Wachau Valley, Austria

This was a morning cruise through the Wachau Valley, full of vineyards and fruit orchards. It is famous for grapes and apricots. Our adventure on this day was a bicycle ride through the country side and little communities.

The Wachau Valley is one of the most important wine making regions in Austria. It has been inhabited since the stone age. Some of these vineyards are over 100 years old. The old saying is true, the older the vineyard and the grape, the better the wine. They found that planting in terraces controls erosion and improves water drainage. It also allows for more compact spacing of plants and utilizes areas that are not accessible for other crops.

There are communities on both sides of the river with a bridge. But there is also the ferry, that does not have a motor or engine. There is a cable strung from one side of the river to the other and the ferry is tethered to that cable. The vessel has two rudders and the current of the water moves it across, with the rudders guiding the path. As you can see, it even carriers cars. So fascinating.

Our bike ride was a loop so we got to take the ferry back to the boat.

At the end of the day, we enjoyed a wine tasting in the little village across the street from the river where we were docked. A short 5 minute walk and we were in this beautiful little courtyard. We learned this well (bottom right) is the oldest in the region and is still working. It draws water from the Danube and is used to help irrigate the fields.

I loved these doors - they were once horse stalls. Many years ago, the horses pulled the barges up and down the river. Now there are boats and they've turned these stalls into little storage and living areas.

One of the other excursions was a hike up this castle where Richard the Lionhearted was held captive. King Richard's ship was wrecked near Venice while returning from fighting in a crusade. During the crusade, he had insulted the Duke of Austria which made the Duke angry. As the King was trying to return to England, he was captured by the Duke. He was later handed over to the Roman Emporer who saw an opportunity to extract a healthy ransom for his release. It took some time for the English to raise the money, but they eventually did and the King was set free after 14 months in captivity. The legend is King Richard did not have his signet ring on when he was captured, so it took some time before the captur knew who they had.

We were grateful we did the bike ride… this was a long hike with lots of stairs, but those who went said the view was gorgeous.