So, originally we thought we'd go straight to Prague from Cesky Krumlov and then go into Poland, but since we had to fly home from Prague at the end with our tickets, we decided to cobble together an itinerary that would involve less travel in total.
I had biked down the Danube from Melk to Krems and my husband said he'd like to do that some day, so it was our perfect opportunity. So, back to Linz we went and took the train to Melk. Our backpacks were at the Hotel zur Post by early afternoon and then we toured the Abbey in the drizzle. Love the Abbey and its gardens. Dinner was at the Hotel restaurant which is really outstanding - perhaps the best meals of our whole trip, but there were so many good meals it's hard to pin that down. The following day we set off early on our rented E-bikes. We decided to bike on the south bank to Spitz, visiting the Aggstein ruins on the way, then ferry across to ride down the north side the rest of the way to Krems. The e-bikes were awesome until we got to the road up to the ruins. Then we had to push these heavy, heavy bikes up the mountain. It was so hard, it started to rain, cars were flying up past us. But, we persevered and made it to the top. Now, just now, I can say it was worth it. I didn't know that there are ALL kinds of e-bikes and the ones we had this day were just "a tiny bit of help" e-bikes. The ebikes at the end of our trip in Prague might have made all the difference going up this mountain. Anyway, get a really powerful ebike and go up to see the Aggstein ruins. Very scenic place. We took many pictures there, and on our entire bike ride. It was beautiful. I think it was in Weisskirchen that we stopped to get gelato to make sure we had the 50cent Euro coins needed for the public restrooms. Hoard those 50cent coins!
In Krems, we locked up the rental bikes where directed and took the 15:45 boat back to Melk, changing in Spitz. It was a full day beside and on the river. I should add, shortly after we got on the boat it rained the whole rest of the evening. We were glad to be under cover. Dinner was a late one at the Hotel Zur Post restaurant again. Fabulous.
The following day it was off to Vienna for another one night stay. I chose the Opera Suites to be convenient to the opera and we had a scare at 11am when they said they no longer have a front desk, nor hold bags - but luck! our room was ready early and they kindly let us in. Had I known the new rules though, we would not have booked there. Think Airbnb now, and one with one of those tiny cabin showers where you can't move - but the room was nice. We set out walking and revisited an old favorite - Esterhazy Keller and I had the best currywurst and fries for lunch. Dessert was at Demel - new to us - for some wonderful cake. That night we had tickets to the opera for the Magic Flute. In search of a quick bite, we ended up at the Hotel Am Stephansplatz where we had New Year's Eve dinner and party years ago and I think we were the only people there eating. It was delicious and sentimental. Back at the opera, we were in the balcony along one side and really enjoyed being able to see the stage and the orchestra. Only downside was that it was very, very hot for us in our dressy clothes and masks (masks not required, but it was our goal not to get Covid on this trip). At intermission, we stood on the veranda breathing air and cooling off. We loved the opera and highly recommend it!