A Tale of Two Cities?

Day 17 - 1 June
Not quite, more like a visit to two towns (typically scenic, but, let's be honest, the whole 'scenic little town' thing is getting a bit boring).  The first visit was to the Abbey in Melk ("Would you like a little coffee with your Melk sir?").  I'll let the photos do the talking.

The back of Melk Abbey seen from the river

The approach to the front of Melk Abbey, from the uphill side

Close up showing the detail of the dome

Ornate bit

An inner courtyard

A cloister

Some detail from inside the Abbey

Lea, starting to feel a little tired, prepares to mount John

Multi-media display

Model of the Abbey - it gives some sense of scale

View of the town of Melk from outside the Abbey

Interior detail - spectacular decorations

Inside the 'churchy bit' of the Abbey - incredible

Peter Moorhouse doing Kung Fu hands - wax on, wax off

Me in a 'selfie moment', amused by Peter's antics

Interior corridor

Detail of a spiral staircase

View of the countryside from the terrace at the back of the Abbey

Back outside the Abbey, in the garden - John feeling relieved when Lea finally dismounted in front of the pavilion

A bike we saw in the town of Melk during our walk back to the ship - it must get very cold here if the bikes need to wear woollen outfits

After Melk it was back to the ship and we sailed for the even-more-scenic town of Durnstein, through the beautiful Wachau Valley.  Although the scenery was boringly beautiful, the main item of interest was a developing chess battle between John and Lea.

Another castle by the river

John, playing black, consulting crew member and former child chess prodigy Alexandra - her comment: "You are screwed"

Lea, mercilessly kicking a man when he is down

After a ruthless victory, a glass of bubbly goes down a treat

Durnstein ahead.  Is that another sodding castle I see on the hill behind the town?  (Yes)

Still, it is a pretty little town

Closer in

Preparing to dock - the castle is the one where King Richard the Lion Heart was held for ransom awhile back, before the internet

Ivy-covered building on the way in to town

Local graveyard - immaculately looked after

View down an alleyway

One of the quirkier sights we saw - a Japanese tourist wearing lederhosen over his lime-green trousers

Quirky sight number 2 - yes, it really does read: Real Rabbitshit with Liquer

Finally we made it back on board, in time for more entertainment, this time from two musicians.

The accordion player was the conductor of an orchestra, and the guy with the steroid-enhanced woodwind was the first-violinist from the orchestra -they were very talented and entertaining

A 20th Century castle further down the river

Dinner Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4 - please! No more!

There was little left to do but waddle off to bed, after pausing to admire another sunset.

Admirable sunset

Tomorrow we reach Vienna.