My friend and I spent a few days driving around Lower Austria and Burgenland at the beginning of…read morethis month. We stopped in Aggstein to see the ruins of Aggstein Castle, which was well worth our time! The castle was built in the 12th century but after years of neglect beginning in the 17th century, fell to ruins. The ruins sit atop a hill above the Danube River, and there are some incredible views. The castle has a small restaurant (they had inside seating, which wasn't open when we visited, but they had plenty of outdoor seating, which was lovely), where we enjoyed lunch when we arrived at the castle. We had some frankfurters with rolls, horseradish, and mustard - super simple and delicious. They also serve lemonade, beer, and other food. It was packed when we ate lunch, because a school group was visiting (lots of orders of French fries), but the food was fast, and it couldn't have been more convenient. But the reason to visit is definitely, easily the experience of walking through the structure of the ruins. It's really very cool to explore and take photographs of the structure - and the wonderful views you can see though the window and doorframes of the ruins. There wasn't much in the way of signage that I could see, but it's interesting to walk around and you can Google the castle before you walk around to get some context for your visit. A great stop in Lower Austria (we visited between stops at Melk and wineries in the Wachua Valley)!

Drive up the hill all the way to the carpark which is right next to the ruins. Unusually perched…read morehigh on a hill on solid rock these ruins offer great panoramic views of the area and Danube. The audio guide was helpful for creating even more atmosphere. There is a Tavern in the courtyard, closed this week but I am sure great in Summer. We like to intersperse Ruins with Schloss's and Abbeys, contrast is good. There are a number of walks you can set off on from the Abbey all signposted with distances.

This was the final stop of our Austria drive before we hit Vienna for our flight home. I made sure…read moreour travels included a stop at the abbey since it was a large UNESCO site, high above the Danube River and had some impressive rooms inside. The signage throughout the city of Melk was plenty and clearly directed us to the parking lot above the abbey. Remember to take your parking ticket for free validation at the ticket office. It was around a 10 minute walk from the parking lot to the main ticketing desk. Don't go to the garden ticket booth unless you have a ticket or only want to pay for the garden visit. Admission included access to the church (amazing detail), museum, library (open but under renovation), gardens (with a must see interior of the Pavilion main hall), bastion (panoramic views above Melk and Danube) and the Marble Room (beautiful ceiling paintings). We joined the English guided tour for 4 Euros per person (Skippable IMO) and ended in the library as the guides were not allowed into the final stop, the church. From the guided tour one of the most important highlight was the famous Melk Cross, with a splinter of the true cross, had been stolen twice and fought over (Vienna and Melk) but now was no longer on display due to its condition. Since this was an active abbey photos were not allowed once inside by policy. Sometime the docents would stop you but other times not (ie. adult chaperones overseeing a school field trip). Guided tour took almost one hour but by the time we wrapped up our visit a storm moved in. We missed taking photos from the city of Melk to show just how large this complex was. If you're visiting Vienna then take a side trip out here. It will be worth it.

Melk Abbey Visited…read morethe abbey on an all-day tour starting in Vienna, then heading to Hallstatt and Salzburg. We were only there for 45 minutes, so I just had time to run in and admire the beautiful church. That was more than enough to know I have to return to Austria to properly explore the abbey and the entire Wachau Valley. What a place!!!