Marvelous Melk!

Guss Gott!
I have become pretty confident about riding the U Bahn. If you know the stop you need it’s easy to figure out. I have even become confident about using the machine to buy tickets. Hint: When they ask what language I want, I push the button that says English.
However I still feel trepidation about getting on the train, especially if there’s a change involved. I am always afraid I’ll get on the wrong train to the wrong place. It hasn’t happened yet, but today at the train station I boarded a sleek intercity bound for Frankfurt. Ok. But would I end up in Germany, or would the train stop where I needed to get off? Yes it did.
My trip to Melk was much smoother than the one to Krems. First we wound though the hills around Vienna then moved out into more open countryside. As we approached Melk the train rounded the corner, and there was an amazing view of the monastery.
My jaw dropped. I’d read descriptions and I’d seen pictures, and neither prepared me for the sight of the real thing. Spectacular doesn’t even begin to describe it. It is HUGE, and it dominates the town from its promontory overlooking an arm of the Donau.
I strolled up the street and climbed the steep hill to get to the monastery.
Melk is still a living Benedictine Monastery, so not all of it is open to the public, but what is on offer is more than worth seeing. The building is done up in that unified Late Baroque/Rococo Style that Austrian Royalty favored. It seems like every available surface is covered with ornament and decoration. I was a bit nonplussed by the scenes from classical mythology on the ceilings, but I understand they are meant to be allegorical.
Most unfortunately, in my opinion, excessive numbers of putti infest the place.
A well done history of the monastery illustrated with relics and paintings is the visitor's introduction. The library has the satisfying smell of musty old books. Lovely views of the town, and the river are to be had from the terrace.
The heart of the monastery is the church, of course. Not even the Hapsburgs had anything this grand. If I were a monk I would have a hard time keeping my mind on the prayers. The decoration is so rich and so profuse there is nowhere to rest the eye. Gold, marble, paintings, statues fill every wall and ceiling. It’s extraordinarily beautiful, but almost too much.
After all that ornament, it was a relief to get out into the grounds. The garden is pretty, but what I enjoyed more was one of my beloved woodland walks. In one part of the woods a concealed speaker played a recording of the monks chanting.
Then I walked back down through the town, eating gelato and licking the windows of the touristy shops--although not at the same time. The town itself is pretty and charming and the countryside along the river lovely.
Feeling uplifted I boarded the train back to the place where I would change to the train back to Vienna. No problem, but on the second leg of the journey, there was an incident. The conductor began to complain about my ticket. He seemed to feel that I had no business on a train to Vienna since my ticket said Melk. Oh oh. This is the kind of thing I always fear. I said I didn’t understand--Ich verstehe nicht--a useful German phrase to know, but he ignored me and kept complaining. Suddenly he stopped. Apparently he’d noticed all the previous conductors’ stamps and realized that I was on the return voyage. Whew!
It was raining as we pulled into Vienna. I have been carrying my little umbrella although I have not had to use it, but by the time I’d gotten back to Stephensplatz on the U Bahn it had stopped. The cool air was nice though!
Auf Wiedersehen!