Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life-and travel-leaves marks on you.
The architecture of St. Florian's Monastery blew me away, even though it is Baroque (not my favorite). Founded in the 9th century, the Augustinian Rule of Order has operated the monastery since the 11th century.
I looked up a lot while visiting St. Florian's. The ceilings were magnificent:
The Exhibit Hall: The pegasus appears to be following you as you move across the room.
The Exhibit Hall
The Basilica
The Library boasts over 140,000 books
The Bruckner Organ is housed in the Basilica. This is the organ that Anton Bruckner (Austrian Composer) learned to play on. We had the privilege of listening to a short recital. I could feel the organ all throughout my body; it was so powerful.
Bruckner's tomb is directly under the organ loft
Bones of over 6000 people dating back to the 4th century. St. Florian's bones are believed to be included.
Anton Bruckner's guest room
Linz
I had lunch with some new friends at a restaurant that used to be a monastery. There were definite signs: a crucifix on the wall and an Epiphany blessing over the men's bathroom door:
After Mass in the Cathedral, we took a walking tour. Following World War II, the city was divided along the Danube, with the US controlling the old town/city center, and Russia controlling the other side.
Planet Fountain. The lion heads and the coats of arms are the only original features from the fountain created in 1581
Marian and Holy Trinity Column
Instead of Stolpersteine, Austria has these monuments to those Holocaust victims. Looking like the buzzers in an apartment, each has the same information as the Stolpersteine. The idea is that you ring the buzzer, but no one answers.
Amadeus Riva
Melk Abbey
First look at Melk Abbey from my cabin window
Pictures aren't allowed inside, so you'll just have to believe me when I say that this place was magnificent.
View from the Abbey
The ceiling of a portico that is before we entered the Abbey
I feel like I have to address this: We were told "no pictures" once inside, and it was extremely hard to not be a rebel and snap a few shots. Once we were in the church, some people in our group were taking pictures like crazy; they weren't even hiding the fact that they were taking pictures. It was so tempting, but I knew if I took one, I'd be the one carted off to the security office. That being said, I did manage to take a picture of a postcard in the gift shop without getting in trouble. In hindsight, I should have just bought it, but I didn't.
Apparently, the gardens are amazing, but I didn't have time to take them all in. I was just able to scratch the surface.
Dürnstein
Out of the places we stopped in Austria, this is the place I'd love to come back to and hang out. Sailing into the Wachau area, the scenery was beautiful. This was the first day we sailed during the day, so we were able to see where we were going.
Ruins of the Hinterhaus Castle; Richard the Lionhearted was held here in 1192
Wine Vineyards
St. Michael, Wachau Region of Austria
Dürnstein Abbey
Once we were in port, we made our way toward the Abbey. The walk was just lovely, and the surprise at the end was spectacular.
High water mark showing how high the Danube flooded over the years
A wedding! Someone made the comment that he looked like Capt. Von Trapp!
It took some digging, but I found out that these instruments are called parforcehorns
Our guide told us about a dessert called Mohnzelten: potato dough with a poppyseed filling. I found some and bought a couple of them. But I waited until I was back home in the States to try it. It was interesting; it definitely would have been better if it had been eaten when it was still fresh, and with some coffee.
Mohnzelten
Apricots are a huge crop every year, with everything being made from them. Unfortunately, we weren't there for apricot season, so we didn't get to fully take it in.
View of Krems, Austria, as we sailed down the Danube
Kahlenberg
This hill overlooking Vienna was the site of a battle in 1683. During the Second Ottoman Siege, Jan III Sobieski (King of Poland) saved Vienna. Since this was a pilgrimage, the tour focused on the Polish National Shrine on Kahlenberg, also known as St. Joseph's Church. It was very foggy when we reached the top of the hill, so we didn't get to witness the view that we would have seen on a different day.
St. Joseph's Church in the fog
Monument to the Poles who were prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps during WWII
The Wish Well
Vienna
I've always heard wonderful things about Vienna. I went on a walking tour but didn't learn anything major. The architecture was stupendous, and it was very cool to see the Lipizzaner horses in their stalls.
Albertinaplatz
Statue of Franz Josef I and "Sisi"
Hofburgkapelle: Chapel that served the Habsburg Dynasty
Lippizaner Horses: The Habsburg Empire is credited with developing this breed in the 1500's.
