A Sojourn in the Wachau

A photo actually taken a bit later in the day but most representative of the Valley

I realize this post is, now, a week late, but things got a bit busy last week for reasons I'm not exactly sure I can put my finger on. I still thought it would be worthwhile to describe my trip into the Danube Valley in the Wachau region and post up some pictures, as well. This trip came at a good time, just when I felt like I wasn't making enough of my weekends to see sights and things in Vienna. It gave me an activity (in addition to seeing an opera, as I have been doing frequently) to occupy my weekend while I used the extra time to prepare my trip to Venice (the fruit of that planning I am currently enjoying). Hence, it was up bright and early to catch the bus for a fourteen hour trip through the Wachau.

Melch Abbey from the river facing side (not (at least in modern times) the entrance)

Our first stop after about an hour drive was at Melch Abbey. This tremendous Baroque Abbey was constructed during a time when only 37 monks were part of the order that would be inhabiting it. Absurdly, the Abbey has 500 rooms. The idea, however, was that the immensity of the building contributed to a representation of God's glory. The Abbey also has incredible grounds and gardens, immaculately maintained and complete with a pavilion in the center. I had the fortune to walk the grounds and the gardens both before and after our tour.

Part of the exhibit

A reliquary in the exhibit's green room

One of the cool things about the building is that a forward thinking monk had the prescience to make a very unique and interesting museum in the Abbey that simultaneously displays the treasured artifacts of the building while also representing the values of the order in the very design of the exhibit. I do not recall exactly the meanings but the green and blue lighting, as well as uneven floors, all had symbolic meaning. Words (like, "hear") projected on the wall also represent some of the order's most important tenets. In addition, the building itself demonstrated its history. One of the rooms was richly decorated with a very fancy wooden floor. This was intended as a room for royal visits from the Habsburgs, particularly Maria Theresia. The other rooms, by comparison, were significantly less ornate. Another element here was that Maria Theresia's heater was more ornate, slightly larger, and fed from outside her bedchamber so she would not be disturbed.
The end of this wing of the Abbey was an amazing sitting/receiving/something room. The red marble (along with other kinds of marble was amazing. Most amazing, however, was the roof. The roof was a giant mural painting, as is customary in such rooms from the time period. The amazing thing about this one was the optical elusion woven into it. The portion of the ceiling does not rise that far above and is not really very curved beyond the point where the marble ends and the painting begins. Despite this, it looks like a curving, vaulted ceiling because of the ability of the painters to warp the walls and the ceiling together. An extremely impressive feat. I tried to see through the illusion and clearly define the way the walls actually met the ceiling, but I'm not confident I succeeded.

Can YOU see through the optical illusion?

Library!

After going through the museum and sitting room we went into the library. This incredible location had everything one might imagine in an old library. The shelves towered above us, there were multiple stories in one room, there were doors in the bookshelves, and all the books looked old and uniform. Apparently the library holds 100,000 volumes. We walked through two of the ~15 rooms. The others are accessed up and down by a spiral staircase that was blocked off. The languages range from ancient, in Latin, Greek, Aramaic, etc. to all the modern languages of Europe. Most of the books are religious or historical, but many others exist as well. This is the sort (an approximation, of course) of library I would love to have!

The final stop in the Abbey was to the actual church. This was an incredibly impressive structure wrought primarily out of white and red-orange marble. The combination was fascinating in part because I have thus far seen cathedrals made from various materials including black and red marble, but never white and red. Despite being part of a larger building, this sanctuary within the Abbey because of its coloration had the feeling of being suffused with light. I was fortunate to be able to walk around and take photos, though they began closing it down for a service. I tried to remain to hear the organ but I had to leave to have time to see the gardens. Inevitably there is the tension between caretakers or religious occupants of these buildings who wish them to be dedicated to worship and the sightseers whose interest is snapping photos and gawking. I’m always a bit worried because I wish to demonstrate the utmost respect. That said, I often also feel that they should let the masses come. Are these buildings, in their incredible beauty, immensity, and imperiousness, not meant to impress upon viewers the glory and power of God? If buildings such as these cannot convert nonbelievers, can anything other than an unforeseeable life-altering event? Every visit I make interests me more in the Church and Christianity, certainly from a historical standpoint and perhaps from a spiritual one, as well.

My second walk through the gardens was more encompassing than the first. The great thing about the gardens was the vista they gave of the Wachau Valley and the variety of flora. The manicured gardens at the entrance reminded me of those that might be at a palatial estate. In fact, the pavilion at the center back of that garden was almost palatial itself, even as an afterthought to the Abbey right next to it. Further in, however, were great cedars and a less cultivated feel, almost reminiscent of Oregon and the Northwest. Finally, the terraces were cultivated because they possessed manmade structures, but they had a feel like The Secret Garden, to an extent, as though there was a mixture of man’s work with the entropy and glory of growth and of nature.

