River Cruise - Romantic Danube - Viking Njord Part 4

[Gill W]

Day 4 - 5

Yesterday's Austrian buffet turned out to be a fun event. A couple of
lederhosen clad musicians had boarded, who serenaded us all over the ship with
typical oompha type music. The food was interesting - I've never had sauerkraut
before..... And not sure I would have it again, to be honest. But the cherry
ice cream I had for desert was fantastic. All this was washed down with
Austrian lager and wine, plus schnapps.

After dinner we were out on deck to see some beautiful Austrian views - mountain
and grassy meadows. The smell of freshly cut grass was strong in the air - I
think this will be very evocative for me in future.

This morning we moored up at Melk. Our included excursion was a visit to Melk
Abbey (Benedictine). It's not a very old monastery, about 300 years old, built
in the Baroque period. (Everything is Baroque round here). I didn't mention
before, but on all tours we use 'whisper units/quiet vox, or whatever you like
to call them. We are issued with these at the start of the cruise, and our
guide tells us what frequency he/she is broadcasting on, so we can tune in.
When we get back to the ship, the units are recharged in the room, in the
holders provided. I think this is a good idea, as everybody gets to know how to
use them at the start of the cruise, and it saves a lot of faffing around on
each tour.

When we returned to the pier, it was very congested along the river. Two other
Viking ships were in, plus several other ships. However, we sailed at noon, for
scenic cruising of the Wachau valley. We saw the castle where Richard I was
held prisoner. I knew it was somewhere in Austria, but hadn't expected to see
it, so I thought that was quite cool.

We arrive in Vienna at 6 o'clock this evening. Dinner is early today, as there
is an optional excursion to an evening concert. We have opted to do this
outing, as we thought it'd be something different. Apparently it'll be a 34
piece orchestra, so should be good.

I thought I'd say a word about our fellow cruisers. I haven't got the exact
figures, but I would say it's about 40% UK and 60% North American, with the
Canadians being far outnumbered by Americans. There is a Norwegian couple, but
I'm not aware of any other nationalities. Most people are in their 50's and
60's. But I would say the average age is much lower than a typical P&O cruise,
as there is a sizeable number of people in their 20's to 40's. There is one
child on the cruise, a boy of about 10. There are no children's facilities on
the ship at all, but he seems to be having a good time in his extended family
group. As for dress - during the day people wear exactly the same as they do on
any cruise ship. During the evening, most people change to have dinner. They
typically wear smart casual attire – one or two people interpret this as shorts and a polo
shirt....... But the fantastic thing is, nobody cares what anyone is wearing!
Everybody is polite and respectful, so it doesn't matter if they happen
to have chosen to wear shorts. I have to say, it's very refreshing. Even
better is the complete absence of moaning. Nobody seems to have a bad thing to
say. This is a definite plus point.