Krems melk tour
 

I would be doing the one day ddsg-blue-danube ship + train trip from Vienna. Should I visit the abbey early in the morning, or in the evening? Which would be better for photography?

I also have a few questions about the Krems melk tour offered by ddsg-blue-danube.

1. I can get the ticket at either Westbahnhof or Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof, right?

2. A very basic question(not familiar with european trains) , you get to sit anywhere in the train,right? Are there reservations for this route?

3. Any good view points for the abbey,where is it best viewed from, where I could get a good or complete view of the abbey?

Thanks.

You need to check the web sight to find out what hours the Abbey is open - not at all sure it is in the evening.

And if you have a second class ticket for the train you can;t sit in the first class car.

I bought this one http://kombitickets.railtours.at/kom...au-ticket.html at Westbahnhof. The DDSG and Brandner were interchangeable. The OEBB kombi pack comes with two train tickets,a Melk voucher, and a cruise voucher. The cruise voucher can be applied to either DDSG or Brandner which travel practically neck and neck. On the day I traveled, the DDSG ship was packed full of big tour groups, so I chose the Brandner instead. You can look at the boats docked about 100 yards down the river from the DDSG and Brandner ticket booths if you are walking from the Melk Abbey.

If you are visiting after Sept 30, you boat choices are drastically reduced.

Whether morning or evening is better depends on the time of the year, then the Abbey is open with respect to the sunset time, etc. Although the OEBB lists 9:04 train, that is meant to match with the 10:50 English tour as well as no train change needed from Westbahnhof to Melk. This option squeezes the garden visit and lunch in Melk and walk to the boat dock in a 1:50 window. I took one train earlier from Vienna requiring a simple change in St. Polten, and it gave me time to visit the garden before the English tour. I got a good view of the side. I think if I arrived even earlier, the view might have been better.

On the train, you can choose any 1) seats not reserved for the segment you are traveling 2) in the same or lower class than your ticket.

You can get a good side view on the road from the station to the Melk town. From the garden, you have a view from the front side. And from the bottom of the Melk on the way to the boat dock, you have a good view of the back of the Abbey. The view from the river is too far away and in the afternoon, the light angle is very poor.

In June, I purchased the Melk Combi Ticket:
http://tinyurl.com/m3ppur4

I bought my tickets (train, abbey, boat, train) at Meidling train station upon arrival to Vienna. Superfast process.

I e-mailed Melk Abbey for reservations for the morning tour in English and paid upon arrival at Melk Abbey. They gave me a map with directions to the boat for later.

3. From the road along along the Danube.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57622926792957

Thaks for the amazing suggestions greg, nytraveler, KL467 and michael.
1. I just checked the schedule, there are several trains at 6-7-9 am. I can board the trains marked as "REX" or "Railjet", right? The transit in St.Polten is mostly around 5 minutes, that isn't a problem,right?

2. I am trying to locate the Dock on Google, what is it called?
3. Do I need to go to Emmersdorf(if I have the time), or some places across the river? Or should I just to the island like places on the Danube?

4. Is it possible to break my cruise journey at Durnstein, wait for an hour or two and then go on towards Krems?

Just a couple of questions more..this places looks accesible,right?
http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/ze...stic-sites.jpg

And is there some kind of a view point or a hill?
http://cdn.eupedia.com/images/content/melk-1.jpg

Even though this post is 5 months old, I'm interested in the replies to the last 2 entries. I am planning a visit in early May this year. Thanks.

4. Is it possible to break my cruise journey at Durnstein, wait for an hour or two and then go on towards Krems?>

Yes but you can also take a bus to Krems and hook up with trains there - the boat ride Durnstein to Krems ain't remarkable and the bus takes the same riverside route.REX or Railjet - do RailJet trains even stop in Melk? These are super express trains that make few stops and i thought may even take a route avoiding Melk - but that special combo ticket could only be for REX or local trains so ask about that.

For lots of good info on Austrian trains and the Melk-Krems part of the Wachau Valley check out these IMO fine sources - www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com. There are two different boat companies and also two different docks so be sure you are at the right one! One is for long-distance boats on the Danube and other, closer to town I believe, is for boats that start and end in Melk - thus is a cove-like place nearer to town, if I recollect correctly.

