Day 7: Rog in the ship, Mim to Melk.

Day 7:  Rog on the ship Mim to Melk

Well, those who are following the blog will understand the reference to the title of today’s blog.  Yes, the tables have turned and now Roger is ill and I am relatively OK.  He is tucked up in bed, desperately trying to get well enough to go to the Mozart/Strauss concert in Vienna tonight. 

We are currently cruising towards Vienna and have just sailed through the beautiful Wachau valley, lined with quaint Austrian villages and of course the odd castle and/or monastry.  It is -14 degrees and so those of us who venture outside to take a photo every now and then don’t endear ourselves to those trying to keep the warmth in the lounge. 

Thismorning it was my turn to be amazed by Baroque trappings.  We went to the incredible Benedictine Abbey at Melk.   It was staggering- simply no other word for it.  I know that many will have seen it, but  for those who have not, a short description is warranted.   The abbey was apparently originally a small castle until a major Austrian benefactor (sorry – don’t know details) donated funds for an abbey to be built there.  So it has been a working abbey, school, hospital for many centuries and even today, it is a non-denominational private secondary school – kids were at school there while we toured.   The tour was well guided with yet another local guide – they are the best type as they have such indepth knowledge of their subject.  It took us through a museum which very well describes the fortunes and misfortunes of the Monastry over the centuries.  Then into the royal quarters, because it was also set up for visiting royalty.  The guide said that Marie Therese, who ordered so many trappings for the monastry only ever visited it 4 times in 40 years and then only for a few days at a time.  There is no furniture in the royal quarters, because each entourage brought their own with them – Marie Therese had 40 carpenters who travelled with her!

We went then to the library – unbelievably, still a working library.  There are so many books in it that 1 book a day for 270 years is what is needed to get through them all!  In the 1800’s all the books were rebound so that there is a uniformity of appearance in the spines.  The guide pointed out several spaces on the shelves – indicative of books that are currently on loan to various medicos, legal people, geographers, philosophers etc.   There is also a modern sculpture, symbolic of infinity, in which scrolls of the work  (manuscripts, lectures etc) of various contemporary people who have used the library for their research, are rolled and stored.

I was already mind-boggled but wait – there was even more!!!   We went then to the church, where the annual Christmas service for the army was just finishing, but were were allowed to stand in the back.  To say it was unbelievable is an understatement.  So much gold, so many statues – even two skeletons which Marie Therese had brought to Austria from the catacombs of Rome and they now recline in glorious comfort at each side of the church!

The organ, needless to say was magnificent – 3600 pipes!   I really wish Roger had seen it, but I took lots of photos for him.

The opulence of all the gold in the church, is, we discovered, somewhat countered by the fact that it is all just gold leaf over wood.  Apparently no more than 6 pounds (around 3 kg) of gold was used for the entire immense church.  In the museum section earlier, we saw a couple of statues with mirrors behind them so one can see that they are just wood covered with gold – OK, I can hear the sceptics say that this is what the RC church want us to believe – who will ever know???

The ship was waiting,  just a lovely 25 minute walk down the main street of the beautiful town of Melk.  My first stop was at an Apototek (chemist) for some nausea medication and then I visited a couple of delightful shops to buy yet more cute things for the grandchildren. 

Since lunch, I have been sitting here in the lounge, watching the beautiful scenery go by and updating photos and blog – even a couple of post cards but they seem so old fashioned now.  I am surrounded by about 20 other people – some chatting, some reading, some sleeping, some even writing in travel journals and many people blogging.

Will update the website now if I can get reception and will describe the concert later.  It is nice to be up to date at last.