Travel Notes: Durnstein and Melk

Another day on the Danube River, another couple of beautiful cities to explore.

Durnstein and Melk are in the area of Austria called the Wachau Valley. It is picturesque along both sides of the Danube with rolling hills and plenty of vineyards. Some of the vineyards have been around since Roman times. There are plenty of apricot orchards dotting the landscape as well.

Durnstein

They say it’s one of the most romantic places along the Danube. Having seen the village during a walking tour, I’d say that I’d have to go back to confirm that. It’s one of the places my husband and I would definitely have lingered in, spent a night or two and relaxed.

But, onward we go. You can read about the history of Durnstein here. There are lovely little shops, wineries and plenty of places to purchase apricot-flavored everything. It is a quintessential European river village.

Photographically, you’ll find many options for creating. I suggest putting your “but I’m a photographer” mentality aside, and capturing the story of the village as you see and experience it. I’d even go as far as just using your phone to grab shots of what catches your eye.

Go beyond what it is you tend to photograph most of the time. So what if some of what you come home with are just snapshots? It’s a holiday, relax and enjoy and let go of the pressure to create perfect images. Especially if you’re on a walking tour or tour of some kind and don’t have the time to set up shots as you typically would.

Durnstein Abbey

The Durnstein Abbey church is quite noticeable from the Danube River as you sail in to dock. Its bright blue color really stands out. Stift Dürnstein, as the Abbey is known in German, dates back to the 14^th century, but it was in the mid-1600s that the prior Hieronymus Ubelbacher oversaw its redesign, adding baroque architectural elements and its uniquely-colored steeple.

Definitely worth a wander around and taking the tour to hear the history. It’s always amazing to me how old some of these places are.

Melk

It’s likely you’ve heard of Melk Abbey before or even seen photos. Once again, we were here as part of a tour. Honestly, while I’m not a huge fan of tours they are one of the best ways to learn about a place and have access to areas you may not have if you were on your own. Can they also limit your photography at times? Yes, but you can still manage to create images.

The baroque architecture of the abbey is incredible. It was planned by the famous Austrian architect Jakob Prandtauer at the beginning of the 18th century. The details are incredible. There are also some pretty nice views from Abbey Park.

Again, you could spend a few hours on the grounds of the Abbey and inside, but with limited time, I just focused on what caught my attention. I honestly spent more time just wandering and looking here than I did taking photographs.

Tips:

• Carry two camera bodies to avoid changing lenses … and massive amounts of dust spots.
• Photograph anything that catches your attention.
• If you know you’re only doing tours, leave the tripod behind.
• When it is brutally hot, take it easy, hydrate and take breaks.
• Take photos of informative signs so you have the history or information on what you are photographing.

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