Melk Abbey

As we came closer to the small village of Melt, we got this first view of the Melk Abbey.   It was so massive looking from the river.

The boat docked and we had time for lunch before we left for our tour.   Took a short bus ride up the hill to the abbey.   This view was from the road showing the walkway to the entrance.   Great view-except for that darn tree!

There are seven courtyards within the Abbey, but this is the largest.   The Abbot lives in the room directly ahead in the picture.

The Abbey is run by the Benedictine Order.   There are 33 monks living here.   The oldest is 92 and the youngest is 22.  Their order lives by two main principles:  work and prayer.

There is also a private school attached to the Abbey which has 900 students.

Another view from the outside during our tour.   It was raining pretty hard here, so we didn't spend too much time here.  To bad because the views down to the town and the Danube were wonderful.

The main sanctuary of the church was quite amazing.   Again, more gold than you can imagine.

A view from the top of the Abbey.



We are now back on the boat heading for our next stop-Passau, Germany.   We had a short program about Mozart, and some German language lessons.   Resting before we have dinner.   Looks like a really fun one-Austrian and Bavarian favorites.   We will even have a chance to go down in the galley to see our food being prepared.

Hugs to all of you.   Hope everyone is doing well.

Bob and Debbie