Melk is another small town in Austria, but it is also home to a positively magnificent abbey, which is still in use. There aren’t as many monks as previously, but there is still a school and an enormous library housed there. We were there on the same day as our visit to Dürnstein, so it was another short visit, though we did have a wonderful tour of the abbey.
On the right, you can see a model of the entire abbey complex, giving you an idea of its size. Naturally, we were only able to tour certain sections, and photography wasn’t allowed in the library, since so many of the volumes are quite old and rather fragile. Another of the highlights of the tour was the gorgeous altarpiece; it was actually reversible in order to tell different stories at different times of the year. The altar in the chapel is magnificent.
That evening, we were treated to a “theme” dinner, featuring dishes typical of Austria. We began with a tray of sausages and cheeses, and then I chose to have wiener schnitzel — naturally! — as my main course.
As we were eating, we were serenaded by this duo. They were supposed to have been a trio, but one was sick. It was such fun!
