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We started the day in Melk, which turned out to be a big surprise. The largest Benedictine Monastery in Europe is housed there, with 29 monks in full residence. It's also a school for about 900 students of all ages. It's also a museum which houses some extraordinary artifacts, some of which are 1000 years old. We continue to be amazed at the age of things here - not like the "new" history of the U.S.
After visiting the abbey and the museum, we finished our tour with a visit to the Abbey Church. Oh my, what a beautiful place. I know there has to come a time when I stop being so impressed by these churches, but I haven't gotten there yet. If I had a dollar for every "Wow!" I've uttered on this trip, we could afford to do another one of these "once-in-a-lifetime" trip!
After leaving Melk, we cruised for 2 hours on the beautiful Danube. I took way too many pictures to post, but I can say that it was an extremely beautiful and relaxing afternoon. There are so many beautiful communities along the stretch of Danube between Melk and Krems that i'ts hard to believe - and hard to describe.
When we docked in Krems late in the afternoon, we walked into one of the "suburbs" called Stein. It's a very small community but, again, we found some sweet people and a beautiful church. The surprises just keep coming.
Then tonight, we had Austria night on the ship. The entire menu was traditional Austrian food and drink, served by folks in traditional costumes. We've really enjoyed getting to know both the staff and other guests. Not a bad vacation so far!
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