We were up bright and early to be ready to board the bus at 7.00am this morning. The staff were up bright and early as well, because you could have pastries in the lounge between 4.30am and 5.30am and breakfast was from 5.30am in the restaurant. It was cold and misty as we walked up the path to the coach, the Danube still seemed to be racing along, and the water level still looked quite high.

Out trip to Passau took about an hour. It was a pity it was so misty as we travelled through quite a lot of farming country. It looked like the farms were a bit bigger here. There were no lorries on the road as they are not allowed on the roads on Sundays. Once in Passau we boarded the 'Majestic Imperator' train for a majestic and relaxed royal experience, travelling through the Austrian countryside to Salzburg, Within 5 minutes of leaving Passau we were in Austria.

We were supposed to catch the train again mid afternoon and travel through the Austrian Lake District to Linz, where we would board the ship. But we were not long into our train journey when Cherie came to our carriage and announced that the Captain had been in touch, and the river Danube was still rising. We would have to go back to the ship by coach. Damn that 'Bogan Bridge'! We had the awful feeling that there was also a strong possibility that we might be packing our cases tonight as well!

But we didn't let those thoughts mar our day in Salzburg. It is a truly beautiful city, the mist cleared leaving beautiful blue skies and warm sunshine. We had a lovely guide whose name was Trudy. Trudy was British and has lived in Salzburg for quite sometime. In her younger days she travelled to Australia and worked in the north of WA where she experienced really hot temperatures she told us. We asked her later where she had worked and it was in Exmouth and Coral Bay. Trudy was dressed in traditional costume and we saw other people dressed in their costumes during the day. Every Austrian has a traditional costume in their wardrobe. They are worn with pride and Austrian's make time for a family day once a week. On this day many will wear their traditional costumes. It is important how women tie the apron over their skirt. If it is tied with the bow to the left it means they are single.  

Some of the Austrian facts Trudy gave us in our travels today were: Hitler was born in Austria and it is debatable whether Austria joined Germany or were taken over by them. In 1955 the last German troops left and a treaty was signed to be a neutral country. Austria had a President after WW1.  

There are nine states in Austria and we will travel through two today. More and more maize is being grown for fuel. Austria is a very pretty country with lots of trees, lakes and mountains. We saw lots of solar panels on homes, barns and in fields. Around Vienna where it is flatter, there are many wind turbines. It is very much about clean energy in the European countries. Austria produces the majority of their power from hydro electricity. It is tradition to have coffee and cake in Austria and they love their apple strudel. It is said "An apple strudel a day keeps the Dr away". Farmers have an average of 23 cows per farm and they are taken to the upper pastures of the mountains during the summer months. There is a festival in the Austrian towns before the winter and the cows are brought down from the highlands and paraded through the streets. Tourism is the top industry in Austria, followed by timber and dairy is third.

Now to our train ride and Salzburg. The 'Majestic Imperator' train is a replica of the train that belonged to Emperor Franz Joseph Hapsburg and his wife Elizabeth. They liked to travel and the Emperor loved to travel in style and it was decorated in absolute luxury. The train travels between Passau and Linz and our trip today was an APT signature inclusion of our river cruise. If we had been able to do the full train trip, for us it would have been another top 'signature highlight' of our trip, but that was not to be. So only 'half a signature highlight'! During the afternoon trip we would have enjoyed opera singers singing 'Sound of Music' songs.  

We were in the Green Carriage and in this carriage there was a a napkin that is said to have been used by the Emperor Franz Joseph and it has not been washed. There is a mark where he has dabbed his lips, so it is said "We were travelling in the carriage with some DNA belonging to Emperor Franz Joseph". The train was first built for the Emperor in 1891. Restoration of the first of the carriages was undertaken in 1991 and in 1998 a female descendant of Franz Joseph christened a further five carriages. Each carriage has been decorated in a different colour and has something special in it. We were able to walk between the carriages and check them all out. We were given champagne before we left the station. We were drinking champagne at 8.30am and wine at 10.00am! Muffins. canapes etc on our journey to go with the wine. When the Emperor was travelling, no other trains could travel on the line. Today the 'Majestic Imperator' travels at 100kph and other trains at 200kph. We may have to stop and give other trains right of way or maybe it is right of the line!

Trudi also had a calico bag over her shoulder with 'A Few of my Favourite Things' stamped on it in coloured letters. I wanted one of those bags! We looked everywhere at the Souvenir shops but to no avail. When we met Trudy again I asked her if she could point me in the right direction. I was told it had been given to her by an American and the other guide said "If you can make the bags, please send them over and they would sell them for me"! Obviously they are often asked.

Once in Salzburg the bus took us on a tour of the outer circle of Salzburg, before we were dropped near the Abbey where the the Sound of Music was filmed. Trudy told us lots of stories about the Sound of Music filming and the actual story of the Von Trapp family. Later as we walked through the town centre, she pointed out places where filming took place. After our free time we met Trudy in the square, and as we walked back to the bus through the Mirabell Gardens, Trudy burst into song! As we walked along behind Trudy she had us singing 'Do-Re-Mi'. As she said "No one knew us or would remember us"!

Back on the ship we were pleased to hear that the river Danube had started to recede. It still needed to go down another 25 whatever, but the Captain was confident we would be able to sail sometime during the night. What that did mean though, was that we would have a day of cruising tomorrow and there would be no visit to Melk or the Melk Abbey. We were happy to not be packing and we all needed to think positively that the Bogan Bridge was no longer going to win or be a pain!

Cherie had been able to get the opera singers to come to the ship. This was the group of three that would have been singing for us on the train. They were two young women and a young man with beautiful voices. It was a very special performance that we enjoyed immensely.