Göttweig Abbey

Today we are in Krems, Austria and I have an excursion planned to Göttweig Abbey. The trip begins with a short bus ride from Viking Rinda to the Abbey. Within minutes on the road, the abbey is clearly visible on a hilltop. It sits powerfully and we follow the road to the top.

It’s peaceful here and the tour begins outside. It’s early March and we are the first tour of the season. Our guide tells us she is so excited for us to be here, but also nervous because she hasn’t given a tour in months. She’s a pro and I wouldn’t have known there was a break unless she said something. We file off of the bus and early spring is in the air. There are small blooms on nearby trees and a couple trees that don’t seem like they belong. They look familiar, but it takes me a minute to place them. I feel light wind gusts, and the aroma sparks my memory. They are sequoia trees! Our guide tells us how the trees were a gift to the monks. They are old, but not nearly as old as the ones in California. No driving through trunks here! Our guide also points out the other trees which have the blooms on them. They are apricot trees and are native to the region.

We move inside for a short video, and we are greeted with trays of drinks. We have a choice of wine or juice. It’s not even 9am yet. It’s 5 o-clock somewhere applies to European vacations, but with wine. I actually decide against the wine and choose the thick, orange-colored drinks. It’s apricot and it’s delicious! The video discusses the history of the Abbey and also talks about ways they make money. Apricots and wine are part of how they make money.

We move forward and outside to further tour the abbey. It’s chilly and quiet, but we do see a couple other people from outside our group. Our guide explains that one of the people we see is here for their wellness program. They offer a retreat where guests can stay on-site and experience a spiritual retreat. There is another person we see, and she explains how the man was the leader here, but recently retired. (There are more official words to both “leader” and “retired” here, but I can’t remember the words she used.)

We move indoors to another building and a giant imperial staircase greets us. Our guide explains that this is where royalty stayed, and it is called the imperial apartments. The staircase is grand, but the steps are relatively short. They are constructed so women with lavish dresses could easily descend them. We climb the steps and around the corner we’re greeted with high ceilings with a beautiful fresco ceiling that was painted by Paul Troger in 1739. I watched “The Empress” on Netflix right before my trip and I feel like I’ve been transported in time to this era.

1739 ceiling by Paul Troger and imperial staircase

We move onto the abbey church which also is beautiful. The inside is covered in fresco and made to look like expensive marble. It is not marble, but I’m not sure I would have known otherwise. It is beautiful.

Abbey Church

We end the tour with a dumpling cooking demonstration. I was torn about choosing this tour or the other option and it came down to this. The other tour was to make a Linz tart, and I thought learning to make new cuisines would be fun. I then remembered that I don’t like cooking and being able to watch someone else make it but still be able to eat it sounded better. I think I made the right decision. So, we all sat down and were treated with coffee as we warmed up from the cold. The restaurant manager who normally doesn’t do this tour did an excellent job demonstrating how these regional treats were made. They essentially take apricots and coat them in a flour mixture and then cook them. I really liked the dumplings, but not everyone was a fan. We are here early in the season before the apricots are ready, so our dumplings were made from frozen ones from last season. I bet they are even better when they are made with freshly picked apricots. Our tour finishes with a little wine tasting and then we’re back to the Viking Rinda.

Dumpling Demonstration

I go to the top deck to take in the views of the Wachau Valley as we sail onward. The crew has come top deck as well and they come bearing gifts. They have trays of a clear sticky liquid that is apricot Schnapps. It’s pretty good. The wheelhouse opens later, and we are welcomed to check it out. It was really cool to see all the controls and technology on this ship.

Apricot Schnapps & Afternoon Tea

In beautiful weather, I could spend all day outside on this top deck, but it’s early March and the weather isn’t fabulous. I move inside for Afternoon Tea. A gorgeous stack of snacks is brought to us with little sandwiches and desserts. We also order some loose-leaf tea, and it comes with a timer for perfection. While we eat our snack and drink our tea, Viking puts on a culinary presentation.

The evening begins with an Austrian Feast. Gingham tablecloths with cheese platters and Austrian pretzels greet us in the dining room. We are offered a menu to have food platters delivered to us or offered to grab our own food at the buffet. I decide on the buffet and go straight to the chef making spaetzle. Spaetzle is basically like a better version of our Mac and cheese. I’ve been pleasantly surprised with Austrian cuisine and the best part is that peppers don’t seem to be used often! During our meal, a small Austrian band perform adding to the experience.

Austrian Feast on Viking Rinda

We finish the evening with trivia and our team wins a bottle of Mozart. We share it with everyone. It’s a chocolate liqueur and is tasty.