The special treat of our river cruise was a group visit to Castle Artstetten where we were received by the Princess Anita. She is directly descended from Maria Theresa, the first female ruler of Austria (and the namesake of our river boat). She is friends with the owners of Uniworld and has agreed to receive guests of the Maria Theresa.
Back when we first went aboard the Maria Theresa, we were talking to two women from Australia in the lounge while they were waiting for their transportation to the airport. We asked them what they liked best about their cruise (they had just completed the reverse route from Budapest to Amsterdam). They both quickly replied, "The visit with Princess Anita." So, we resolved to make that excursion. Excellent decision.
The road leading to the castle definitely was not designed to accommodate tour buses. I'm amazed that our bus driver Robert was able to negotiate it with our monstrous bus. But he did.
This is Castle Artstetten:
There were several persons greeting us and showing us which way to go as we entered the castle.
We went up stairs to the second level and into the drawing room where we were to be received. Dru was ahead of me and I noticed her shaking hands with one of the ladies as she turned into the office. As I approached the lady, she raised her hand and gave me a high-five, saying, "I just love to do high-fives." It turned out that was Princess Anita. I exchanged high-fives with the princess!
This is her office:
And here we all are in the drawing room awaiting the princess. That's her daughter on the right side in the rose dress beckoning her mother to appear. Note the butler on the left side serving champagne to Dru.
Princess Anita chatting with us. She was gracious, witty and very down to earth. Her mission is to preserve the history of her family and she is doing a wonderful job. She spoke with our rather large group at great length, providing some history of her family, described the paintings in the drawing room and chatted about WWI, WWII and modern times. Like most of the rest of us, she had no sympathy for modern politicians!
And guess who wandered off the prescribed tour route and began snooping around in the princess's china closet? When the princess spotted her looking into the room she invited her to go in and take a look. Magnificent hand painted china, no two pieces alike. We saw the china in an exclusive shop in Vienna, a shop I am confident I cannot afford to enter.
The most prized treasure of trip: a portrait with Princess Anita. Which one is the princess?
