Monday Morning

Yesterday we took a boat trip down the Danube.  Even though it was raining and foggy, it was really beautiful.  There is 35 (or so) mile stretch where the river cuts through the mountains, and it was very beautiful, with all the leaves changing, and houses (and a few castles) along the way.  There were a lot of families out for a Sunday outing since this is the last boat trip of the season until the spring, and not that many of them spoke English.  Everyone in Vienna seems to speak at least some English, but as soon as you get out of the city that number decreases dramatically.  And my German is limited to about 10 words, none of which could be put into a single sentence.

 

The town we went to was called Melk.  It has an Benedictine Abbey founded in the 1100s, but it was refurbished over the last 30 years and is really amazing - large rooms and halls, 14 incredible libraries with over 100,000 books, painted ceilings, ornate sculptures and floors, old artifacts, etc.  

 

How convenient that the return bus to the city dropped us off in front of Cafe Sacher.  What could we do?  Back we went for coffee and pastries.  Mitch tried their world famous Sacher-torte invented in 1832.  They are the only place in the world that can call it ``original`` The recipe is locked away in a safe and only a few people know what it is.  I had a small bite and it was wonderful, especially served with whipped cream.  I ordered an apple strudel (with whipped cream of course) and it was heavenly.

 

Last night we went out for an Italian dinner.  It was one of the best Italian dinners we´ve ever had.  Mitch claims the risotto with seafood was the best ever, and my spaghetti with pesto probably was too.

 

Today we´re going to take it easy.  Mitch wants to go to a couple of department stores and I want to go to the main post office.  We may see another museum, but the opera starts at 6 so we really don´t have that much time.