Cool and Cloudy

Gruss Gott!
It rained over night, and there’s been a welcome change in the weather. Today was cool and windy. It has not rained, but it looks like it wants to. I made contingency plans for my day, but it turned out I did not need them. I was able to enjoy some heavier “cool weather” food.
Today I decided to go out to the outskirts of Greater Vienna to a village called Klosterneuburg. I bravely took the bus again, too, but this time I had the sense to say on until the end of the line. We had a pretty ride along the Donau. I enjoy the scenery, but I also like to look at the houses, businesses, and even the advertisements.
Klosterneuburg lies north of Vienna. Vine covered hills rise up behind the town. I thought I was going to visit a quaint Medieval monastery. Nope. The Hapsburgs had got a hold of it.
Back in the Twelfth Century Leopold III of Babenburg (that’s St. Leopold to you) founded a church and built his palace on the looming bluff over looking the Donau just up stream from Vienna. Five hundred years later Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (Hapsburg) chose the site for his new palace modeled on El Escorial near Madrid. The Spanish branch of the family had an elaborate palace/church/monastery/mausoleum complex and Charles VI wanted the Austrian Habsburgs to catch up.
But when he died the project half completed was abandoned because his successor Maria Theresa preferred Schonbrunn.
The Augustin Canons still occupy the complex, which is plenty big and grand in spite of not being completed--although nothing can compare with Melk. By the way--Martin Luther was an Augustin Canon over in Saxony, but they don’t like him in Austria at all!
In order to see the monastery I had to take a guided tour in German. I understood about a third of it, but that’s because the guide was talking about architecture and art history so I had a context.
I found the church more attractive than the one at Melk because it did not seem so over the top. The real treasure of Klosterneuburg is an amazing work called the Verdun Altar made of fifty-one gold and enamel panels with biblical scenes. Beautiful! It’s in outstanding condition, too.
So I made my way back to Vienna. I walked around and licked some windows. Then I came home and made some green tea to go with my pastry. Today we are having Nusstorte or Nut-torte, which consists of seven layers, nut wafer, jam, cream, sponge cake and the whole thing is frosted with walnut icing. And, yes, it was sublime.
Since it was cool, I stopped at my local Wurststand and got some Bratwurst served with mustard and what looked like rye bread. The smell around these stands maddens the appetite. The sausages smell and taste really, really good.
I’m going to sign off with the expression that the Viennese use when bidding good-bye to friends.
Servus!