Melk Abbey & Grand Evening in Vienna

Thursday, 8/31/2017
Melk (older spelling: Mölk) is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. Melk has a population of 5,257 (as of 2012). It is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery named Melk Abbey.
The town is first mentioned as Medilica in 831 in a donation of Louis the German; the name is from a Slavic word for 'border.'[3] The area around Melk was given to Leopold I, Margrave of Austria, in the year 976 to serve as a buffer between the Magyars to east and Bavaria to the west. In 996 mention was first made of an area known as Ostarrîchi, which is the origin of the word Österreich (German for Austria). The bluff which holds the current monastery held a Babenberger castle until the site was given to Benedictine monks from nearby Lambach by Leopold II, in 1089. Melk received market rights in 1227 and became a municipality in 1898. In a very small area, Melk presents a great deal of architectural variety from many centuries
Vienna is the national capital, largest city, and one of nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's most populous city, with about 2 million inhabitants (2.6 million within the metropolitan area, nearly one third of the country's population), and its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 6th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century, Vienna was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants. Today, it is the second-largest German-speaking city after Berlin. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations, OPEC and the OSCE. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city center was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger. Additionally, Vienna is known as the "City of Music" due to its musical legacy, as many famous classical musicians such as Beethoven and Mozart called Vienna home. Vienna is also said to be the "City of Dreams", because of it being home to the world's first psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Vienna's ancestral roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city. It is well known for having played a pivotal role as a leading European music center, from the age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic center of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque palaces and gardens, and the late-19th-century Ringstraße lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks. Vienna is known for its high quality of life, which is recognized but frequently disputed. 
 
Melk Abbey
Movie: View from Melk Abbey
Movie: View of the town of Melk
The Melk Abbey, Cathedral and Library were "off limits" for taking pictures,
but they were more than willing to sell you pictures in the gift shop.

The Grand Evening in Vienna


We were dropped off early, in Tulln, and bussed into Vienna. That way the ship could travel and meet us in Vienna.

Our empty dining room

The place setting

Interesting decoration - Vlad the Impaler.

Entertainment

Entertainment
The evening in Vienna was spectacular, elegant and filled with great Viennese dancing and opera singing. It was truly a very special evening.
Movie: Entertainment
Movie: Dancers #1
Movie: Dancers #2
Trip Itinerary