Melk, Austria and Vienna (Oct 16)

This morning we walked to the village of Melk, whose main attraction is the Abbey--the largest in Austria, constructed in the early 1700s, overlooking the Danube River.   There are currently 30 monks living there, and it is also a private Catholic school.   It now becomes the most ornate church that we've seen, with lots of gold in the sanctuary...no photos allowed, so you'll have to settle for a picture from a postcard below.  We also walked around the attached garden:

This afternoon we peacefully cruised down the Danube River through a valley with lots of vineyards and castles and churches on a beautiful afternoon in the upper 60s...could have used more quiet afternoons like this!

This evening, we got on buses and drove to downtown Vienna, having a great meal at the Palais Pallavicini restaurant.  It was just like the dining room in some of the palaces we have visited, they had dancers and singers and musicians, plus waiters that put on a show of their own, prancing about the dining room to the string musicians.  I had the salmon, everyone else had veal, all very good.