Unexpected Delights!

When you least expect it, life can shower you with unexpected delights. It might read like a high school essay but like good ole’ Robert Frost said, ‘two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less travelled and that has made all the difference.’ OK we were not in the woods; it was a lovely Sunday morning when we started driving to Salzburg from Vienna. Corny as it may sound it was one of those days when you find yourself humming unconsciously and feeling totally contented. And why not, I was finally on way to Salzburg. Remember Sound of Music, need I say more?

Somewhere on the way, maybe after an hour’s drive or so, our friend in Vienna who was driving us around, suggested that we take a slight detour to Melk. It’s a beautiful place and there is a fantastic church, he held out as bait.  Did I bite? Not wholeheartedly as all I wanted to do was reach Salzburg at the earliest and check out the Sound Of Music locales especially Mirabell Gardens where the timeless song do-re-mi was shot. But on way to Melk we were, and thank god for it. 

Melk Town

 

Melk, located in the Wachau Valley, turned out to be one those hidden treasures. It was only on reaching there we learned that one could take a river cruise there from Vienna and have a wonderful day trip. Next time, I promised myself. Our destination was the stunning Melk Abbey (Stift Melk), up a gentle winding road. The gigantic Benedictine monastery and the Melk abbey can be in a way called the crown of the town. Overlooking the town, the Abbey at one time was a palace or a rather a medieval fortress belonging to the House of Babenberg and the grandeur still remains.  The Benedict monks received it as a gift from Leopold 11 of Babenberg in the 11^th century and turned it into an abbey. The structure was damaged during the 1683 Turkish invasion and the abbey, a full Baroque style, was built by architect Jakob Prandateur. In 1947 a fire partially damaged it but the restoration work makes it difficult to believe that any portion of it had been ruined. Today, it stands stately and regal, amidst a landscaped garden with impressive marble statues, totally awe inspiring. The monastic community has not only survived but is thriving and one was lucky to spot a black-robed monk pass by. What I like most is that now it is a co-ed monastery school. 

 

The Benedictine monastery

 

 

  

The fountain in the courtyard

  

The abbey dome rises behind the monastery

Past the entrance is the large courtyard with a fountain at the centre. There’s the museum with 11 rooms, each with a theme. There’s also a terrace from where you can see Melk town below and the Danube too. And believe it or not the abbey library houses over 100,000 manuscripts and more, dating back to the 15 the century. Then comes the abbey church, once you step in you realise words are so ineffective to describe the place. It is an experience beyond definition. The church has a huge dome and bell towers, the frescoes (by Johann Michael Rottmayr), the stained glasses; the gilding's are breathtaking as is everything else. It also has a sarcophagus containing the remains of St Coleman. The grandeur, the art works,the richness of it all might have been overwhelming otherwise but the solemn ambiance and the hush around despite quite a number of visitors, makes one realise that this indeed is a house of prayer and meditation. You send a prayer up for being lucky enough to have stumbled upon it.

 

Hold your breath!

 

   

 

 

We start our drive back to Salzburg. There is a happy feeling all around and so when our friend says, before we hit Salzburg we have to take another detour, Lake Mondsee is a must, I am more than amenable. As we drive towards the lake with the Alps ahead, stunning blue skies, rolling hills, chalet like houses, the greenery makes one feel as if we are somewhere in Switzerland. Then we reach the lakeside and I lose my heart all over again. Lost for words once again and so thankful all over again. Plumb in the middle of a perfect alpine setting is Lake Mondsee, with the sun streaking a shimmery silver sheen on its waters.  I – as kids say now- like totally envy the people who live around it.  I would like so totally like to be a guest in one of the houses for quite a long time!

 

On way to Lake Mondsee

In Alpine land

 

  

Lake Mondsee

I would like so totally like to be a guest in one of those houses/hotels!

Look Ma I can swim!

Cheers!

We sit in one of the cafes bang next to the lake. It’s Sunday and there seem to be many local families crowding the place.  Some tables seem to hold two, three generations of the same family. Kids are always kids everywhere and there are young mothers chasing them around, trying to get them to eat something. A kiddy park adjoining the café seems to draw the kids like magnet.  It takes some time but finally we are seated at a table closest to the lake. A smallish duck is paddling away all alone.  Is it me or is it all mothers – I look around to see if the mother duck is nearby. She seems to be far away, but I am sure she knows better how far her child is allowed to swim than I do! Later as we are leaving I turn around and yes, the naughty duck is close to the mother.  We can’t have lunch; we still need to get to Salzburg but a glass of wine is always welcome. It’s an apricot wine, the local produce, reddish golden, chilled and refreshing. 

Lake Mondsee is said to be the warmest lake in the Salzkammergut area of Austria. Looking down on the lake is the Drachenwand rock face which I suspect in the night would look a little forbidding and aloof. Right now however, it’s a picture postcard scenario. That is until a sheer show off aviator decides to display his flying skills. My knowledge about planes is more than zero, but the plane is a small affair, all white with bits of red lines with a deafening whirring noise and the lone man in the cockpit seems hell bent on proving that he can perform every flying trick in the book. At one times there is a dismayed collective gasp when the plane seems to free fall, all the while emitting white smoke. Will it crash into the lake?  As everyone hold their breath, the plane almost skimming the water zooms up straight, flies off and disappears behind the rock face. Good riddance, I say silently. But no, he is back again like a pesky fly – a sure fire signal that it’s time to go, reluctantly or otherwise.