My husband and I were on the trip of a lifetime…

I will never forget waking up on a foggy autumn day to the sight of the little town of Dürnstein, nestled on the banks of the Blue Danube in Austria…

My husband and I were on the trip of a lifetime… Two weeks travelling through Italy in an unfamiliar ‘much too large’ Peugeot for our liking while trying to negotiate the scary roadways we were about to meet around every corner, by ourselves, on the wrong side of the road and with a rear view mirror and gear stick on the wrong side, too.

We cautiously tackled narrow winding streets with ancient stone houses jutting out into them at all angles, leaving no room for all those expensive sports cars coming from the other direction.  W tried to absorb the magnificent scenery with our hearts in our mouths. I have to add a little sidebar here: it’s no wonder Italian racing car drivers win so many grand prix; they have an unfair advantage being able to practise on the longest race track in the world – the crazy streets spanning the length and breadth of their beautiful country as they criss-cross each other – and all the while driving at 200 kilometres an hour!

After making it in one very shaky piece to the Venice airport, we were able to take a long deep breath and get ready to start the second leg of our European trip. Sedately cruising down the Danube, Main and Rhine Rivers from Budapest to Amsterdam in a luxury ‘Spaceship’, part of the Scenic Cruises fleet.

As you can probably imagine, that is definitely one extreme to the other when it comes to travelling around this spectacular continent. But guess what… I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!

But back to my story about a sleepy little enchanting town…

Our luxury ‘Spaceship’ docked on the banks of the River Danube sometime in the middle of the night, with both of us still curled up fast asleep in our plush king-sized bed. Only the night before we had left the beautiful city of Vienna after being entertained at a private concert in a palatial concert hall of the Palais Liechtenstein. To wake up in this delightful sleepy village felt as though we had landed in the middle of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale.

After another delicious banquet breakfast served by the most accommodating wait staff you could ever imagine, we set off with our fellow travelling companions to explore this fascinating little township.

Our first sighting was of a magnificent pristine Baroque tower – the colour of Wedgewood and the centrepiece of the community. Autumn colours greeted us everywhere we looked and the sullen grey sky added a mystical dimension to the gorgeous panorama.

The haunting long-ago echo of a minstrel’s lute beckoned us up a steep rock-covered hill where a once-beautiful castle had fallen into rubbly pieces… with only a crumbling shell left to remember a story from ancient times. Perched on a rock wall, we listened eagerly to the tale of an English king held prisoner in a fortified castle overlooking this little town with the strange name.

In 1193 AD, King Richard the Lionheart was returning from the Crusades when his boat capsized and the quickest way home to England was on foot through Europe. Unfortunately, he had made an enemy of Leopold V, Duke of Austria, who not only accused Richard of arranging the murder of his cousin, but had also been offended by the English king’s actions at Acre, a port city in the Holy Land. As he made his way through Austria and knowing the Duke’s frame of mind, King Richard disguised himself as a low ranking pilgrim so as not to be recognised. Unfortunately, because of either wearing an expensive ring which a pilgrim couldn’t afford or the fact that he demanded roast chicken – a delicacy usually only requested by aristocrats – Richard was seized and held prisoner in the fortress above the town of Dürnstein for a significant period of time. To this day, experts are still unsure which of these actions gave his identity away.

Now legend has it that King Richard’s loyal friend, a minstrel named Blondel, heard of his capture and started searching high and low for his friend throughout Germany and then onto Austria using an unusual tactic. The King and Blondel had written a song together while they were in the Holy Land so whenever the minstrel happened across a castle he would play his lute while singing the song and then listen for Richard to join in from the dungeon’s depths. When he spied Dürnstein Castle looming over him from the top of a steep hill, the musician again tried this ploy and much to his delight caught the sound of the king singing the second verse of this piece known only to them. After long negotiations, the King was eventually released but only after an enormous ransom had been paid from the English coffers.

Learning the story behind the now ruined castle made our explorations even more exciting as we peered into crevasses and down crumbling stairways, wondering if this was the room where the king from our history books had been held prisoner for so many months.

Afterwards we wandered the delightful cobblestone streets of this little gem, seeking out souvenirs as well as gifts for loved ones from the fascinating shopfronts lining the roadways – most of a medieval knight flavour.

Looking out from our beautiful mode of transport as we sailed away a few hours later, I left a piece of my heart in this picturesque little place… with the silent promise that one day I would return to walk those enchanting streets again – and maybe hear the echo of a lute as a faithful friend searched for his king.

My last sighting of one of my newly discovered favourite towns was of an elegant Wedgewood blue tower standing guard beside a famous river, in sharp contrast to those stark ruins forever peering down onto Dürnstein’s cobbled streets from its lofty perch.

Have you enjoyed a holiday you’ve always wanted to do? Where did you go and why was it so special to you? Tell us in the comments below…