Round the Globe: Austria's Wachau Valley & Durnstein

Breakfast is served buffet style onboard. There also is an alternative area to eat where for breakfast they have coffee, tea, juices, fruit, yogurt, breads and some smoked fishes. In the main dining room, the buffet has had an ample spread. You can also order eggs, pancakes and waffles from a waiter. The tables are set with linens and waiters serve you coffee, etc.

Lunch is buffet in the main dining room only. Dinner is a la carte and served in both the main dining room and the alternative area. We have not yet eaten in the alternative area. The food is fine but nothing spectacular. Service is very good. There is always a meat dish, a fish dish and a vegetarian choice for the entrees. The chef''s two soup choices have been excellent. There is always a amuse bouche and three starters to choose from. Spirits and wine are complimentary and the wine offered had been local and very good. Twice, the fresh fish was brought onboard from that days stop.

The atmosphere is more like a country club than a cruise ship. Everyone knows each other pretty well now having traveled on buses together and gathered in tour groups. You can sit alone or, by now, sit with people you have come to know.

Most people are from the U.S., a few from Canada and a couple from Saudi Arabia. All are extremely friendly and wanting to have a good time.

Today, we left Linz, Austria at 5:00AM. Instead of a large breakfast today, it was light because at 11:00AM we were offered a Champagne Brunch. This would allow us all to be up on deck as we cruised down the Danube viewing the stunning Wachau Valley.

The entire valley is a UNESCO Heritage Site. The river valley is bordered by mountains, covered with vineyards and dotted with medieval castle ruins and small wine villages. My guidebook waxes "think of bicycle paths meandering through plum and apricot orchards and glasses of cool, crisp white wine served in intimate entrusted grottos".

Some of the sights as we floated down the river towards our stop at Durnstein:

At 2:00PM, we arrived in the postage-stamp sized village of Durnstein. The castle ruin up on top of the hill is where Richard the Lionhearted was held captive for a year in 1193 by Archduke Leopold V of Austria after a dispute during the Third Crusade. The ransom money England paid to free him was used to establish Vienna's first mint. Many of our tour group members opted to hike all the way up to the ruins while Jeff and I went looking for a shady place to sample the efforts of the grape growers.

The voyage down the Valley was spectacular. Stopping at Durnstein was really what I would call "a cruise ship stop". If you didn't go bike riding or climb to the top of the castle, there was really nothing to see or do. If you ever do stop here, be prepared to do something physical like hiking, swimming or biking. Our thinking was, it's all good. Sitting in a comfortable chair, letting all this incredible scenery wash over you while you sip some cool wine brought up topside to you by a waiter as you cruise down the Blue Danube beats the heat in Las Vegas.

At 6:00 PM, our boat was on its way to Vienna.