Grein, Austria

We were welcomed back to the ship with a cold towel and traditional Wachau specialties Kaiserspritzer (White wine with soda & a dash of elderflower syrup) and homemade Onion Tart. We then sailed a few hours from Durnstein to Grein which provided breathtaking views. I feel so fortunate to be able to experience AMA Waterways and explore these beautiful areas of Central Europe.

We arrived into the charming village of Grein with its 3K inhabitants, steeped in history and dominated by the Castle of Grein. Unfortunately we were unable to tour the Castle of Grein due to a private event. A friendly reminder that you have to remain flexible when traveling, things like this are outside of the vendors control and they must pivot.

A short walking tour was arranged and we leaned about the devastating floods that occurred. In August 2002, a week of intense rainfall produced flooding across a large portion of Europe. The flood was of a magnitude expected to occur roughly once a century.

The tour brought us to Stadttheatre Grein. There are many old monasteries, castles and ruins, but the town theatre of Grein is absolutely unique and a sight of European significance. It was built into the former granary of the town hall by the citizens of Grein in 1791. It is regarded as the oldest town theatre of Austria that is still in its original condition and it can be visited every day of the week. There are still regular performances in the theatre.

Our tour ended at St Giles Church. Built as a late Gothic building and the alter built is a baroque structure. Magnificent pulpit with the four church fathers, donated by the lady of the castle Anna von Dietrichstein in 1679.Read more