the large grounds |
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| beautiful architecture |
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| decorative ceiling |
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360 spherical picture of the beautiful coffered ceiling, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S:
Beautiful ceiling at Melk Abbey in Austria - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
360 spherical picture of Melk Abbey courtyard, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S:
The courtyard inside Melk Abbey - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
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| fountain in the courtyard |
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| cobblestone passageways surrounding the abbey |
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| view from the abbey |
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| footbridge to return to the ship |
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360 spherical picture atop Melk Abbey, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S:
View from Melk Abbey - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
After the tour, we had free time to explore the abbey gardens on our own before heading back to the ship for lunch and our afternoon bike ride to
Durnstein.
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| garden pavilion with cafe |
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| reflection pool |
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| covered archway |
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| view of Melk Abbey from the footbridge |
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When Kaleb and I made it back to AmaPrima, we were given a taste of
Austrian onion tart and a glass of
Kaiserspritzer (white wine, soda water, and elderberry syrup).
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| serving onion tarts |
Afterwards, we had light lunch in the lounge.
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| day 11 lunch menu |
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| chicken veloute and pasta |
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I was looking forward to the 18-mile bike ride from Melk to Durnstein. Note that this was a one-way ride; the ship was sailing on to Durnstein so there was no going back. It was neat to see the ship pass us on the Danube, the only opportunity for guests to take photos of AmaPrima while she was sailing.
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| getting ready for the ride |
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| stopping to see AmaPrima sail by |
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| here she comes... |
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| ...there she goes |
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| refreshing ride through the trees |
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| meeting back up with the river |
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11-second video of riding through the forest:
360 spherical picture of our pit stop along the Danube, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S:
Taking a break from bike riding along the Danube - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
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| plentiful clean water to fill up bottles |
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| continuing on |
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We got to a point where we needed to cross the river via flat-ferry, then we resumed our ride through miles of vineyards.
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| crossing the bridge onto the ferry |
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| father-daughter guides wore matching "lederhosen" bikewear |
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| view of the Danube from the ferry |
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| Kaleb and Bruce biking past vineyards |
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11-second video of bike riding by the vineyards:
We reached the port at Durnstein, where AmaPrima was already docked. Kaleb and I enjoyed some well-deserved refreshment at a little cafe located nearby.
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| cafe menu |
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| beer and not-beer |
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I was tired from the ride, but Kaleb had energy for an adventure on his own, exploring the
Durnstein Castle ruins, where Richard the Lionheart was held captive.
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| Durnstein Castle |
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| interesting castle features |
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| view atop the castle hill by day |
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| Durnstein by day |
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After dinner, Kaleb took me back up to the castle at night. It was pretty creepy since there was no one around, barely lit, with random rustling noises here and there. We then walked around the little village and the part of town across the highway but nothing was open at 9:30pm.
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| day 11 dinner menu |
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| shrimp with Marie Rose sauce |
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| tangerine cocktail |
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| corn soup |
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| beef consomme |
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| bacon-wrapped stuffed chicken breast |
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| apricot dumpling, raspberry ragout and apricot liqueur |
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| stairs up to the castle |
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| signs towards the castle |
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| view atop the castle hill by night |
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| Durnstein by night |
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Tomorrow, AmaPrima arrives in Vienna, Austria...stay tuned!
Missed any of the previous entries? Refer to the Trip Index at the top of this post to navigate.
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