Mahvish and Nate's Anniversary Party in Austria's Wachau Valley

One time we went to a party at an abandoned castle overlooking the Danube river:

This picture checks off about a dozen bucket-list items.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Paul met his friends Mahvish and Nate way back in 2002 on study abroad in Cairo. He's seen them a few times over the years in Chicago, DC, and Atlanta. When we were invited to their 10th wedding anniversary party in a castle on the Danube, we jumped at the chance and made a vacation out of it. Flying to Europe from Atlanta can be pretty expensive in the summer, but luckily we found a good flight deal to Munich and spent a day there before exploring Vienna for a few more days.

Saturday morning, the day of the anniversary party, we got up early and went to the airport to pick up a rental car for the next two days. We usually don't travel through Europe via car, but the location of the party in the UNESCO Wachau Valley made travel by car an easier option. It also gave us the ability to travel more slowly through some towns and see some sights along the Danube River and further south. We met Nate and Mahvish's friend Philippe and his sister at the airport at 9AM to pick up the rental car, and set off for the valley.

Our first stop was Krems an der Donau, a town of 24,000 people 43 miles west of Vienna. Once we figured out how to pay for parking, we walked through the town for a few hours. It's a cute historic city, with a bustling main tourist street through the center of town. We visited a couple of churches and sampled some local marillenshnaps (apricot brandy). Its a great city to just meander around the small central historic district. Just watch out for the busloads of tourists!

View of Krems.



All of the towns along the Danube have hilly adorable cobblestone streets.

Inside the Piaristinkirche, the church perched above the city. 

The facade of the catholic church in the center of town.

The opulent Baroque interior of the catholic church.

One of the main streets in the center of Krems.

The steiner tor, a 15th century gate to the city.

Our next stop was a short drive west along the Danube: the little town of Dürnstein. It's an adorable village situated on a hillside on a bend in the river, surrounded by vinyards and forests and watched over by castle ruins perched high above. We walked through the town then hiked uphill to Burgruine Dürnstein, a 12th century castle where Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner in 1192 on his way home from the crusades. It was a steep 20 minute climb up the hill, and we were rewarded with commanding views and an amazing breeze on a hot day.

Vineyards and hills on the edge of Dürnstein.

The Danube is a really pretty blue-green. Not like Georgia's orange muddy rivers.

Narrow historic streets through the center of town.

Did we mention this town is adorable?

Looking across the river toward the town of Rossatz, on our climb up to the castle.

Very rewarding views after the short hike up to the castle.

The view of the beautiful Wachau valley from the castle.

We made it to the castle! Only a little sweaty...

Vineyards and a castle on a beautiful Saturday.

After walking back down to the village we had lunch before continuing west in our car. We dropped off Philippe and his sister at their hotel in Melk, and got ready for the party at our hotel, the Residenz Wachau. It was a charming hotel, but unfortunately we didn't have too much time there. We picked up Philippe again and our new Swedish friends and drove to the party.

The anniversary party was in another historic castle. Yes, we went to two castles in one day, deal with it! This castle was Burgruine Aggstein, a 12th century castle high on a hill over the Danube. It was a beautiful location, and the party was in a restored banquet hall. We enjoyed seasonal food and drinks (yay apricot champagne and late night schnitzel!) and spent the night drinking, talking and enjoying the beautiful evening.

View of the Danube from our room.

The banquet hall in the castle.

Grrr!

Not a bad view!

We toured the castle before the party.

Amazing views up and down the Danube.

View the other direction.

Apricot champagne and a beautiful sunset on top of the castle.

Paul and Mahvish are ready to party.

Hanging out after the toast.

The weather was amazing.

The happy couple 16 years after meeting (10 of them married!)

We were at the Cairo table!

This guy wants a beer.

Time to cut the cake!

We had an amazing time at the party, and this will certainly be the travel highlight of our year. Congrats to Mahvish and Nate!

The next morning, before leaving the Wachau valley, we drove to Melk and toured the abbey. Melk only has about 5,000 people, but seems larger. It has a small cute historic downtown, but the highlight is a giant abbey and church overlooking the town. It's one of Austria's most famous religious structures, originally founded in the 11th century. The main building is from the 18th century. We couldn't take photos inside, but there was a beautiful library and a number of impressive baroque rooms and paintings. We also happened upon a traditional band and locals in costume in the courtyard, getting ready to parade through town.

Melk and the abbey.

The main courtyard of the impressive abbey.

We listened to this band play traditional songs. A lucky random cultural experience.

The view over Melk on a cloudy Sunday morning.

David outside the abbey.

It was pretty crowded - a popular tourist destination, especially on a weekend during apricot season.

The gardens surrounding the abbey.

It's pretty clear to see why the Wachau Valley is a UNESCO heritage site. The Danube between Krems and Melk is wide and there are numerous small farming villages dotting its banks. This area is very hilly, with the ruins of old castles, vineyards and some overall great scenery. If you happen to be in this neck of the woods, consider visiting the valley for some old world charm. We didn't visit Melk too long, after visiting the abbey we left Melk in the late morning and drove south toward the mountains. We had the rental car until later that night so we wanted to make the most of our rare European car rental to see more of the Austrian countryside and the alpine foothills.