Melk

 Cruising along the Austrian Danube, Melk Abbey located at the gate of the scenic Wachau Valley was our first impression of Austria.

This Abbey is super huge and one can hardly believe that it was constructed by Jakob Prandtauer and his pupil, Josef Munggenast as a retreat for Benedictine monks sworn to poverty and a simple life.

The exterior which could be photographed is of Baroque architecture and note the colour scheme. There are images of saints on top of the buildings again connoting their importance in the Christian faith.

We saw people of all nations here; perhaps to have a glance at this significant abode of saints.

We can smile and be photographed here. But we could not do anything inside the building as cameras and photo taking are banned.

A tour into the building revealed the Abbey Museum located in Imperial Apartments where Empress Maria Theresa and Napoleon had visited. There were hundreds of rooms to house maid servants, guards and all every time such royal visits were made.

There were plenty of priceless reliquaries and vessels along with distinguished arts and crafts of the time.

The exquisite Marble Hall and the Abbey Library housing about 85,000 printed books and 2,000 illuminated manuscripts were some of the main areas we saw.

Everything was impressive as a gamut of marbling, gilding and stuccowork was displayed.

Outside the Abbey, we took an overall view of the town.

Serene and calm; a perfect getaway for meditation and prayers.

Here's a view of the Benedictine Abbey Church with its Baroque style features.

A bird's eye view of Melk.

The town below the Abbey has numerous cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops.

I hope I am right by suggesting that this might be the City Hall with the City Fountain (1722) and its statue of St Coloman.

Except for the Abbey, Melk seems plain and simple.

Maybe a longer stay will lead one to discover more treasures.

The Benedictine Abbey Church looks majestic on the right.

We had to trudged in the hot sun for a good 20 minutes before we could hop into the ship. The less-able or older ones were given a coach ride.

We made the choice to walk.

We had to sail to Vienna.