We woke up Saturday, April 12, in Durnstein, a ridiculously picturesque Austrian town. We had signed up for the hike to the castle ruins, which seemed, when we chose it months ago, so doable. That was before we entered the lazy period that started when we got on this boat. As we looked up at the destination we gulped, but, committed, we laced up our shoes and joined our little group.

It was 8:30. The guide promised we would be back in an hour and a half and off she went, the group hurrying to catch up. It was a cool, sunny morning and the weather inspired us all as we walked up a steep cobblestone street the width of a small alley, crossed the main street (wide enough for a car, cobblestone of course) and up and up we went.

This town has 150 permanent residents and only they are allowed to drive into the old part of town. The new town is maybe .2 of a mile to the right. I hope I got those facts right.

Anyway, soon the hike got serious with steep stone steps that required close attention. The guide promised 3 stops to take photos and it was some work to catch up in time to rest a bit before we were off again. It was hard work. But the cool air, the many many wild flowers, the views, and our common determination to get to the top propelled us all.

It was worth every huff and every puff.

At the top we learned that Richard the Lionhearted had been kept prisoner there, waiting for a ransom to be paid. He wa alowed to hint, go into the town, and live a nice enough life as one could when one is not allowed to leave and return home. Having seen this place I now want to learn more about the details of this fellow’s life.

Because we all wanted at least a half hour to see the town itself we hurried down a different route that was fairly steep but without steps. Thank goodness. Suddenly the guide stopped, excitedly pointing to the side of the trail. It was an emerald lizard, a good luck symbol. The lizard rather deliberately walked away into the vegetation. She was indeed bright green. Neat!

In the town I rushed to get to the chocolatier’s store, only because I had a tradition to keep, buying chocolate in as many places as I could—only chocolate made locally. I had a great time tasting and choosing a poppyseed chocolate and another with apricots and almonds. This area grows apricots that are prized throughout the region…you cannot buy them in supermarkets and they are controlled by the government the way champagne is by France. So of course I also bought a very small jar of preserves. One must support the local economy.

The boat left at 10:45 and many of us went up top to see the Wachau Valley. The Danube runs between steep hills, almost mountains, gorgeous and peaceful.

After lunch we left for a boring, too long tour of the Melk Abbey. No indoor photos are allowed as there are still 21 monks living there. The guide was wonderful but we had to stay an additional hour with little to do while the boat moved on to Ybbs where we were driven to meet it by the tour bus. Not our favorite afternoon…but the morning was amazing.

I read later that the restoration of the Abbey, completed in 1996, was financed largely by the sale of the Abbey’s Gutenberg bible to Harvard. Seems interesting enough to have been mentioned on the tour. Oh, well.