Visiting a 12th CENTURY Winery in Austria's Wachau Valley (Danube River Cruise)

Yesterday was a big city and today is about small villages… three of them actually! Today, we have three excursions in three different towns. We are in the Wachau Valley which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a region of picturesque Austria!
First up, we dock in Krems and hop a bus for a quick 10 minute drive along the river to Dürnstein which offers a unique combination of breathtaking scenery, traditional architecture and places of historic interest. Here we are able to stroll the charming streets of this fairy tale village which even include a castle ruin! Our walking tour took us through medieval cobblestone streets and 16th century townhouses. There are two main landmarks to this town, with the most visible being the luminous blue facade of the Baroque Stiftskirche, Dürnstein’s famed church cloister which is considered the most beautiful of its kind in all of Austria. And high above the town we could see the ruins of castle where Richard the Lionheart (King of England) was imprisoned in 1192. There are vineyards and apricot trees all around town and these are the two most popular products… so I had to go to a cafe and try an apricot filled donut with an apricot nectar juice… the wine will come later. Honestly, this was one of the most picturesque places I have ever seen and I could have just sat by the river all day enjoying the beauty!
Visiting Melk Abbey
After lunch, our second tour takes us to the other side of the valley to Melk Abbey or as known locally as Stift Abbey. We drive high up a hill to arrive at the abbey, which is so grand it can be seen for miles away perched on high in the river valley. Melk Abbey is one of Europe’s largest and most revered Baroque monasteries. Originally founded in the 11th century, this magnificent Benedictine Abbey now houses a museum chronicling its history and a famous library with countless medieval manuscripts. This is a site to behold! The entire complex is painted a yellow/gold and truly stands out in the valley’s landscape. Once you approach, you can see how big it really is! A guide will take you through each room of the museum which leads one into another. Each room has a different theme, for example the first has a blue light in the room that represents meditation. There are many beautiful pieces of art in the form of paintings, sculptures and gold… crosses, chalices, etc. So much gold! Especially when you make it to the last room, which is the ornate and glorious church! It took 44 years to build the church which opened in 1746.
Amazing Wine & Austrian Music Experience
We end our day, and meet up with the ship, in Spitz which is in between Kerns and Melk along the river. Here we attended an exclusive event for AmaWaterways at a local winery. Our bus drops us off at the historic Klosterhof, the former wine press of St. Gottweig Abbey. Dating back to the 12th century, this atmospheric estate will host an intimate wine tasting set to live Austrian music… which was AMAZING!! This was so much more than I ever expected! The building itself is beautiful where you can see the stone from the 12th century and the bricks from the 16th century that make up the walls. The wine was good, but the music and the atmosphere made this the best experience of the day… well actually of the entire trip! We were having such a great time, our table was among the last to leave and we were invited down into the wine cellar to see more. The rooms just went on and on… there was so much to see! And so much more than I can describe, it just has to be seen!
The winery is very close to the river and a tunnel has been made under the road so that we could walk from the winery directly back to the ship. We ended our night with a family style dinner at Jimmy’s Wine Bar & Restaurant onboard, which is a unique restaurant to the AmaMagna. Magnificent day!
#wachau #austria #danuberivercruise
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[@leslieyorston8448]

I’ve been enjoying your river cruise videos. I’ll be retiring in a few years and have several European river cruises I plan to take. I’ll be using Grand Circle. Their ships are a little older, but you can’t beat their itineraries. Their cruises are also longer (7 days is just too short) and they offer superior pre and post trip itineraries. Milk is one of the ports I’m looking forward too, the Abby looks beautiful.

[@JourneywithJosh]

I love you... GREAT video. You do so well at this. I wanna go next time.

[@aleksandram29]

Loving these videos. Honestly never thought I would like to do one but man you have changed my mind. Would love to know how much a trip like this would cost since I saw that some of the excursions are included. I can’t wait to see the rest of this trip. Great job!! I’m such a history buff and love the architecture

[@MissyDcherrydaisypie25]

I think you and Jason will have to do an RV trip thru Europe . I love old cemeteries too .

[@stomas5640]

The Europeans love RVing. The bigger the RV the better. Traveled to Solden Austria for skiing and visited Salzburg to see the castle and area where The Sound of Music was filmed. Beautiful

[@wjwviamail]

You are such an informative guide for us at home. Great job!

[@barbarashuster9029]

I'm a history buff too! And when we were in Germany on my birthday we had a wine tasting in an underground wine cellar! It was so fantastic only lit by candles and the sommelier gave me a bottle of white wine for my birthday!

