Melk, It's Good For You

As a class, we visited a place outside of Vienna called Melk. It was about an hour and a half train ride. It was nice to get out of the city for a day. The scenery was lovely as we rode by it. When we reached our destination, we walked through a quaint little town in Melk. We literally hiked up to the Abbey. It was very grand and large. We went on a tour, and we were able to see many relics (there were about 15 of them on display), manuscripts, and very nice library and a majestic church. Inside the church were catacomb saints. Two of these catacomb saints were displayed with the skeletons dressed up in splendid clothing from the era that they were from, in a glass case. It was really funny to see such a relic in a church. They seemed more like Halloween decoration. Relics are such a fascinating topic. There is an insane amount of relics just in Vienna itself. At one part of the tour, we were able to walk outside onto a balcony and see the beautiful view of Melk. However, do not let the view fool you. In the distance we were able to see these tall building-like houses where many Jews were held in prisons. After the tour, I walked through the gardens which consisted of an area that was very woods-like. There were these Linden trees that are 250 years old. They were not very impressive as the Redwoods are in California. After walking through the gardens, I walked back down to the little town and visited the little shops and enjoyed chocolate ice cream that was a lot cheaper than I would pay for in the city. The class met up later and had a delicious dinner that consisted of a salad, a Cordon Blue Wiener schnitzel, and apple strudel, along with three different types of wine. I believe I haven't had a meal like that in weeks! It was a nice atmosphere to sit and enjoy the food and chat among the other students. We slowly walked back to the train. Most of us were in a food coma and could barely walk back down to the train station. Tomorrow is Friday and I am looking forward to this weekend. Guten Nacht!