Melk, Austria - Melk Abbey - Vienna, Austria

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This morning we were docked in Melk, Austria. I took the optional tour to Melk Abby, a 900 year old Baroque abbey. It's situated on a steep cliff and began as a Roman border post. Later in the tenth-century, it served as a fortress. It became a Benedictine Monastery in 1089. It currently has 900 students but none of them are boarded any more since modern transportation became available. There's a story that one of the Abbot's, centuries ago, was extremely frugal and wanted all extravagance to go to people who could actually and practically use it. He also invented a re-useable coffin. Once the person was dropped in the grave, the bottom dropped out and the rest of the coffin was pulled up and used for someone else. That idea didn't last for very long, but the story has! The abbey's libraries are huge and house over 70,000 books and 2,000 manuscripts mostly from the 9th through the 15th centuries. It was very incredible. We did some wine tasting at the abbey and listened to accordion music, all by 11:00am. I guess it's 5:00 somewhere!!

We then set sail for Vienna through the Wachau Valley. Again...gorgeous views.

Later that evening we went to Musical Vienna and listened to the most wonderful music. The orchestra played and then the opera broke out. I've never been a fan of opera, but being here and listening to it and watching was something so different. The voices were incredible and it was fun and interactive. What a wonderful evening! I wish I could share it with everyone.

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