The Castle

After departing Melch Abbey the group traveled to the small town of Dürnstein. This quaint town was situated against the valley wall and had basically one main street, a back street running parallel on one side higher up, and a walk along the Danube parallel bellow. Alleyways connected these streets in between. Before stopping in the town however, we made the somewhat onerous ascent to the ruins of Dürnstein Castle. The hike wasn’t horrible, but it was considerably steeper, with less sure footing, than I think anyone expected. As far as castles go, however, this was an excellent position. The hill was craggy enough that the rocks to construct the edifice were drawn from right around the summit. The castle possessed a view of the entire Danube for miles around and could easily defend its rough access paths from its advantageous position. Despite, this 12th century fortress’ most famous operation was its use as a prison for Richard the Lionheart. The story goes that Richard the Lionheart was on a crusade with Leopold V. Leopold V, after taking a town with Richard, raised his own banners. Lionheart either did not know what the banners represented or did not care, but either way gave grave insult to Leopold by tearing them down and replacing them with his own. Leopold left the crusade early, leaving Richard to his own devices. Later, Richard was attempting to return home from his crusade, with the only path directly through Leopold’s land. He and his men attempted to dress as pilgrims but failed utterly in their ruse. Leopold apprehended Richard and held him in this castle in Dürnstein. His ransom was then used to fortify Leopold’s cities and bring them up to a modern level of defense, catapulting his territory to a formidably defensible station.

Castle close up

Arrow slit

Gateway

On Top of the Wachau Valley!

I had just already heard this story in House of Habsburg. It was therefore really cool to be able to ascend to the castle and actually see and stand in the very cell where the fabled Richard the Lionheart had been detained. After eating lunch at this summit, climbing to the very top and taking photos, and exploring the nooks of the fallen fortress, I descended into the town of Dürnstein itself. It was fun to walk through such a little town and see the shops, all peddling goods related to chocolate, grapes, or apricot – historically the primary goods of the region. Though I could not stomach a fruity bar of chocolate, I did have a great experience with a storekeeper. I wanted to get the cashew chocolate I had seen in the window but she told me they were out. I was able to ask her which of the artisanal chocolate bars available were her favorites. She listed only ones with fruit. I proceeded to ask for her favorite without fruit. She gave me the options and I finally proceeded with my purchase and concluded the transaction. It was a great opportunity because it really forced me to work on the German conversation rather than just get by as it is very easy to do in Vienna, especially in the first district.

Deserted cathedral hall

Wax seals

Back on the bus, we made our way to our final destination, the medieval town of Krems. This town was as old and probably older than Dürnstein. That said, it was, in my opinion, less interesting. We were able to see the old medieval gate (beyond which the city has expanded, at this point). I also took a look in a cathedral and it was being remodeled (a larger, and probably grander cathedral, was beyond the scope of my time there). The main attraction was the museum we visited which was converted from a decommissioned cathedral. It was an odd and almost unsettling experience walking through the almost barren cathedral. Bits and pieces of its former glory were in evidence on the walls or in stone fixtures on the walls. Mostly though, it felt empty, almost forlorn. Still, the exhibits were interesting, including old furniture, winemaking tools and methods, religious artifacts, weapons, and even canes! Oddly, above all this on the second floor was an Art Brut exhibit featuring strange conceptualizations of human genitalia mixed with animals or simply grafted onto other parts of the human body. This added to the strange feeling left by the abandonment of the cathedral. As bizarre as this art was, however, it was actually kind of fascinating.

 Our final stop for the day was for dinner at a restaurant owned by a local winery. They served us traditional food from the region, what would be called finger food in the United States. This consisted of bread, spreads made of meat or otherwise, many kinds of cheeses, many kinds of cured meat and sausage, and grapes for fruit. It was a great meal, though I had developed a headache at this point, unfortunately. The great thing was, however, that we were then able to tour the winery’s cellar itself. In here we were able to witness the way wine had been made in the region for a thousand years. Entering the cellar the temperature dropped considerably. They had photos on the wall to demonstrate how humid, yet still cold, the cellar was. In only a year the ink was running. We also saw the bottles, the old bricks, and the huge old casks. Interestingly we also witnessed the black mold that, while dangerous to human health, is apparently great for the wine as it matures. It was cool to see that even though the winery had modernize some techniques they still have preserved the old cellar method well enough to demonstrate that modern technology really hasn’t surpassed the old techniques, at all. After the cellar tour it was time to head back to Vienna. The ride was a bit over an hour long, and a good time for me to rest up a little bit. I got home and took care of a few things before going to bed, exhausted and still with a headache (though it had improved a bit). Again, apologies this blog has been so late. Last week was quite busy, and then I went to Venice. On the upside, Venice blogs will follow MUCH more quickly!