Europe 2015 ISSUE V

The Kiss - Gustav Klimt and yes we saw it.

It’s a Tuesday (and it isn’t Belgium) and we have a truly full day ahead of us.  In the morning we dock at Emmersdorf, which is nothing more than a wide spot on the river with a place to pull up buses for a quick transfer to Melk Abbey. I’m guessing that all the cruise lines had a hand in creating these little, middle of nowhere docks, along the rivers.  Cruise ships must be big business for some of these tiny little hamlets and at times there are so many ships stopping that they “park” side by side.  This means walking across multiple gangplanks from one ship to the next to get to the shore.  Coming back on board after a day of touring you need to pay attention to just how many ships you do or don’t cross. If they all happen to be Viking Cruise Lines you could end up trying to get in to someone else’s stateroom, they all look identical!  Fortunately, the night we came back from our winery tour, we were the first ship!!

Melk Abbey Entrance

 

Melk Abbey is one of the more memorable stops on our trip, though it will be tough finding somewhere more impressive than Kinderdijk.  The Abbey sits at the top of a hill and makes quite an impressive sight as you approach down the Danube.  We are now in Austria, having left Germany behind, and Slovakia and Hungary are yet to come.  There are no signs saying now entering Austria, one might expect a line in the water like it appears on a map.  But then that might require a line down the middle of the river and what with changing boundaries and changing alliances my idea of a perfect demarcation just doesn’t hold water.  .  But, our phones (which have been next to useless to date . . . another story entirely) immediately tell us “welcome to international roaming, to make calls in Austria dial . . . )  

Melk Abbey

 The abbey, initially established in 1089, was rebuilt in the early 1700’s by some member or other of an Austrian royal family.  It is a baroque fantasy in white and gold.  The monks describe it as a testament to God; meant to reflect heaven on earth.  Obviously Heaven is all sorts of bright and shiny, with blue skies and angels singing praises, and everyone is dressed in long flowing robes and of course, we are all white and pink and rosy as well.  This is meant to be

in sharp contrast to the gothic cathedrals which predate the Baroque style, which are rather dark and depressing, with little light and constructed of heavy ponderous stone.  The building is enormous (three floors of twenty rooms each) and currently houses around 20 monks, a library, a school and a museum.  I gather from the tour that even when it was at its height at least a portion of the facility was reserved for royalty rather than members of religious orders.  As a consequence the spaces we see are quite sumptuous with all the “modern” conveniences, like a fireplace/heater that is accessed by the serving staff from a “utility” hallway.  No need to disturb the occupants to stoke the fire.  

The Abbey belongs to the Benedictines, often referred to as the Black Monks.  Black refers to color of their habits, which suggests, to me, that the Grey Friars wore grey.  A school was established as early as the 12th century and as with most abbeys the monks were dedicated to copying and illuminating manuscripts.  The scriptorium, (a place for writing) which was the precursor to the current library, was the center for these activities.  Monks sat at benches six to eight hours a day copying manuscripts.  The library has over 100,000 volumes and when it was rebuilt, in the Baroque style, all the volumes were rebound in a common style.  Part of the Baroque style demanded that all elements (including the books) share a sense of symmetry and harmony of size and design and so, if you are royal, and have the money you re-bind an entire library.  The story goes that when Umberto Eco visited here he was so taken with the library that it inspired him in the writing of “The Name of the Rose”.  

Rooftops of Melk

 CRUISING MELK TO KREMS

Ship traffic, the depth of the river, the docking facilities all have an impact on where we stop and how much time is available to explore the various “ports of call”.  Another variable, did everyone turn in there “boarding pass” upon returning.  Any time you leave the ship you must take an id card with your name, the name of the ship and the phone number of the cruise director.  Upon returning it is to be handed in at the front desk where it is immediately filed is a drawer by suite number.  Ready to leave port. Look in the drawer, if every suite has its card, all is well.  An empty slot means someone either didn’t make it back on time, or as in the case off the Church family, forgot to turn it in.  Periodically you will hear announcements “will Mr & Mrs so and so please contact the front desk” and everyone knows exactly what has happened and a frantic search for Mr. & Mrs. So and so will ensue by anyone who thinks they remember who might actually belong to that name.  I asked

Edvard Munch

Manuela, our cruise director, what happens if someone simply doesn’t show up.  The ship will wait as long as their schedule will permit but will ultimately sail with or without the so and so(s).  At that point it becomes their responsibility to rejoin the cruise using whatever transportation they can find to reach the next port.

     

More Munch

In Vienna we opt for a tour which includes a visit to the Belvedere Museum and a chance to get up close and personal with some works by Klimt and Edvard Munch.  Unfortunately it also meant we did not get much of a look at the old town.  I have this rather romantic notion of what Vienna should be, coffee houses and sacher torte or maybe a Viennese pastry (whatever that is supposed to mean).  Some opera or classical music, a little Haydn or Mozart or perhaps Schubert.  The closest we got to experiencing any of that was the gratis concert courtesy of Viking.  Guess I will leave Vienna on my list for another day.  

 

Klimt

 

Things I have learned that don’t seem to have a place in what I have been writing:

1. As in most places in this world Skin heads and Nazi sympathizers can be found in Germany.  In Cologne when they attempted to have a demonstration in the Cathedral Square the church tuned off all the lights which normally illuminate the square and all the local businesses followed suit.  No light, no one can see, no rallies.  
2.  In Miltenberg when faced with a similar event the priest started ringing the church bells and all the other churches joined in.  The demonstrators were unable to hear the speeches and gave up and went home.
3. The Danube River runs from West to East, from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.  
4. RV parks . . . both the Danube and the Rhine are lined with RV parks.  Most of them look like permanent installations of smallish caravans, no big buses or little tents.  Picture a moderate sized trailer with a tent like structures attached to the front to create a screened in porch.  In front of the tent, pots of flowers, a couple of deck chairs and a German gentleman in shorts reading his morning paper. 

MISCELLANY

 

 

If anyone knows what this is please let me know.  It appears to be a illustration of a square block or maybe a building in one of the towns we visited but what exactly it is I'm sure I don't know.  

  

Always wanted to get my money from a Geldautomat, who needs an ATM, Cash Point or "Hole in the Wall".  I could go for some automatic gold.