The Wachau Valley and Spitz, Austria

This morning we woke up and it seemed really hard to get out of bed, even after a solid 8 hours of sleep. It is going to be really hard getting back to regular life after this. Anyways, we had a lazy breakfast with mimosas and eggs benedict. Then it was time to get ready for the morning tour.

Our boat docked in Spitz, Austria around 9:00. We were ready to offload the ship around 9:30 and met with our tour guide, Verena.

All 6 of us did the same tour together. It was a tour of a shipping museum mixed with an opportunity to taste different apricot food and drink. They split the group into two sections and Brooke and I went to the apricot tasting first.

Spitz is located in the Wachau Walley which is very abundant in apricots and they had six different items for us to taste. The reason for apricots being an important product has something to do with an insect that infected the vineyards in the 19th century. The apricots saved the farmers from financial ruin and remain an important product even today. First up was an apricot schnapps which was slightly better than a regular straight vodka (at around 10:00 AM). Next up was an apricot liqueur which was like drinking liquid gold, to die for. Afterwards we had an apricot jam which was very delicious. Then there was a chocolate coated apricot kernel. The kernel of the apricot is a little seed that is inside the pit (looks like a nut). It normally has traces of cyanide in it and is normally poisonous, but by roasting them it makes it safe to eat. Verena proved this by eating one herself before offering them to us. These were actually quite tasty. Next was an apricot chutney that was similar to a BBQ sauce (which Brooke loved). And last was more apricot kernels that were roasted and lightly salted. All of these were delicious and quite a treat!

After we finished with the tasting, we switched guides and went through the shipping museum. This was all about how they used to transport goods up and down the Danube centuries ago before they had steam engine boats. There were some nifty miniature models of boats throughout. The models were made by a man who is now 95 years old and the most intricate one took 12 years to build. The museum tour was ok, but not extremely interesting. I don't think I would go on my own and I'm sure they get everyone to go because of the apricot tastings.

Next we went back to the ship where our tour guide held a wine tasting for us. We sampled four wines from the Wachau Valley, all from the same grape variety, gruner veltliner. They were quite generous pours for just tastes and by the end of it, I was definitely starting to feel the wine and it was only noon. Lunch was next and we all needed some solid food. For some reason I had two desserts again.....uh oh said the waistline....oh well :)

After lunch we were all signed up for a hike (which was well needed) through the wine country hillsides. We walked up through a forested area and made it to the top of the hills beside the river where all of the vines are planted. Much of the wine is grown on terraces and it creates a picturesque landscape of wine country mixed with the Austrian villages, beautiful! We stopped for a moment to enjoy the scenery and take some pictures. Brett, Rae, and I clambered up to the top of a stone archway and Brooke got some great shots.

We got back to the boat around 2:30 and the boat departed shortly thereafter. We spent part of it up on the top deck enjoying the view of the hillsides as we cruised by. It gets quite breezy up on the top when the boat is moving so we have to be dressed warmly. Brooke finished her book this afternoon, The Woman in Berlin, and will try to start her next one soon. We also had some time to grab a nap and then some Zelda (Brooke suggested it).

We got changed for dinner and I managed to do another load of laundry! Now I have clean socks for the rest of the trip. This evening, lots of the boat passengers got off to go to a private concert in Vienna. We elected not to go since we went to a concert in Prague and we knew that it would be something similar with only 8 or 9 musicians. And we would be able to enjoy the boat with far less people. They ended serving dinner quite early and it was a buffet service. We chose to eat later to avoid the rush of people which was a smart idea.

For dinner we ate with a couple we had met from Halifax, Bill and Jill. It was lovely to eat together and share in the conversation with some fellow Canadians (everyone had a mutual distaste for Air Canada Rouge). Dinner was classic Austrian food and the highlight was the wiener schnitzel, which I had to have a double portion of. Overall I ate way way way too much food and felt incredibly uncomfortable after dinner. So much so that I think I might have to put myself on a self-imposed diet tomorrow.

After dinner we went and enjoyed the quiet lounge without the entire boat on board. It was quite nice actually. We took a picture with our favorite bartender, Lazlo, who is switching to a different boat tomorrow.

Once the rest of the boat got back from the private concert the lounge got much more busy. They had actually served a late lunch (must be at a wedding) of Austrian food. We grabbed a road pretzel for tomorrow and decided to call it an early night.

Tomorrow we explore Vienna!

Tyler and BrookeRead more