[@heideleskun1163]

Apricot chocolate sounds AMAZING. Sounds better than "Orange" chocolate you can buy by us that my "kids" (all adults) want for Christmas.

[@TropicLuv]

I have loved following this adventure! Last May I was on a Viking river cruise down the Rhine. What a fabulous experience! One night at a small town in Germany we had the most fantastic dinner with entertainment, lots of wine, beer and great food! I can relate to your excitement! ❤

[@marizaanvisagie9537]

Never eaten any ramen haha. Absoluutly loved this video its so so beautiful there. Love the two of you❤

[@sandraperry8769]

Love your videos. Thanks for taking me along…❤

[@eileenliebel4132]

What a fabulous day you had! Such unique experiences! Another great vlog. Thanks for bringing us along!

[@jamespugh]

Looks to be a amazing time. Me and my wife did a wine tasting and tour of the one and whellingburgh Virginia. 2016

[@streetfoodnetworkpk]

Very Nice Video

[@Erinkuchar]

This is my favorite video so far. Loved the Easter markets but I would enjoy the country side like this more than bigger cities/museums.

[@EECCTravels]

So glad you enjoyed it!! These quaint villages were amazing!

[@conniejohnson9005]

Amazing.

[@yogerke]

Beautiful tours today! Great views!

[@lindajay1966]

You are such a wonderful tour guide..Love all your videos..Thank you so much

[@EECCTravels]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lindastover9541]

Great video ❤❤❤❤

[@harrietgeesey2822]

Alisa, I've been a subscriber for awhile but don't comment much. But I don't even think I can find the words to describe how much I love your tour vlogs. I've watched both of your AmaWaterways cruises that you've done. I'm very impressed at the way you just bring me right along with you & describe everything so well. This cruise line seems to be very down to earth & not stuffy, if you get what I mean. It seems to fit your personality. We are not very "fancy" people either. Have both of your river cruises been for the benefit of you being a travel agent? I guess what I'm asking is: Would a non travel agent get the same treatment that you are getting? I'd love to convince my husband that we should do one of these sometime before we're too old to do all that walking. 70 is creeping up fast. LOL! Love & appreciation from me in Spring Grove PA.

[@99Moonbeam]

River cruises are great, we love them. Thank you for showing this trip.

[@GypsyNana67]

We got apricot schnapps there. Yum yum. We should have bought a bigger bottle.

[@IzzyTheEditor]

I love your thumbnail! Lol. The picture of you holding the alcohol telling Jason, honey these are my friends now lol :-)

[@debbiepowell8172]

This video is amazing. Thank you.

[@EECCTravels]

Awe thank you 😊

[@CarolQ_]

Such a great day! Fav stop of this series so far! 😍

[@WolfgangMotif]

Beautiful video. I appreciate your inspiring locations. Thank you for sharing. You are a rare gem. Signed, an old lady living vicariously through your travel. ❤️

[@stevebartley628]

You need to do an RV trip in Europe ! I knew several who would get a VW van and tour the summer ‘back in the day’

[@teresalewelling7318]

Thank you for sharing this with me. I loved it.

[@alej8902]

We absolutely loved this video ❤

[@claireywalsh]

Loving seeing this part of the world. Nick and Kate are looking at a river cruise but I’m not sure of location

[@eleanor4482]

So beautiful there but excursion heavy. That was a lot of wine. I would be so tipsy after that. You will need an ocean cruise after this to rest.

[@EECCTravels]

Honestly, it sounds like a lot of excursions but it totally works! This was an incredible day!

[@bww1267]

I'll bet the Danube was really clear and blue hundreds of years ago before industry and polution.

[@juanitaclark1355]

Do you remember the names of the wines you tasted? Do you know if you can buy them stateside?

[@deba175]

Great video love your videos so interesting what is name of the cruise waterway ?

[@EECCTravels]

The cruise line is AmaWaterways and we are sailing on the Danube River.

[@NancyFehner]

Love your videos! However, your commentary about relics is way off base and shows a lack of understanding of the Catholic religion. Relics come from declared saints and miracles have been granted based in the intercession of those saints. Therefore, relics are not inconsequential. Again, love your channel…would just ask you be mindful of religions, customs and cultures.

[@EECCTravels]

I was raised Catholic so know the history. And the guides in this area even say that it was believed that relics would protect people but they figured out over time that they offered no protection.

[@rsnc23]

​@@EECCTravels It's lame how people throw stones at the intellect of beautiful women like you.

[@lynnfranklin5098]

I think she gave a lovely summary to fit a wide audience . I am also Catholic and can fill in the blanks. Please realize she has a Limited time to share max info.

[@andreafield2777]

I loved your video!