Into Austria

Question.....do you know the difference between 'burg' and 'berg'......as in Regensburg and Nuremberg for example.  I didn't before this trip so I will enlighten you!

A 'burg' is a town with a castle in it and a 'berg' is a town on a hill.

Now that I've got that off my chest............

Today we started the day with a half day bus trip......not what we signed on for.....but hey, what can you do? As we head further south the effects of the flooding are becoming more and more apparent.

I tried to stay awake to take in the scenery, as it is very beautiful, and for the most part was successful!

So finally we crossed the border into Austria.

Beautiful Austria!

Due to the extensive flooding still causing problems we were unable to take the main highways so had to make all sorts of detours.......and we finally arrived in time for a late lunch on board another Amadeus ship, that is docked near the town of Melk.

We have now named our bus the 'Fun Bus'! Everyone is coping pretty well with the continued disruption of well laid plans.....a sense of humour sure helps....and our tour directors from the Amadeus line continue to do an outstanding job in making our holiday the very best they can.

We have a few Aussies on board....which adds to the fun.....the jokes and laughs are coming thick and fast.......one guy has carried Gonzo with all round Europe! Aussies eh?

Close by here is a huge Abbey for the monks of St Benedict and this afternoon we took a visit there.........and it proved to be an amazing experience.....well for me anyway!

View of the Abbey from the bus park

This Abbey is privately owned in the fact that it gets no government funding so it relies on the 400,000 - 500,000 guests that come through every year to help with its up keep.

The outer courtyard

It is a working Abbey......lots of activity going on here. Along with regular church services, there is a school on site that is growing, concerts are held in the gardens in the summer months, community work and so forth.

The start of our tour inside

There are 30 monks attached to the Abbey.....15 of them live here full time and the others serve the 15 parishes that belong to the Abbey throughout Austria.

The different rooms were most interesting...

The blue room symbolises prayer and meditation 

The green room symbolises growth

This is a tiny prayer book, the smallest in the Abbey, used by the monks when they travelled 

The room full of gold and mirrors symbolises heaven....to compensate for the darkness of life particularly though the dark ages

There is a spectacular marble dining hall that was only used for the imperial family....which was something else!

The marble dining room 

A close up of part of the ceiling 

One part that we were not allowed to take photos of was the library. There are actually 12 libraries, that hold 100,000 books in 15 languages. The oldest book is about 1100 years old. The people are not allowed to remove the books but they can read them on site.

On the balcony upstairs out from they library....

 

The view of the town of Melk is pretty stunning from this point....

But the real highlight was to come.......the church itself.

This was downstairs....so down a spiral staircase we went.......

I felt myself gasp when I walked into the chapel.......just so overwhelming......and even though it is so very different from what I am used to.....I felt the presence of God and I just simply took a pew and sat down vey quietly to take it all in. So far on this trip, this was one of the times that I felt my 'aloneness' most keenly......not alone or apart from God....but from Tony.  There's something about going into church  that does that to me.

I felt compelled to just sit.....and I was very grateful that I had about 45 minutes before I had to get back to the bus.....because I felt very emotional and tears were near the surface.

Then the most amazing thing happened.

The Bishop walked in with a bunch of dignitaries and other people......probably about 50 all up and they sat in the front section just in front of where I was.

Most of our group had long gone by this point but I noticed there were still about 4 others sitting close to where I was.  The Bishop then came over to our section and said they were just about to have a short concert and we were welcome to stay!  So we did!

Then music started coming from the huge pipe organ that was high up behind us....soft and sweet at first....then gradually swelled to a full and rich sound...filling the place so magnificently.

I almost held my breath because it seemed so magical.  But really for me anyway......it was a God moment. It was God's thumbprint on my heart.....He knew exactly how I was feeling and what music does for me....He knew what I needed at that moment.....and it so blessed me! Hard to describe really.

The piece only lasted for about 10 minutes......but it was enough!  My step was a lot lighter when I walked out of there!

Back on board the boat tonight we enjoyed our last delicious dinner......from tomorrow it will be hotels!

Fellow travellers, Patty from Hawkes Bay, Al ( a dear man - one of the most elderly men on the tour) and moi......enjoying a glass of Austrian Red :-)

Tomorrow we head to Vienna!!

Till next time.......

PS to the Abbey

Our esteemed leader has just sent me this photo so thought you'd like to see it. 

Please note.....I did NOT drink all this beer!!

Cheers!

Regensburg

This afternoon we arrived in Regensburg, still in the area of Bavaria in southern Germany.

This town has the largest collection of medieval buildings in Germany.

So once again we set off on a walking tour, over bridges, down cobbled lanes, staring at ancient architecture, craning out necks looking up at high steeples and so on. 

The Danube river flows though the old part of the town, so it is very picturesque. The water levels have been high here as well and it is clear to see the mess that is now left behind for people to clean up.

The Danube is still brown and flowing fast but levels are slowly going down.

Once again we wandered ancient streets. However, most places you go you see the old with the new.....cranes and construction sites are common as buildings are restored or maintained.

This is the cathedral of St Peter in the centre of town

Fascinating old ornate doorways

And just plain old......old!

A beautiful old hotel with its red flowers in the window boxes looked stunning in the afternoon sun

As with so many European towns...there are cobbled streets and squares full of cafes instead of cars...and people sitting around enjoying the ambience and a drink or two. Yes that's me.....looking very touristy eh?

Ness and Tash please note.......I have finally bought a new sun visor thingy....I know you'll be rapt about that:-)

But a girl can only look at so many ancient buildings and listen to so much history and by late afternoon I had had enough......so I started taking photos of random things.......