The Plague Monument: Built in 1679 to ward off the plague; it was originally made out of wood
I popped into St. Stephen's Cathedral, which was breathtaking:
Our guide pointed out the Sacher Hotel, famous for its tortes. There are 2 doors leading to the cafe; she told us which one to go in that seemed to have the shorter line. So, a new friend and I headed there when we had free time. The wait wasn't too long (maybe 15 minutes at that time of day); we spent the time chatting with each other and some lovely people from England. We were led upstairs to our table. It was definitely worth the wait.
The highlight of Vienna was definitely the visit to Schönbrunn Palace, the Habsburgs' summer palace.
Maria Theresia and family
Great Gallery
Round Chinese Cabinet
Hall of Ceremonies
Vieux Laque Room
Original floor
The Porcelain Room, Maria Theresia's office. Only the heater and the chandelier are porcelain.
As beautiful as it was, nothing could top the end of the evening. We were treated to a private concert in the ballroom. The music was by Austrian composers and included a couple of opera singers.I could not believe that I was sitting in the ballroom of the palace where Maria Theresia planned and held balls, listening to this beautiful music. I sat and closed my eyes, imagining the grand balls that had taken place on that very same spot where I was sitting. I could feel Robert smiling!
Just as we were making our way to the exit, one of our tour guides came rushing towards me and said he had something to show me. We spoke at dinner about my family coming from the Silesia Region. He found this in a fresco on the ceiling of the ballroom:
That was just about the most perfect night I have had in a very long time. I had to say goodbye to Austria, with the thought in my mind to definitely come back to this lovely country.
My last trip in 2024 saw me as a pilgrim on a Catholic Pilgrimage with Select International. You may be asking how this is different from any other tour, and why I called myself a "pilgrim". Matthew Kelly defines a pilgrimage as a journey to a sacred place for a sacred purpose. That purpose could be to ask God for a favor, thank Him for something, or it could be a quest for clarity.
Since this blog is dedicated to travel, I'm going to focus on the travel aspects. If you're interested in diving more into a pilgrimage, please see my Catholic Blog.
This was kind of my first dip into solo international travel. I say "kind of" because I met the local group at my home airport. We weren't sitting together on the plane, and I tried to maneuver around the airports on my own. It helped that I had the security of other people (one being a former flight attendant) if I made a mistake or if I had questions. I also had a roommate, but she was meeting us in Munich.
After an overnight flight, we had just enough time to get into our hotel room before meeting the whole group. This was a very large group...around 140 people. I wasn't sure how I would like being with so many other people, but there was a reason for it. Part of this pilgrimage was a river cruise on the Danube, and the hosts wanted to have only "their" people on it. So, 140 people. We were divided into 3 buses; we stayed with this group for the city tours, so it didn't seem like there were so many people. We were given "whisper boxes" so we could hear the tour guides, which was very helpful.
Before we boarded our river ship for the cruise, we had a few stops to make as we traveled to board the ship.
When someone talks of Nazi Concentration Camps, Auschwitz and Dachau are often the first 2 that come to mind. I was surprised to learn that Buchenwald, a camp that I visited during my visit to Germany in 2013, was more brutal than Dachau. This camp was in operation from 1933 until it was liberated in 1945. More priests were held here than in any other concentration camp, which was the reason for our visit. I usually like to research places I'm going to visit, and reading a book that was recommended helped with my understanding of this camp, as well as my impressions. (For more on this, read my post on Munich and Dachau.)
The front gate
The Jourhaus: I would call it the camp's "office space"
Lane between the rows of barracks leading to the Jourhaus
The International Monument in front of the former maintenance building
Ashes of an unknown prisoner. The inscription reads "Never again" in 5 different languages
The Jewish Memorial. There are 5 chapels/memorials: Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Russian Orthodox, plus a Carmelite Convent (Catholic)
Munich
We had some free time when we got back to Munich. My roommate is gluten-free, and she found a restaurant that had some delightful pastries in the case. She uses the app Find Me GF to find places she can eat and not worry about whether or not there is gluten in it.
The walking tour of Munich was very good, although very fast. We ended in Marienplatz just in time to see the Glockenspiel do its thing. I visited Marienplatz before, but it wasn't decorated with pretty flowers in May 2013 like it was in 2024.
