Tuesday, Finally!


 Ok, so I was clicking on "New Post" and I saw that my titles are totally incorrect.  One says Monday December 19, and another says Monday December 18.  Whatever day it actually was, believe me - it was Monday!

Today we visited the quaint little town of Durnstein! (I have no idea how to do those characters on a computer, sorry).  We tried to kidnap mom into joining us, but she wasn't in the mood to go out and freeze her arse off again.  Probably a good thing, as the Durnstein (I really had to fight not to say "Durnstein Bears" in my head), hamlet was pretty much a dud for both myself and Bill.  Don't get me wrong, it was super cute.



I will say that one of the things that I found interesting about Durnstein is that they're adamant that the town retain its historic character.  They limit the number of people that can live there (84), and you have to have a special permit/license to drive, park, or bring a vehicle  inside the city walls.  Kind of cool, because it does retain the charm.  BUT - it also kind of makes the point of the visit a bit....questionable?  So, the purpose of OUR stop was to learn about all the apricots in the region, and who its perfect for growing apricots.

We ended up on one of the AMAWaterways tours, which was the "Special Interest" tour. Our program said we'd get to sample local apricot flavors, liqueurs, foods, etc.  Our tour guide walked us along a vineyard (totally Apricot-y, yes?), and then we ended up in Durnstein proper.  From there, into the Abbey, Cathedral, Whatever-its-called and into our tasting. 

 


The building we did the apricot tasting in had really cool sundial style clocks up top.  They looked like they probably were pretty accurate, but....only when the sun was out! Today...it was cloudy (kind of like every other day we've been on the ship!!)

We started with an Apricot Schnapps, and followed that by an Apricot Brandy.  However, we were told that we were starting with the Brandy, and ending with the Schnapps.  His recommendation was "sip the first one, drink the second one."  So, we started with a sip.  AND WOW was it strong and horrible!  We all chuckled and looked around like "do we have to drink this?!" After a few more sips, someone finally asked "why are we sipping this?" and the guide told us "no! Drink this one all at once!"  Turns out, he mixed them up when he handed them out...
Once we made it to the Brandy, we were in much better shape.  Please ignore my four chins.

Fewer chins, and more excitement from Bill.  The Brandy was great.  From there, we were given a teeeny sample of apricot jam, which was coupled with a 92 minute lecture about his mom, grandma, and aunt all making jam with some secret ingredient.  Then he handed out some chocolate with walnuts and apricots.  And then told us over a 48 minute diatribe about the guy who made jam, or maybe brandy, in his garage and then started selling it to neighbors, and then it become a regional favorite, and now it can only be purchased in this region.

We FINALLY got done with the tour, which wasn't all that great, and had about 30 minutes to get back to the bus.  That included our 15 minute walk back to the bus.  So, we had limited time in the town.  Which was mostly closed anyways...


The town DID have a really cool souvenir shop, which had this neat glass bell in it.  Fortunately, someone else bought it.  There was a question about Bill, as he REALLY liked it, and was close to buying it. Thank goodness.

The walk back to the ship was along the Danube.  It was a cute walk, and Bill and I enjoyed the scenery, ambiance, and otherwise made it back to the bus in short order.  


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