In April of 2009 we enjoyed a "Great Rivers of Europe" riverboat cruise along the Danube, Main & Rhine Rivers". After an overnight flight from DFW to the Vienna, Austria we transferred to the GCT River Aria for the 14 day cruise. We spent the first day in Vienna touring the city sights, including St. Stephan's Cathedral and the famous Opera House. Our first port was Melk, Austria, where the 900 year old baroque Melk Abbey overlooks the city on the Danube River. It was a very charming town to explore on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. We climbed a steep hill to tour the very impressive Melk Abbey which has been a Benedictine monastery ince 1089. We continued on our cruise through the Wachau Valley which had landscapes of rolling vineyards, and walled villages. On Sunday we enjoyed another beautiful day in Passau which is on the Austria/Germany border. Some of us attended services at St. Stephen's Cathedral which has the largest pipe organ in Europe....it was beautiful to hear. I enjoyed the afternoon wandering around the cobblestone and winding streets taking photos. We sailed away late in the afternoon and entered the first of 66 locks we would pass through before our arrival in Amsterdam.