Drive Along the Danube

This was a beautiful drive even in the winter. There are actually quite a few castles along the way, but unfortunately there's enough snow that it's impossible to actually get to any of them. This one, Aggstein, is open for tours, but the road was impassable and we couldn't get any closer. This second castle is very close to the road so we were able to get a pretty decent picture.

These castle ruins are in Durnstein and legend has it that Richard the Lionhearted was held here. At night it is beautiful as the ruins themselves are lit as well as the fortification walls that remain. Most of the castles in Austria are privately owned and this one is too. Apparently there's some contention between the owner and the town. The town would like to insure that what's left is protected but the owner doesn't seem to care.

The Wachau is known for its wines and the terraced vineyards are pretty incredible.

We stayed at the Stockingerhof vineyard's B&B. They were in the midst of renovations plus it's winter, so there is absolutely no one staying there. It was wonderful! We had the whole place to ourselves. Here's a little glimpse of the Stockingerhof vines. The owner gave us a bottle of their white to take with us. We're going to try to get it home in one piece.

We drove into Krems for dinner. Here is the gate into the old city. This area is all pedestrian and is full of shops and restaurants. We found the old fortification wall along a small alley and you can see it here along the Bistro De LaTour. We decided to eat here and had a great meal in a very small cave-like restaurant with 3 rooms: a bar, and 2 eating rooms. The Olympic downhill race was on the tv in the bar and everyone kept going out to watch the race!

On our way out of Durnstein, we drove a little further into the small town. This picture gives you a good example of the narrow twisting roads where two cars can barely pass. It reminded me a lot of France where the women had their baskets and were heading to the various markets to get their food for the day.

Onward along the Danube to Melk and the abbey there.