Danube River Cruise: Engelhartszell

In this fourth post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores Engelhartszell, Austria on her Active and Discovery on the Danube Cruise on Avalon in 2018.

The Active and Discovery on the Danube cruise was the second river cruise I did with Avalon. This cruise sailed from Linz, Austria to Budapest, Hungary in the summer of 2018. Join me as I explore many wonderful stops in the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary along the way!

Active and Discovery on the Danube Full Itinerary

Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about my day in Engelhartszell, Austria and sailing through the Schlogen Oxbow.

• July 26 & 27: Prague, Czech Republic
• July 28: Český Krumlov, Czech Republic
• July 29: Linz & Steyr, Austria (embarkation)
• July 30: Engelhartszell & Schlogen Oxbow, Austria
• July 31: Mauthausen & Grein, Austria
• August 1: Wachau Valley, Krems, & Vienna, Austria
• August 2 & 3: Vienna, Austria
• August 4: Komarno, Slovakia & Visegrad, Hungary (disembarkation)
• August 5: Budapest, Hungary

Engelhartszell

Guten morgen from Engelhartszell, Austria! After my first night onboard the lovely Avalon Luminary, I awoke to these gorgeous views. The ship was docked right in the heart of the small town of Engelhartszell, so the morning excursion was mere steps off of the ship. Engelhartszell is a small market town. It has a population of less than 1,000 and covers an area around seven square miles (18 square kilometers).

Engelszell Abbey

The morning excursion began at the Engelszell Abbey. This gorgeous Rococo church has a 249-foot tower, an opulent high altar, and enchanting frescoes.

We got to tour the inside of the beautiful abbey, which was built between 1754 and 1764. The interior is decorated with valuable works of art by many renowned artists, including Johann Georg Üblher, Joseph Deutschmann and Bartolomeo Altomonte.

After finishing our tour inside the abbey, we headed back outside to enjoy some of the gardens of the Trappist monastery. This is the only Trappist monastery in Austria and was founded in 1293. We each got a small sample of one of the many liqueurs they produce here, an herbal spirit distilled from an 18-herb extract. There is also a small aquarium here where several species of fish and other aquatic animals from the nearby Danube River are on display.

Trappist Beer Tasting

From here we headed down the street for a Trappist beer tasting. This is one of only 11 Trappist breweries in the world. The three beers we sampled are brewed here within the walls of the Trappist monastery under the supervision of Cistercian monks. The beer and cheese I sampled from this 13th-century brewery were delicious!

Tasting the three beers:

• Nivard (golden yellow)
• Benno (autumn red)
• Gregorius (chestnut brown)

Back Onboard

After a fine morning of touring the Engelszell Abbey and tasting three delicious Trappist beers, I walked back to the ship and found a great spot to relax and enjoy our afternoon sailing. Our ship was “double-docked” with another ship, a common practice at European ports. Since the ports themselves are not very large, often times ships tie up to each other. Passengers from the further ships then walk through the other ships to get to and from the ports.

Sailing Through the Schlogen Oxbow

It was a relaxing afternoon onboard the ship as we sailed through the Schlogen Oxbow. This beautiful horseshoe-shaped curve of the Danube River is very picturesque. The weather so far has been beautiful, but very hot and humid, so it was wonderful to take a bit of a break this afternoon!

Locks

Part of the afternoon sailing included going through one of many locks along the Danube River. The locks either raise or lower the ships and boats to meet the water level of the next section of the river. It really is fascinating to witness! First, the ship enters the lock and then the back gate is closed behind the ship. The last picture below shows the view of the back gate once it’s closed, with the gate houses on either side.

In this lock we were going down to a lower level, so the water is then pumped out of the lock and the ship is slowly lowered into the lock. The locks are typically wide enough to hold two ships side-by-side, but in this particular lock we were on our own. As you can see, there isn’t much space at all between the side of the ship and the side of the lock! If you compare the last picture below to the last picture in the gallery above, you can see just how far down we have gone.

Once the ship is lowered to the correct water level, the front gates are then opened. We then sailed through the front gates and back out to the Danube River to continue our sailing back to Linz for the night.

Conclusion

My morning in enchanting Engelhartszell, Austria and my afternoon quietly relaxing on the ship as she sailed back to Linz was positively lovely from start to finish. The small and charming town of Engelhartszell was a wonderful place to visit. Although it is small and relatively quiet, Engelhartszell has a lot to offer. The gorgeous Rococo Engelszell Abbey and the fun Trappist beer tasting were a great way to spend a morning. Having a relaxing afternoon onboard was just what I needed as well…it was great to rest up and recharge for the next few very busy days ahead!

Links

Ready to continue the journey? Click the button below to read the next post in the series:

Missed the earlier parts of this journey? Click the button below to read the earlier posts in this series:

Click the buttons below for more information about Avalon, and to read about my other fabulous Avalon river cruises:

Note: I fully funded this trip on my own and received no compensation or any other benefits from any service providers I used along the way. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not being compensated by any service providers.