Melk Abbey

Downstream overnight to Melk Abbey in the Wachau Valley.
Here

We were given a guided tour of the Abbey which was beautiful and impressive. It is a Benedictine Monastery with about 30 monks living there and is a secondary school with 900+ pupils from the surrounding areas.
We also met the resident Abbey cat who wasvery welcoming. (I will add him to Blipfolio later)

A chance to sample gluhwein in Weissenkirchen, went down well before lunch.

We attended Midnight Mass in the Abbey. An interesting experience as we don't speak the language and some difficulty in following the service. The Abbey was full to overflowing with additional seating provided. A good proportion were teenagers, who I assume are pupils at the school, who attended with family groups.