Marienplatz
Munich's Coat of Arms
Beautifully decorated Glockenspiel in Marienplatz
Neat reflection on a glass building
Bavarian maypole
The walking tour took us through Frauenkirche. This is the iconic church that was built in the 15th century. As with many churches throughout Europe, it sustained heavy damage which required reconstruction.
The "devil's footprint" legend: When the church was being finished, the devil was angry that another church was built to glorify God. Once inside, he thought that there were no windows and laughed at the stupidity of the builder. Jumping for joy, he left his footprint on the floor. But then he took a step back and realized that there are windows, they are covered by the pillars and the former Gothic high altar.
The iconic towers of the Cathedral
The front door
The pillars hide the windows from being seen
We had dinner at the Augustiner Bräustuben, the oldest brewery in Munich dating back to 1328. The food was okay, nothing great. Since we had such a large group, we were seated in the cellar. It was warm, crowded, and very noisy. The beer was excellent, though, and the staff did a fantastic job with making sure we were fed. They also did a good job when it came time to pay; there was very little waiting.
My roommate & me. You can see why the room was so hot and noisy with the brick walls and ceilings
Altötting is known for being one of the Shrines of Europe. Its history dates back to the Neolithic period. It was also the court for Bavarian dukes. The most popular chapel (Gnadenkapelle or Chapel of Mercy) houses the Black Madonna, which was made around 1330 out of lime or coniferous wood. Pictures were not allowed within the chapel. Also in the chapel are the hearts of Bavarian royalty and nobility, placed in silver urns along the wall.
Outside the chapel, people leave pictures or other objects representing their healing
There are 7 churches surrounding the courtyard. It was a very peaceful little town.
In the Collegiate Church of Sts. Philip and Jacob, Tod von Eding (Death of Altötting) is a mechanical statue from around the time of the plague. Legend has it that with every swing of the scythe, someone dies.
Currywurst and Pommes Frittes were at the top of my list, and they did not disappoint.
From there, it was time to board the ship. The company used Amadeus River Cruises. Our ship was only a year old, and the crew really pampered us. After boarding, we gathered for orientation. We had a very small problem with our cabin: when we were taken there, our beds looked like this:
I asked the porter if it was 2 twins, and he said yes. After he left, we decided we could just separate them ourselves. However, there was one mattress over both of the beds. My roommate spoke with someone; when we came back from orientation, they looked like this:
Much better!
The bathroom
The shower
Plenty of closet space for both of us
1 thing that I discovered while on the ship: if I ever do this again, I'll request a room toward the front of the ship. Since we sail at night, if you're towards the back and aren't a sound sleeper, the engines will wake you up, especially when stopping or turning.
I was a little disappointed that the dinners we had weren't local specialties. Quite honestly, the food was just "okay". The desserts were fabulous, and I can't say enough good things about the crew and staff.
Regensburg
We boarded the ship in Passau and then headed north to Regensburg. The walking tour was quite interesting, as the town boasts the largest medieval town north of the Alps, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Stolperstein: Brass plates in sidewalks that memorialize those lost during WWII. Located at the victim's last known address, these plates include the victim's name, date of birth, deportation date, and date of death if known.
We had a nice walk from the parking lot to the Abbey. For those with mobility issues, a shuttle was available. It was a very peaceful and beautiful walk along the Danube, with reminders found along the way:
Sign for the Abbey in the parking area
Memorial to 3 US Army Servicemen who lost their lives during maneuvers in the Danube
Flood mark on the side of the rocks from 1845
Once in the Abbey, we toured St. Georg Church, which was very interesting. It was designed to be more of a stage with an audience than an altar with the congregation. The builder and the plasterer make a special appearance in the dome of the church.
The plasterer (as a painting) looks over his brother, the builder, shown in stucco relief
I found the church to be whimsical and quite interesting. It was dark and just a bit overwhelming with so much to look at.
Weltenberg is first mentioned in documents dating back to 889 AD; they started brewing beer in 1050, making it one of the oldest monastery breweries in the world. Just let me say...it's obvious they know what they're doing!
Unfortunately, we didn't know about the visitor's center, which is in the cellar. Looking at the picture on the webpage, just the building looks incredible. This is definitely a place I'd like to come back to.
My time in Germany came to a close as we sailed down the Danube into Austria. Check back for more.
