Dürnstein
 
I somehow find it very hard to leave Austria without a visit to Dürnstein. Oma lived with her mother and Dagmar and Utzi nearby in Krems and Dagmar married Dick in Dürnstein, so it has many family threads running through it. This time we stopped in Krems to visit the Karakaturemuseum and its wonderful Donald Duck exhibit. Then tempers flared a bit as we walked to the Stein-Mauter train station (just a wee bit beyond Krems, I swear!) to catch the ten minute ride to Dürnstein. By the time we arrived in this beautiful little village/tour magnet, I owed everyone (especially Nathaniel) a nice lunch. We went for the high end, spending some time (and not insubstantial euro) on the terrace at Richard Lowenhertz, where we had a fantastic lunch. Climbing up to the ruins seems steeper each time I do it, but we made it to the top and enjoyed the view and a few peaches. I noticed this time that in addition to the famed Wachauer Laibchen, Dürnstein is full of Marillen (Apricots) in every form (dried, liquor, candy, knoedel, and of course, jam). I wonder if living in this area is what gave Oma her wonder touch with apricot jam? We bought a load of frozen Wachauer Laibchen and headed back to Vienna. Herrlich!   ...Eric
Tuesday, 31 July 2007