For centuries the Danube has been the muse for artists, composers, and poets. Lined with grand cities, ancient towns, UNESCO-listed landscapes, and picturesque vineyards, the river flows through Europe's treasured past across 10 countries for almost 2,000 miles, from Germany's Black Forest to the Black Sea.
It meanders through Regensburg and Passau into Austria's Wachau Valley and Vienna, once the center of the Habsburg Empire. The Danube has seen millennia of history unfold. It comes as no surprise that there are several very special experiences to enjoy during a journey along the Danube.
Join me as I explore my top 10 favorites.
Overlooking Austria's remarkable Wachau Valley is the gracious Göttweig Abbey. Built on land donated by Passau's Bishop Altman, this stunning Baroque monastery complex, inspired by Spain's El Escorial, is actually the third version, with fires destroying most of the monastery in 1580 and again in 1718.
The monastery is 900 years old. Göttweig is a very special place with a great history. It is a spiritual place, a place for freedom, praise, for peace. It is a place where the people come together and they go away with much power in the heart.
Göttweig is a Benedictine monastery, an order founded by Saint Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century monk who established the Abbey of Monte Cassino on a hilltop southeast of Rome around 529 AD. An astute and critical scholar of religious practices, Saint Benedict clarified the way European monasteries are organized, how monks should live and work, and what the focus of their religious life should be.
His thoughts evolved into the book The Rule of Saint Benedict, a guide for balancing prayer, reading, and work. In Latin: Ora et Labora.
Lectio means to read. Saint Benedict ordered every monk of his monastery must learn to read and to write. Everybody should read the gospel for himself. In the daily life of the monks, until now, every monk, there is a time reserved to read.
And I understand also during meals you have silent meals, but there is a reader?
Yes, certain has the possibility to eat afterwards. We read during the lunch and in the suppers in the evening.
And I noticed in your private quarters you have a special reading room.
I like to sit there reading. It makes the view wide and large.
From the beginning, Göttweig has operated differently than most Benedictine monasteries.
We are not so contemplative in our life like other Benedictines. For example, the French monasteries are all contemplative. They do not go outside.
Göttweig always focused on outreach, which was a blessing when Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II began his massive reforms.
Monasteries which have been contemplative — that is not necessary. We need parish priests. We need monks and sisters in the hospitals. We need monks and sisters in the schools. All others you can forget.
He dissolved 700 monasteries, but Göttweig survived. Today Göttweig continues to focus on the world beyond the monastery walls.
We care for many parishes, 35 at the moment.
But take care for schools, you are teaching?
Teachings, yes, philosophy. And we have some in the hospitals. We have a house for retreats and a house for young people.
I understand you've also gotten involved with the immigration situation.
Yes, that's nothing new for us. Every crisis, if it has been Poland, if it has been Croatia, we have always had refugees in our monastery. And at the moment it's families of Syria. We try to help as well as possible.
While Göttweig is headed by Abbot Gerhard, I was surprised to learn he has a cabinet of sorts, and that all the monks have a voice in leadership and the direction of the monastery.
Then there is the second man on my side, Mr. Prior. Then the third man is the Subprior. And then there are the monks — there are five persons — and if there is a problem in the monastery, I call these five, come, and we have a discussion how to solve it.
So every vote for every layer counts equally.
It's equally, yes, equal counts.
Yeah, it's a democratic system.
Which reached back to the 6th century of Saint Benedict. It's no creation of our time, but it's very, very modern.
Many parishes and support programs the monastery extends. Its work includes more than 13,000 acres of woodlands being selectively harvested to ensure this treasured forest endures the test of time. The slopes around Göttweig are also used to produce the grapes that create the wines for which the Wachau is famous: Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir, as well as wines used in Holy Mass.
And then there's the Marille, another Wachau favorite. It's also grown under the watchful eye of Göttweig monks in partnership with nearby orchards, and right on the monastery grounds, transformed into tasty juices, jams, and even schnapps. Ultimately the Marille is yet another way for Göttweig to continue and enhance its community outreach.
Having survived nearly 10 centuries, serving amid the distractions of the modern world has perhaps never been more daunting, requiring absolute focus from every monk.
