The Wachau is a 36-kilometre stretch of the Danube between Melk and Krems, designated a UNESCO Cultural Landscape for its combination of vine terraces, apricot orchards, medieval towns and Baroque monasteries perched on river promontories. It rewards exactly the kind of slow travel a marathon recovery calls for.
Getting There
Trains from Wien Hauptbahnhof reach Krems, the valley's eastern gateway, in around an hour, with regular onward regional connections along the river toward Melk.
The Valley
April is the start of the apricot blossom season, and the orchards on the south-facing slopes above Weissenkirchen and Spitz are in flower. Melk Abbey, on a cliff above the river, is the valley's defining building: a Benedictine monastery and Baroque church from 1736, with a library of 100,000 manuscripts beneath a ceiling fresco by Paul Troger. Between the two towns, riverside villages, wine taverns and short, flat cycle-path stretches make for genuinely easy days rather than an itinerary that fights tired legs.
Two Nights, Not One
Two nights gives enough time to split the valley properly: a day based in or near Krems for the eastern towns and vineyards, and a second day covering Melk and the abbey without rushing either. The boat between Krems and Melk (DDSG Blue Danube, roughly 1.5 hours) is the pleasant way to link the two if a full one-way river journey appeals more than doubling back by rail.
Getting Back
Regional trains run back to Wien Hauptbahnhof from either Krems or Melk throughout the day, making the return leg as unhurried as the rest of the trip.