Wachau Valley: Grapes, Grapes and More Grapes

The Wachau Valley, in Austria, is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in lower Austria, and it is clear why this is true. As the Vali meandered its way west, we passed picturesque small towns, imposing castles, and an astonishing number of grape vines. Vines and wine production is a dominant agricultural feature of the Valley. Today is more like the promotional videos Viking shows on this tour. We were fortunate to be on the best side of the ship, although it was pretty easy to run up a flight of stairs to the upper deck when something showed up on the opposite site.

Our Viking Program Director, Gavin, hails from Scotland, and while his accent puts me in mind of Mrs. Doubtfire, he is much easier to understand than the Scots we met in Scotland. He says that if he drinks too much, that will change. He is omnipresent with loads of information, ideas, and recommendations, and today, he came on the speaker system frequently to point out castles, history and important sites. The castle on the high cliff was the home of a very cruel king, who routinely kidnapped people, set them down on the rocks below his castle, and gave them three choices: they could be ransomed (likely destroying the fortunes of their families), left on the rocks to starve to death, or jump to their death on the rocks below. Pretty dismal choices!

The grape vine fields went on forever, and were cantilevered up the sides of mountains going up 1,000 meters. I couldn’t imagine how anyone would get up there to pick the grapes, but then spotted a car high up on the mountain with people clearly examining the grape vines, so I guess there are roads there that we couldn’t see. Every few miles there were beautiful towns with churches and the occasional roadside monument. The weather was sunny, in the high 50’s and we greatly enjoyed the trip.

Once we got to Melk, Austria, the Vali tied up and most people got off the ship to see the Melk Abbey. Because we were still pretty far from our destination for tomorrow, the plan was that the ship would sail on along the Danube, and we Abbey goers would ride in busses to catch up after our tour. I had never heard of the Melk Abbey, and it turned out to be a real highlight.

Melk has been the home of a community of Benedictine Monks since 1089. The building is part of World Heritage Wachau, and aside from being a place of life and worship for the Monks, is also a school, an economic force in the region and an employer. Our guide for the tour, Benedict, is one of 40 employees of the Abbey and was very informative and provided gentle humor in his presentation. The first thing you recognize about the Abbey is its size. It is huge with 500 rooms. There are 800 day students ages 11-18, boys and girls, although we didn’t see any. No surprise with the size of the place. The courtyard is often used for weddings, and one can see why—it is gorgeous and carried the weight of history. Benedict led us through room after room, each filled with beautiful artifacts, paintings, and treasures. He explained that no photography was allowed inside the museum or the Abbey itself, and most of our group complied, although I did notice the occasional guest sneaking pictures. I’m sure those were Americans. Most of the pictures I post today on the Abbey were downloaded from the internet.

A few facts from Benedict: the German language does not distinguish between hearing and listening! I bet that is responsible for loads of family misunderstandings! He explained that the reason Monks shaved their heads in back (tonsure) is because they venerate their elders and so wish to emulate them with artificial male pattern baldness! He showed us the coffins used for burial, which had open bottoms so they could be reused. This was clearly during the realism period in which good sense ruled. And finally there was a beautifully illustrated painting of Christ getting circumsized. I bet you never saw that.

The Abbey has 12 libraries, and while the library at Trinity College in Dublin remains my favorite, the ones at the Melk Abbey run a close second. Finally we arrived at the top of the Abbey where there was a breathtaking view of the countryside. At one point, I overheard Bob talking to Benedict. Bob has developed the distressing habit of telling people I blog and am an internet influencer. That statement should have evoked a bark of laughter from my faithful few readers! At any rate, Benedict asked me the name of the blog, and chuckled when I told him my influence commands perhaps 40 people on a good day. At any rate, if you get lucky enough to visit the Melk Abbey, try to get Benedict to show you around. You won’t be disappointed.

We still had an hour to spare before returning to the coach, so Bob climbed to the top of the Abbey to photograph the large and beautiful gardens below. They were closed during our visit, but the few areas we could see were lush and beautiful. We stopped in the little café and had a cappuccino and a tea, and then it was time to return to the coach. The ride back to the Vali was uneventful, and we had time to relax before dinner. The ship passed through another lock, and Bob went up to the top deck this time. He says it was pretty darn close. We are invited to a returning guest appreciation event tonight (our trip to Cuba many years ago was on Viking), then dinner (food again!).

When you see Bob, he will regale you with all his Melk puns, but don’t let that deter you from visiting. Melk is awesome. And for those of you interested, Annie resides by the Melk fountain.