Dear Abbey: Got Melk?

Our first chance to snap a picture

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Cameras were forbidden inside the abbey but when we briefly walked outside to get from one corner of the building to the opposite side we crossed by way of this balcony.

Mid-town Melk

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That is pretty much the entire downtown shopping district right there.

The end of the tour

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After walking through the vast library of the abbey we came back outside to this area below the grand balcony.

"I would regret if I had not been here"

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The wise words of Maria Theresa after visiting Melk. Maria seems to be the George Washington of central Europe. The fact that she slept at certain places serves as the seal of approval for that site's historical authenticity.

Now this is what I was expecting to see when we drove into Melk

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Getting back to our car from the monastery was much easier than our ascent. We practically ran downhill to our car. We decided to follow the Danube through the Wachau Valley and caught this glimpse of Melk Abbey as we drove away.

The blue Danube?

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Our drive took us along the Southern and Eastern banks of the Danube River. With the Spring thaws having recently occurred the river was deep and fast. And very muddy.

That'll make some fine wine

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It was still very early in the growing season but each vine in this vineyard appeared healthy and well on its way to producing white wine. The stumps of the vines were much older and twisted than I expected.

Spitz in the Wachau

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Stopping in Mitteransdorf just before the point where the Danube makes its turn Northward, we looked across the water to the town of Spitz. According to Wikipedia: "The ferry across the Danube here is interesting in that it has no motor or sail: it is powered by rudder set against the river current, anchored to a cable above the river. The ferry carries passengers, bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles."

St. Michael's

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Believed to be the oldest parish church in the Wachau Valley it dates back to 1500.

Viking Legend plys the river heading toward Melk

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We spent a lot of time watching this really long longboat work its way upriver. One minute the idea of river cruising really appeals to me but then if I really think about it I come to the realization that it's the lazy way of seeing Europe. As long as I can still drive and plan our itineraries I can do three driving vacations for the price of one cruise.

That's what I call a "longship"

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There didn't seem to be a ton of people onboard the Viking Cruise ship as it slowly chugged past us. Perhaps many were elsewhere doing a bus tour of the Wachau then meeting their boat further upstream. In any case, this is the season when the cruise lines offer their steepest discounts because of the iffy early Spring weather. Those that traveled this year really lucked-out.

Simply De-vine

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The future grapes were no more than little flower buds this early in the year.

Göttweig Abbey outside Mautern

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As far as I'm concerned this monastery deserves the same acclaim as Melk. Also situated high on a bluff Göttweig Abbey maintains a renowned library of medieval manuscripts. Like Melk, Göttweig escaped the ravages of the World War II. I think Melk gets all the hype due to its proximity to the Danube River and all the tour boats passing by.

Remind me to use my real camera next time

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All too often I found myself employing the convenience of my cellphone camera to take pictures on this trip. It's easier to carry, just as fast to start up and tags the picture's location for me, but its telephoto capabilities are pathetic compared to my Lumix digital camera. In any case, seeing these pictures again convinces me that we need to do another trip to this region of Austria and to give Krems a second chance..

Taking the road less traveled. Again

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I get bored taking the same route twice so after searching out Göttweig Abbey we decided to return back to Melk via a different route. This time we drove over the mountains overlooking the Wachau Valley. This was just one of quite a few religious monuments erected alongside the narrow curving mountain road.

Schönbühel Castle

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Heading back to Melk for dinner we were soon back on the riverside drive called the "Weinstrasse". Just a few miles outside of Melk we were intrigued by this gorgeous castle and made a detour down a private road to take a gander.

This explains everything

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From Wikipedia: "The castle is built on rock approximately 40 metres (130 ft) above the level of the river Danube. A Roman fortress may have stood there before. The castle was begun in the early 12th century by Marchwardus de Schoenbuchele as a defensive fortress. When his descendant Ulrich von Schonpihel died at the beginning of the 14th century, the family was extinguished. The castle was briefly owned by Conrad von Eisenbeutel, and then by the Abbey of Melk. In 1396 it was sold to the brothers Caspar and Gundaker von Starhemberg. It remained in the Starhemberg family for more than 400 years, but fell into disrepair. In 1819 Prince Ludwig Josef von Starhemberg sold it, together with the castle of Aggstein, to Count Franz von Beroldingen, who had it renovated and partially rebuilt, so that by 1821 it was again habitable. In 1930 the Schönbühel estate was sold to Count Oswald von Seilern und Aspang."

A photo to help me remember where we were

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The X1's GPS is light years ahead of my old car's navigation system. It is every bit as accurate and easy to use as my Garmin Nuvi which I've had for the past 5 years. And here in Europe it was not set up to utilize all of its features like it will have back in the States.

Of no real historic significance but once again Gail took a great picture

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I don't even remember where this was taken but it's worth blowing up and framing. Almost as pretty as the Cotswolds.

Main Street Melk

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Like I said, there wasn't much window shopping to be done in Melk. With the cruise boats and buses gone the place was like a ghost town. The locals seem to know this and came out of hiding around dinner time.