Day 19, April 14
On Cruise - Vienna
Our second day in Vienna is a much better day. Lexi and I are doing a morning trip to Melk Abbey while Donal & Gaye are taking a full day trip to Bratislava (capital of Slovakia).To get to Melk Abbey we travel through the Vienna woods and up into the hills. Once up in the hills, we are in plateau country, not alpine.
Melk Abbey is a city in a building. It has four or five separate sections or wings now used as a school, a demonstration or display area (formerly "hotel" accommodation for high ranking travellers), the private section for the monks, and the church area.
The architecture is grandiose and way over the top.
Our main impression is disgust at the extravagance.
It is a strong impression throughout this trip that the history of Christianity in Europe is so entangled with politics, power and career that it is no wonder that Church life in general appears meaningless.
The sanctuary, like many we have inspected, is shrouded in scaffolding. Maintenance is a constant nightmare. Inside it is a monument to the skills of men rather than a house of worship.
All good things come to an end. Tonight is the Captain's Farewell Cocktails and Dinner
Here are a couple of courses from the six course meal.
After dinner, we farewell Vienna and start our final cruise heading downstream to Budapest.
The castle at Bratislava
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