The Abbey, Wine Tasting & Vienna

Overcast & light rain - cold

Yesterday we left Germany and entered Austria.  Of course, the rain makes it difficult to see the monument designating the Germany/Austria country boundary, but it is there somewhere in the rain.






This morning we stopped along the river for a short time and visited Melk Abbey.  The early monks built an abbey every 20 miles to provide early settlers a place to stay within a days travel. This was a large abbey and most of the countryside is owned by the abbey to provide food and drink.

Servants were not allowed into the bedrooms.
So a small door was installed.  They could then
provide fuel to the stove thru the door in the hall

A safe to keep the Abbey's valuables
Only one key and it would turn 14 locks sequentially.

The Abbey overlooking the town

The Library  - No Pictures allowed.

The Chapel

Yes, we did see dead people

Speaking of drink...after our tour we enjoyed a wine tasting event with accordion music and a brief history of how wine was developed in the countryside.  Of course, Cheryl and I continued to sample our Diet Coke. I'm sorry you'll have to buy your own Diet Coke/beer, but you can still enjoy some of the good accordion music and yodeling that we loved.

Traveled thru the Wachau Valley and observed the quaint little villages along the river and vineyards on the mountainside.  One of the castles along the way was a castle of the king who captured and held King Richard Lionhearted.

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Watch the movie "The Third Man"

This evening we arrived in our final destination, Vienna, Austria.  Enjoyed dinner and then disembarked for a trip into the city center to sample some of the music of Vienna at a concert hall.  We heard a small 14-15 member orchestra with two vocal soloist and two dancers perform various Mozart and Strauss pieces.  It was an enjoyable way to end the evening, which also held hope of good weather tomorrow.