Wachau, Here I Come

Sunday was our IES trip to The Wachau, and I wanted to include a few pictures but was experiencing a series of technical difficulties, so sorry to be getting this up late!

At seven am on Sunday morning, I was tempted to sleep in and skip the trip, but I managed to get myself out of bed and with my apartment mates made our way to the meeting spot, and I am so glad I did! It turned out to be one of my favorite days this semester!

We started the foggy morning at the Melk Monastery, which was originally built as a castle by the Badenbergs and later donated as a Monastery. The Monastery has been almost completely rebuilt in the late Baroque style.

Here is a photo of the front entrance. The monastery currently also functions as a school for about 900 secondary students.

A foggy morning looking over Melk.

Bethany and myself.

My lovely friend and apartment-mate, Natalie. 

Can you believe this library?! Beauty and the Beast, anyone?

And the magnificent, if not overwhelming Cathedral. Not an inch was ignored in the planning of this Baroque space. It is impossible to capture the "oh my" feeling when stepping in the back door.

The gardens are turning into a burst of beautiful fall color!

Next we went for lunch to an adorably traditional Austrian restaurant where we had a lovely meal. The soup and apple strudel were the highlights!

We then hiked up the hill to the ruins of Dürnstein Castle. It was the perfect lookout to the Danube valley and vineyards below. I loved how the castle was built out of the side of the hill, and used the rocky terrain as a basis and some walls of the castle. We had a wonderful time scrambling around like mountain goats!

The day continued into the evening with a great meal and more beautiful sights!