Blue Lagoon Traveler

Monday Oct 2, 2023 last day of my 8 day Munich, Salzburg, Vienna tour.  We started our day, like many others, walking around town and learning the transit system. Vienna, like many European cities has an extensive transportation system.  Here they combine, subways, buses, trains and trolleys.  It is very inexpensive for commuters to get tickets.  To ride with no restrictions, all forms of transit, a yearly pass cost our local guide 365 euros.  Basically, a Euro a day.  Of course we got our typical history lesson and I wrote down a few things. Vienna, after WWII was in the Russian sectioned off area, in the iron curtain.  Vienna survived much of the war without being bombed.  Mostly because it was so deep into the German territory.   Also Vienna had the oil refineries that helped supply the whole German army and that is why Hitler tried to defend it to the last.  The first bombing of Vienna was in March 17 1944.  It was only after th...

 Sunday October 1, 2023 - Travel to Vienna  We took a scenic drive to the Danube Valley followed by a visit to the Benedictine Abbey of Melk, which we had a guided tour of.   The Abbey of Melk was gifted by Charlemagne end of 11th century to the Babenberger family, who later gifted it to the monks (there are still 23 Benedictine monks still there).  There is also a high school there that was supposed to have one of the biggest knowledge centers of the Middle Ages and is still in operation today for local students.  The current  building was built from 1702-1736 after the original had burned down.  You will see just a few outside pictures from here, since we couldn’t take any inside.  Apparently, there is an old movie with Sean Connery in it about this abbey.  The picture above and the 5 below were taken on our drive in the Austrian countryside. (There may be some bus reflection) Pictured above and below is the entrance to the Benedictine Abbe...