5. PICTURESQUE PASSAU, “CITY OF 3 RIVERS” Once a Roman outpost at the confluence of three rivers, Passau is over 2,500 years old, a quintessential Bavarian town of pastel patrician houses, cafés, romantic cobblestone lanes and riverfront promenades. This is a town made for walking (many streets are closed to traffic) and your walking tour immerses you in its storybook mix of Roman, Italian Baroque and German Gothic architecture. See St. Stephan’s Cathedral; view the hilltop fortress where Passau’s prince-bishops once resided; and peruse the 14th-century Rathaus (Town Hall), adorned with murals commemorating scenes from the Nibelungenlied, an epic poem believed to have originated here in the 12th century. Cruise to Linz, Austria; arrive after dinner, with an onboard concert by classical trio Donau 3Klang. Meals BLD
6. THE CASTLE AT CESKY KRUMLOV Your boat remains docked in Linz while you embark on a full-day excursion through wine country to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, an incredibly well-preserved medieval town in a landscape of exceptional beauty. Your walking tour includes Krumlov Castle, one of the largest castle complexes in Central Europe, embracing 40 buildings and palaces of medieval, Renaissance and Rococo designs, plus numerous courtyards and gardens. Then, a Tauck Exclusive – a private lunch at the Winter Riding School, a hall where 18th-century aristocrats exercised their horses in inclement weather, now a lavish venue for concerts, balls, and social events. You will return to Linz late in the afternoon, where cocktails and dinner aboard ship are in line for this evening. Meals BLD
7. WINES OF WACHAU VALLEY Arrive in Grein this morning for a choice of sightseeing activities. A walking tour of the village includes views of the Grein Theatre, since 1791 the oldest operating theatre in Austria, the historic town square, and St. Giles Parish Church; if you wish, you can visit Greinburg Castle, which is an imposing 15th-century palace with a gracious arcaded courtyard. Alternatively, take a guided tour of nearby Mauthausen Memorial, site of an infamous World War II-era concentration camp. This afternoon, cruise the lush Wachau Valley, with its rolling vineyards, fairy-tale castles, ancient hilltop ruins and monasteries; this is wine country, famous for Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners – as a Tauck Exclusive, enjoy a wine tasting event in the town of Weissenkirchen en route to an overnight at anchor in Dürnstein. Meals BLD
8. DREAM CASTLES AND ABBEYS This morning, your riverboat departs Dürnstein and docks in Krems, which offers you a choice of unforgettable sightseeing excursions: on the Tulln plain, visit Graffenegg Castle, a 19th-century count’s madly romantic vision of a medieval castle – or visit the lofty, lavish monastery at Göttweig Abbey, a mountaintop Benedictine retreat with Baroque architectural features as stunning as the views. Or, you can explore the picture-perfect Austrian village of Dürnstein on a guided walking tour, with free time on your own – maybe a climb up to the brooding ruins of Kuenringerburg Castle high above the town. Rejoin the boat, and set off on a leisurely, breathtakingly scenic river cruise to Bratislava. Meals BLD
Call your travel agent or Tauck at 877-519-1035
INSIDE GÖTTWEIG ABBEY The Benedictine abbot who commissioned the rebuilding
of Göttweig Abbey in the 18th century decided to spare no expense (an idea which nearly got him fired). But for what it lacks in modesty, the monastery, which looms on a mountaintop like Valhalla, is stunning in all its Baroque features. The Imperial Staircase, its allegoric ceiling frescoes, its vast library, its collection of antiquities – not to mention the view from its lofty heights – add up to a priceless experience.
www.tauck.com/river-cruises 61
INSIDE DÜRNSTEIN You might have to ask yourself at times if Dürnstein on the
Danube is real or a Hollywood version of an Austrian village, with postcard-perfect cobblestone lanes and medieval half-timbered houses, winding around a Gothic church and rathaus. But the epicurean pleasures of the Wachau Valley should ground you, and if you’re game, climb to the ruins of the hilltop castle that looms above the village, where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in the 12th century. And at that point you will know that this, in fact, is reality.
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