I think the rule of Saint Benedict will help the monk to be a man who has a good disposition to heaven, but also good disposition to the earth. It is important that the monk lives his vocation not only in the monastery but also outside the monastery. I think everybody can be happy in his life. If I'm in a family or if I'm alone, if I'm a monk in a monastery, it is important that I live what I see — that is my vocation.
I experienced calmness, a sense of peace, spontaneous joy. It wasn't the world I'd imagined, but rather one rich in history and spirit shared by some of the friendliest people I've met.
We are delighted to welcome Viking guests to Göttweig Abbey.
Göttweig opens the door to an intriguing world that I found fascinating. I hope you too will have the chance to explore its many treasures.
The year was 1832. Vienna was thriving with the Austrian Empire in full bloom under Emperor Francis I. The graceful waltz and composer Johann Strauss Senior had captured the Viennese imagination and a new taste was born. When Prince Wenzel von Metternich demanded a special dessert for an important function, through a twist of fate the imposing task fell upon the shoulders of a young apprentice, Franz Sacher. Toiling feverishly, he concocted a delectable combination of chocolate, apricot jam, and whipped cream — the Sacher Torte, which it's said delighted Metternich's guests. In 1876, son Edward Sacher built upon his father's reputation, opening Vienna's exclusive, luxurious Hotel Sacher.
After World War II, the hotel fell into Russian, then British hands during the occupation before the family restored its beauty and traditions — including one that might surprise you: special treatment for dog guests. The policy began long ago with owner Anna Sacher, who always had her dogs close by. Of course, many human faces have also been greeted warmly into these opulent surroundings.
Hotel Sacher feels like a living museum, a fascinating time capsule of country and culture where every wall speaks volumes about the intriguing past that unfolded here — even in the café, which also happens to be the perfect spot to experience history with your taste buds. The Sacher Torte, with its secret recipe that's still made almost entirely by hand — Hotel Sacher is a rare treasure and a reminder of the many wonders just waiting to be explored in Vienna.
Witnessing the boys rehearsing before their evening performance is like listening to a choir of angels. Established by the Habsburg Empire in 1498, the Vienna Boys Choir provides a solid education and a chance to explore different countries.
The greatest part of being a member is probably going on tour the whole world.
When I walk out on stage, I just feel free, hearing the applause from everybody. Yeah, it feels great.
In all, there are approximately 100 members from countries around the globe. How long have you been here?
And you came from St. Petersburg.
We heard you singing earlier and it was absolutely beautiful. Your parents must be very proud.
With a thorough musical background in hand, many boys eventually become professional vocalists and treasure their days in the choir.
The waltz was once the most scandalous dance in Europe. Its provocative moves and intoxicating atmosphere caused an uproar in the 18th century. While forbidden by the church and authorities, behind closed doors the nobility embraced the waltz and the romantically formal ambiance that accompanied it. Eventually Emperor Joseph II opened a few balls to the public, fueling the Austrian passion for the waltz.
Love for the waltz even among the young remains strong thanks in large part to the school of Professor Elmayer, Austria's noted dance and etiquette expert.
It was started in 1919. My grandfather was an officer at the Imperial Army, a Cavalry officer, and of course there was no army anymore after the First World War. And he thought, how to be in a job again where he had to do with young people — that was his objective. He read a book of an officer who was in the Grand Army of Napoleon, who founded a dancing school in Paris. And he said, that's an idea. And he was a good friend of Count Palavicini here, so it's a ground floor of a palace. The Palavicinis had no horses anymore, they had motor cars in the meantime, and so he said, you can convert these stables into a dancing school.
These arches — these used to be the stables?
The oldest used to be the stables, yeah. The teachers here were all aristocrats, and the lady assistants — he took all the beauty queens of Austria. So he started very successfully with that mixture here.
Thousands of students have successfully learned the elegant waltz on the parquet floors of Tänzschule Elmayer. So I, a self-proclaimed non-dancer, volunteered a bit reluctantly to give it a whirl. Perhaps you could show me some of the typical steps of the Viennese waltz?
The lady always starts with left foot back, the gentleman with the right foot forward. So it's just very simple: you do left foot back, then the right foot to the side and closer. Now it's important that the left foot takes over the weight, because the right foot goes forward. Forward, side, close — and left foot back. It's left foot back, side, close, and right forward, side.