1. Not all trains need change at St. Pölten. If there is, such as the ~8:56 Vienna departure IC690, the train to Melk R7012 is waiting on the same platform opposite the train from Vienna. The ~9:35 train to Melk was a one car train! I happened to be on the car about middle of the train from Vienna and the train to Melk was literally about 15 yards from where I got off. It probably took about 10 seconds to change the train.
2. Dock? which dock? You mean Melk? Here is the google location. The larger one at the bottom is Brandner and the smaller one on top is DDSG. https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&l...01735&t=h&z=19

Here is the Brandner ticket booth. The DDSG booth is off bottom of this map. https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&l...00868&t=h&z=20

3. Emmersdorf has nothing to do with this itinerary. If you have time, spend time in Melk or Durnstein.

Durnstein is fantastic - the ruined castle where Richard-the-Lion-Hearted was once held for ransom after being nabbed returning from or going to perhaps some Crusade - a cute wine town on a very pretty stretch of the Wachau Valley - Krems is a larger city but not without charms - if you have time take a walk around there too. Melk the town is nice but I would not linger there with other gems awaiting downstream.

Thanks everyone, had a wonderful trip, I'll post my trip report in a few days, but I'll just write a little bit about my Wachau trip here.

I got a Wachau Ticket for 57EU, went to Melk,gorgeous abbey, but a cruise ship just overcrowded the whole area. Walked around the town to get good views of the abbey. There's a good roadside pastry shop, the pastries were pretty good.
Took the 1.50 PM boat to Krems, the ride was quite good. The best parts were around Durnstein. Got down at Durnstein, went to the castle,walked around the town, especially around the vineyards,beautiful!! Took the 6 PM bus to Krems,and then the train back to Vienna.A day well spent.
I had some trouble locating the ferry dock, I reached the wrong dock(so did many of us tourists), just remember you dont need to cross the bridge, you go right along the man road after you get down from the abbey.

You can go through my entire report which talks about a day in the Wachau Valley here: http://ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/...ia-and-prague/

Yes I too at first had trouble finding the right boat dock in Melk - it's the one close to town not the long-distance dock out in the middle of the Danube practically. Signs must be no better than before!

For the DDSG boats that go to Krems.

They depart from Dock# 11

very easy to find

After departing the Abbey- walk back into the main area of Melk. This is the pedestrian zone of cafes and tourist shops
continue passing the parish Church on the left.
At the main road intersection ( highway 1 ) turn right ,
Walk the short distance seeing the Gas Station ( BP ? ) on the left - turn left there on follow this road the short distance to boat docks.
Brandner dock is immediately next to DDSG.

At the main road intersection where you turn right , please do not go straight crossing the bridge going to the docks for the Danube Cruise boats .

I believe signs are there that show this.

From Abbey to DDSG 10 - 15 minute walk.

Hundreds of thousands do this trip yearly. Without any trouble

look to good info from Greg above.

As seems the norm Pal above does not have current knowledge of this Wachau area.

If so , he would advise of the construction to occur by Durnstein for the coming years. This may affect tourists at times as it will occur by the river

If so , he would advise of the construction to occur by Durnstein for the coming years. This may affect tourists at times as it will occur by the river>

so you are advising to skip Durnstein for the coming years because of the construction? Throwing the baby out with the bath water?

I believe signs are there that show this.//

I am not sure about that,many many of us took the wrong road.

I believe signs are there that show this.>

yo believe or you know? In any case many many posts here have complained of how hard it was to find the right dock - suggest you go look so you have the most up to date info and not just speculate.

and you are saying to skip Durnstein for the next few years until construction is finished - is that right? That's what you told me - is the whole town under reconstruction?

They depart from Dock# 11

very easy to find>

then why have there been so so many posts about people having trouble finding it? Suggest you get up to date on signage you "believe" are there but not sure - signs in any case need to be much more clear as so many have trouble finding it. Do some research and come back with accurate info.

pal - your feeble posts get boring. Find a hobby.
The need to correct your often misleading - or incorrect advice about numerous things here - tiresome. When corrected you seem to then turn to feeble attempts to insult. This happened many times - look back in your history. And this not just with this writer but with numerous others.
Perhaps your memory becomes weak as you obviously have not been to some places in many years as you info is at best outdated.

The dock is easy to find - most everyone finds it without trouble. Of course some like you perhaps without using your eyes have problems.
This subject and directions often discussed here and elsewhere.

Re signs- they are there - if this is your limit of feeble attack - so be it-
People seem to recognize your behavior on these forums as I note this the not only place you ply your behavior. Perhaps a change in medication may help you.

Re Dürnstein - I suggest you read my posting - I advised people of coming construction - no where did I advise to not visit- this as you had no idea any construction would occur until I mentioned it here.
You have no idea of the nature or scope- This will take 2-3 years in various areas and at various times.
I am not the engineer on the job to determine construction stages. Many areas by the Hauptstrasse will see little or no affects.
As times go by - I will comment here about this - not for your benefit but for those who may visit.

It is just your type of posts and remarks like those shown above that make people with some basic knowledge less likely to take time to answer questions presented.
Unfortunate for those looking for legitimate advice.

enough from me - I do not waste my time with those like you.