While we slept, the Skirnr traveled along the Danube from Vienna -- we woke and breakfasted to views of the beautiful Wachau Valley.
The City of Durnstein on the Wachau Valley Riverbank
The Wachau is an important wine-grape growing region; we saw farmlands and cities, charming villages, castles, and cathedrals close to the shore and glimpsed ruined castles on the hilltops. Our port-of-call for the day was the city of Melk, at the Valley's base. It is located at the confluence of the Danube and Melk Rivers.
Watching the Skirnr's arrival was a different experience this time. We were glad we were up and awake to watch this adventure. Melk wasn't a big city dock --the boat pulled into the shore out in the middle of (what seemed like) nowhere:
There was only a short "T" dock, and the boat had to be tied to bollards on the bank. In the picture above, one deckhand tosses a weighted rope to another man who is standing on the rocky bank below (you can just see him on the left between the rails). The rope missed him (or he missed the rope) a couple of times before he caught it....
... First, the guy on the ground had tried to catch the line as he stood on the safer grassy bank (left picture) but that didn't work and he had to scramble down those loose rocks. We held our breaths for him! Fortunately, he did catch it and tie us off without injury to person or boat (maybe it was because a certain someone was there to supervise the efforts?)
The excursion destination for the day was the 900-year old Benedictine Abbey which overlooks the town of Melk from its hilltop location. There wasn't anyplace to park near where the boat was docked, so we had a walk through a woodsy area to the bus that would take us there.
This is the Abbey as seen from the parking area. This was kind of a throw-away zoomed-in shot as we boarded the bus, because of course I thought I'd get a better one when we arrived. (There was some kind of white tent in the corner of the parking lot that I couldn't get away from.) However, when we arrived at the top, the huge Abbey so dominated the entire hilltop it was impossible to get far enough away for a picture of the whole building.
We weren't quite at the top of the hill yet at the end of the short bus ride. We still had to climb this elegant staircase to get to the Abbey. Translated (so I'm told) the words on the steps read "Melk Abbey" and then 'Listen and You Will Arrive". That quote is part of the Benedictine Rule.
I guess it is another way of saying quiet your mind and you will eventually understand. Or maybe just shut up and pay attention (it was and still is a teaching abbey after all.)
The grounds are beautiful and the views of the city from the hill top are amazing. We were divided into small groups inside and the tour guide was excellent. Here is the article from Wiki which gives the history -- reading isn't as much fun as it was hearing it from the guide, but is more interesting than it would be if I tried to repeat what we learned.
We saw the awe-inspiring library, which includes priceless medieval manuscripts. There were ornate sculptures and beautiful frescoes throughout the building, and a chastibule that contains relics of Saints. One of the chapels had an amazing tromp'l'oil painting on the ceiling that made the flat surface appear to be a dome.
Sadly, we were asked not to take pictures inside and I obeyed that request. Although it appeared that not everyone did ... I think cell phones are making that a difficult rule to enforce.
Here are a few close-up examples of at least parts of the building's Baroque architecture. And an interesting factoid (not personally verified by me) -- the Abbey has 365 windows, one for each day of the year. Melk Abbey was founded in 1089 and it has been in use as an Abbey for that whole time. The Abbey building of today was built over a period of years in the mid-1700s.
We had been told that while we were on the tour, the Skirnr would leave its tie-down in Melk and that we would meet the boat at a different location. That morning Bill had elected to stay on board the boat and forego the Abbey tour. Perhaps because he wanted to continue supervise those deckhands -- or perhaps because he had walked miles and miles on cobblestones on the previous four days and his bad foot needed a rest.
In any case, it felt a bit surreal to board the bus at the foot of that staircase and be driven through new and different territory (a lot further than the short ride getting to the Abbey). I certainly hoped we'd meet the boat (and my traveling companion) as planned ...
... and was happy when we did exactly that! The top row are views from the bus window as it traveled from the Abbey to the port at the city of Ybbs. We didn't see anything of that town except the dock, but I just loved the name and don't want to forget it, hence the pictures of the sign.
And there's the Skirnr pulling in to pick us up. My bus did beat the boat by a few minutes, which was excellent timing, because it was fun to watch it motor along the river from outside!
As soon as everyone was on board, the Skirnr departed for its journey to a new port of call. On the following day we would awaken in Germany, the next country we would be privileged to visit.
Linking this week to the following sharing opportunities. Thank you to all of the hosts.
ALL SEASONS; MOSAIC MONDAY; THROUGH MY LENS; TRAVEL PHOTO SOUVENIRS; TUESDAY TREASURES ; OUR WORLD on Tuesday; SAY CHEESE; MY CORNER OF THE WORLD; SIGNS SIGNS; THANKFUL THURSDAY; SKYWATCH FRIDAY; and FRIDAY BLISS;