MELK, AUSTRIA

Ask me what place I think could be the quintessential representative of the typical Austrian town and I believe that Melk would win every time.

130 feet above the Danube you can see the Benedictine Abbey of Melk from miles down river. Built over 300 years ago this stunning abbey is a symbol of what Europe was about. Fuedal palaces and giant churches surrounded by a small village where people lived and breathed to support the local royalty (and the church).

Even today this small town is thriving on the tourist trade that the Abbey brings to the area.
Tourist shops dot the main street and after a visit to the spectacular church, you wind your way back to the Danube though town.

The church itself served as a transit stop for those traveling along the river as the monks keep an entire wing for Royals. The gilded church, covered in frescoes and intricate period paintings on the ceilings is a magnificent example of how powerful and rich the Catholic Church was in the early 18th century. It also houses a magnificent library with over 16,000 volumns of scriptures and writings from this early period. It is one of the largest librarys in the world of works of this kind.

Like all good abbeys...this one also makes a delicious wine known to be one of Austrias best. They sell the wine at the Abbey and also in the town below where all good tourists end up after their tour of the Abbey itself.

So into town I go....along with the hoards of others. There is a wonderful street market with Austrian foods and breads as well as the wine. What a wonderful little respite from the big cities we have been visiting.

So it is back to the Danube and the Viking Pride for another night of travel on the river.
Tomorrow Germany and the ancient city of Passau will be our stop. Hungary and Austria have been wonderful.....maybe I should take some German lessons to get me through the next few days?