Chicks on bikes!

Hey......this car made me feel at home.....a little!

Beautiful shop windows

Just as well it was Sunday afternoon and the shops were shut huh?

Before I finish....some important information for you!  Did you know 19% of Germany's exports are cars? This area of Bavaria is where the manufacture of BMW and Audi are located. In fact here In Regensburg is the main manufacture of BMW and they employ 8000 people.....and the B in BMW stands for Bavaria.  However I didn't take a photo of a BMW because......well they're not Audi are they?

We are now in a hotel for the night......and off again somewhere in the morning.....who knows where??

Till next time.......

Kehlheim and Abbey Weltenburg

Another day unfolded today without me having to do anything except get myself and my luggage on a bus. This adventure is becoming more and more unknown as each day passes. The tour directors are working frantically behind the scenes to organise us a day in advance. Reports are that there is so much flooding in Budapest it might not even be worth going there!

But I guess we'll worry about that in a few days time!

So back to the bus. We headed out of Wurzburg at 8:30 this morning after another exceptional breakfast on board the Amadeus Classic and headed towards Kehlheim. We are in southern Germany, in the area of Bavaria.......where the Black Forest is......but didn't see any cake around!

We had a super coach today :-)

It struck me as we motored along that you don't see any animals on the farms - it's all cropping in this part of Germany. Evidently farming animals is done in the north. Everywhere is so green! Beautifully planted and cared for crops. Every now and then you see fields of yellow flowers which is the canola plant for producing canola oil.....obviously!

Fields of canola

The crops are lush and green

We arrived in Kehlheim and boarded a boat for a 40 minute cruise on the Danube - 40 minutes is better than nothing I guess!

Not quite the Amadeus Princess but at least we moved from one point to another.

As we passed these old buildings you can see how high the water has been - it was to the top of the brown debris.

It was very beautiful on this part of the river and we were very grateful to at least see a part of it.

The Abbey in this photo is where we were headed.

The Abbey Weltenburg was a very interesting place, combination of a church and monastery and a brewery.....in fact it is the oldest brewery in the world, having started in 1050.

This building houses the brewery

And this is the outside of the monastery 

But before we ventured inside we were given lunch.....very tasty too......and HUGE jugs of beer, of course!  We were in a private dining room, about 50 of us, including us kiwis, some Canadians and Americans and a dozen or so Aussies. It was actually quite hilarious in the end....we were all laughing at the amount of beer....so we all did big cheers and shouts and I even managed to get everyone cheering for the All Blacks!  Ha!!

John and Robyn Cooney

Our tour directors from the Amadeus Princess - Mirela and Andrea

We had a very scary German lady waiting on our tables......and it was like.....drink everything, eat everything or else!

I really didn't want dessert but you didn't dare say so.....ha!

After lunch we ventured in the Abbey itself which is absolutely beautiful, incredibly ornate and also incredibly cold. You'd have to wear a fur coat to go to church there.

The front of the Abbey......the light is all natural....so well designed to bring the light in where needed.

The ceiling......takes your breath away!

I heard something worth pondering while at this place today....

The monks have a saying " to work and to pray"

They like to ask people what is the most important word in this phrase.

Most people say "pray".......wrong!

Others say "work"......wrong!

The most important word is....."and"......which suggests there is something between work and prayer.

Maybe that's why they have a brewery??

Till next time......

Wurzburg

The city of Wurzburg is in the heart of Germany and it is where we have stayed 2 nights on board the Amadeus Classic. It is an appealing place, once again full of historic buildings, bridges, churches, market places, outdoor cafes  and restaurants and much more.

90% of the inner city was destroyed in 1945 and 5,000 people died....but as with so many other places here....the people rebuilt.

It is here that the famous Residence Palace stands. This is an incredible piece of architecture to say the least and absolutely huge. Different from a castle and way more opulent. It sits proudly not far from the centre of town, so an easy walk for the thousands of visitors who come each year. 

It is now a museum, full of incredible art work, frescos, tapestries, mirrors, gold, crystal chandeliers and so on.  Unfortunately photography inside is prohibited but what I saw will stay in my mind forever I think. The wealth displayed takes your breath away.  Beginning in 1720 it took 50 years to build.

It is actually a copy of the famous Versailles Palace in France.  Inside here you can see the biggest ceiling fresco in the world.....absolute incredible.

The Residence Palace

But more than the palace, there are many other points of interest in Wurzburg and it was most enjoyable wandering around. It was the first nice sunny Saturday afternoon they had had here for many weeks so there were people everywhere, enjoying the outdoors. There also seemed to be a lot of wine drinking going on......people sitting at outdoor tables.....some just standing on bridges with a glass of wine or beer in their hands.  Of course this part of Germany is known for its wine and beer so it's not surprising and it all seemed very civilised.

There are 124,000 people living here and 30,000 of them are students at the university, which is the biggest employer in the city also. Interesting too.....there are over 40 Catholic Churches.

Downtown Wurzburg 

One of the main churches

One of the many picturesque bridges

It really was a beautifully hot day today and after so much walking, talking, touristing, photographing, oohing, aahing (have I convinced you yet?) I had to join with so many hundreds of others and.....have a beer!

The crew on our boat really laid it on for us tonight at dinner as it was our last night here. The chefs and staff came up with flaming baked alaskas and cocktails for dessert....so delicious!

When I went to my cabin tonight I found a little friend I can sleep with......ha! The housekeeping girls had folded my towels into something cute with chocolates for eyes....and holding tomorrow's programme :-)

Tomorrow the adventure continues to a place I can't pronounce or spell......yet!

Till next time.......