This morning we left Salzburg on our way to Vienna, but we soon had a stop in Mondsee to see St. Michael's Cathedral which was used for Maria's wedding in the Sound of Music movie. It was chosen because the convent chapel where the wedding actually took place was very plain, plus the nuns would not permit filming there to prevent it from being a perpetual tour stop. After we listened to an explanation of the church, we gathered on the steps below the altar to sing "It is Well with My Soul" and "Let There Be Peace on Earth." The church had excellent acoustics and each song ended with a lovely reverberant ring. We then had about a half an hour or so to stroll through the town or stop for coffee at a cafe.
Tenors up front for It is Well With My Soul:
During the ride, Erich talked about taxes in Austria, which range from 36% to 55%. Basic health insurance is included, but if you want additional insurance (and better treatment!) there is an additional cost. He talked about the wealthiest Austrians: the owners of VW and Porsche along with Feix Baumgardner, head of Red Bull (which is headquartered in Salzburg) and most recently of stratospheric jump fame.
Our next stop was near Linz at one of several highway rest area cafeterias--ours was Rosenberg. It has several buffets where the charge is based on the size of the plate or bowl for specialty salads, fruit salads, regular salad bar, plus there was a custom pasta bar and several entrees, soups, and beverages. You choose what you want and they add it up at the cashier on your way to a table.
After lunch it was a short ride to Melk, where we boarded a cruise boat for a ride along the Donau (Danube) river to the town of Krems, with lots of castles and churches on the banks along the way. It was very relaxing. We had reserved tables inside but there was opportunity for a breeze on the decks. At Krems we boarded our bus and continued on to Vienna, arriving a little early--before 5 pm.
At 6:40 we were back on the bus, on the way to our Heuriger dinner, a traditional wine with buffet meal. For us it was similar to a beer garden but with wine instead--we were outside at picnic tables in a garden setting. The location was near the Vienna woods--der Wiener Heurige Wolff, aka Buschenschank Wolff, in Neustift am Walde.
Heuriger serve new wine, of the most recent vintage, and our table had plentiful carafes of both red and white. Rather than going to a buffet, a wide variety of platters was brought to the table: appetizer cheeses, pickled vegetables and salads, then platters of meats and sausages and schnitzel with assorted fried veggies (mushrooms, zucchini and eggplant). And for dessert we were each served a plate with both cheese and apple strudel. unbelievably, it was my first apple strudel of the trip. When we arrived a brass oompah band was playing, then during dinner we were serenaded by an accordionist who played tunes from a variety of countries.
Little did he know how much we would sing along! He took a short break, then returned to have us try yodeling and all sorts of dancing, from the chicken dance to Greek (Zorba-style) dancing to a French can-can for the women to Russian cossack dancing (men only). He was great fun, as was reflected in the paper money collect in the top folds of his accordion.
Rheba tries yodeling:
The back row of dancers:
The cossacks, with overachiever John Runyon:
It was time to leave all too soon. Our tour guide Eric had promised to make sure we all got back to the hotel and that he would lean each one up against the wall next to their room. I don't think anyone had that much wine, but we were all happy!
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