The Beautiful Wachau

Our final program trip was to the beautiful Wachau, a stretch of the Danube Valley between Melk and Krems.

View of the Wachau. Not too shabby.

First, we visited the monastery at Melk– a very historical site founded in the year 1089. It is still a school, though it’s mostly sustained on tourism today.

Monastery at Melk

Then, we went to Dürnstein. After eating a yummy lunch by the water, we hiked up to the castle ruins– and I mean HIKED. It seemed like we just kept going up and up with no end (and this is coming from a person who hikes the Appalachian trail or in the Berkshires every summer for fun). The views at the top were spectacular though.

Standing on the edge of a VERY steep cliff, where the bright green ends.

Out of nowhere however, it started to downpour. Heading down the steep mountain was no easy task as it got more and more slippery, but we made it happen. Sopping wet, we headed back onto the bus and continued on to our next stop: the lovely town of Krems, known for its wine.

Since the weather was still a bit rough, we headed into the Weinstadt-Museum which contained a lot about the town’s history. When it cleared up a bit, we took a stroll through the town to get a feel for what we’d just learned about.

Our final stop was for a classy wine tasting at Weingut Nastl in Langenlois, followed by a Heurigen Dinner at the same place. First, we were given a tour of the facilities, shown the beautiful vineyeards, and of course, were told how it’s all made.

The vineyards

Showing us how the wine is made~

Then, we took part in a tasting. If we were going to do it, however, we had to do it right. Our guide made sure to tell us amateurs the steps: 1)swirl the wine 2)examine the color 3)smell and identify what you can 4)take a sip and chew the wine 5)swallow your sip 6)evaluate.

Evaluating the wine

Some yummy dinner at the heurigen and then we headed home to Wien. A very fun day out in the countryside!