6/19/2009 - Friday in Melk & Dürnstein

Today was a slight break from the performing schedule. The choir sang a recital at the Benedictine Abbey in Melk, and the rest of the day was spent sight-seeing and enjoying a river boat ride on the Danube to Dürnstein.

We started with our first breakfast at the Hotel Schönbrunn, after we all found our way through the labyrinthine corridors to the breakfast room. Here's some girls prepared for the recital at Melk later in the day:
Then we boarded our coaches for the 1-1/2 hour ride to Melk, a town on the Danube west of Vienna. It's home to a benedictine abbey that has been at this site for over 900 years (since 1089 AD if I recall). It was enlarged and enhanced under Hapsburg rule, and is still a functioning monastery (33 resident monks, none of which we saw while touring). Here's how it looks from above:
Below are pictures of our group as we waited to enter for our guided tours:




This is a chamber in the imperial apartments, set aside for visits from the rulers (Maria Theresia was a big supporter). It redefines the word "opulence" especially when you consider this room was built in the 18th century.
This is the town of Melk, along the Danube below the benedictine abbey
The choir sang a recital in this cathedral after our tour:

One of our chaperones, with her daughter
Another chaperone, with his hat:
Some of our choir students demonstrating the dignity and poise for which Gunn High School is so famous
Another chaperone in the wind. Ah, the wind...first came that, and later the rain...
This is the choir singing in the cathedral. It's one of the most beautiful that I've ever seen -- more gold than St. Peter's in Rome, at least as far as I can remember


This is the apse of the church:
The courtyard has a very nice view of the Danube and the countryside
This is the river boat we boarded for our 1-1/2 hour cruise (with a brief stop for a boat change) to Dürnstein
More chaperones enjoying the air on deck
Here's some pictures of the kids enjoying the cruise. As you can see, it's starting to rain a little bit...


Chaperones & tour guide on deck, pleased that the kids don't have to be chased (where can they go on a boat ?!)
About 45 minutes into the trip, some of the kids serenaded the regular boat patrons with a selection (Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal):
Another chaperone relaxing on the boat
More choir kids



Our tour buses were traveling to Dürnstein as we took the boat, in order to pick us up and bring us back to Vienna
We reached Dürnstein about 5PM. It's a very small town, about 200 residents. We had about 2 hours to wander and tour; your blog editor headed straight for a restaurant while others decided to explore the town.
Having dinner at Alter Klosterkeller in Durnstein, which served delicious dumplings in the traditional style. This restaurant was hard to find but a great place to eat!
Finally about 7:30 the light rain turned to full-on showers, just as we were gathering at the bus pickup point (no shelter there to speak of). The ride back was a nice relaxing (but damp) end to the day.
Tomorrow is the main concert event, a combined performance with all participating choirs singing together. We do have some tour events in the morning before that, so it will be another busy day. Weather reports call for rain so staying dry will be a high priority!

After our 7th full day of activities we're all a little tired, so tonight should be a good chance to rest -- even though we have a lot to do tomorrow we can sleep till 7:45AM so we should be raring to go!

Later