This was the COOLEST town you could ever imagine.  It was called Durnstein and  Minkey Mama and her sister, Dawn, loved it so much that if they get the chance they’re coming back.  They said it was like time never touched it.  It’s about 50 miles out of Vienna in Austria and at the top of  a very, very high incline you have to walk up to get to it.

It was raining when we first arrived, but slowed down after a while.  The town square, right at the top of the hill, was where they were going to hold May Fest later that day.  There was a huge pole in the middle of it, and they said they hang sausages all over it at the top and the children climb to the top to get them.  LOL   Only in Austria and Germany! 

At the top of the mountain are the remains of a castle built in 1192 and where KING RICHARD THE LION HEARTED was held captive.   Just google him if you want more of the historic details.  But it’s the town’s major historical  “claim to fame”.

Minkey liked the little blue and white church the best.  The town people didn’t like it at all when it was built because it stood out from everything else in town too much.   Now it’s the most beloved structure in the town.  It’s in its hallways that Monks walked centuries ago, and some of their tombs are inside with plaster replicas of skeletons at the sides of the huge wooden doors that guard them. 

The hallways were stone and were so old, it was like you could feel your footsteps inside those that had made the little hollowed out areas in the stone all those years ago.  Very cool. 

There were also these tiny little wrought iron windows and a few larger ones throughout the hallways where the sun shone in on the brick floors like a mist of ancient light.  They looked out on the Danube and the pretty walkway outside the church built over the river.   A big part of the church kind of hangs over the river, so I guess that’s why the outside walkway was built.

We got to go outside and walk around on the balcony over the Danube and take pictures and enjoy the view.  It was amazing, and Minkey went crazy because there were so many fun places to climb on.    He got so wild, Minkey Mama was afraid he would fall into the Danube.  So she finally had to put him in the dreaded PURSE to calm him down.  BLAH!!! 

 The town had little hidden surprises everywhere.  Like the cemetery above and below this post …. it was up a very old set of wooden stairs near the edge of town that looked like nothing much would be up there.  WRONG.   It was the most beautiful, peaceful place you could imagine and was high on the side of the mountain overlooking the town and the Danube River.

Then you might go up a very steep brick or cobblestone incline and there would be a narrower street of tiny cottages and fun little shops in bright pretty colors with flowers and plants decorating the outsides of the structures as well as those cool little signs that hang on the buildings sideways.  Very European and charming.

It’s in the heart of the Wachau Valley where there lots of vineyards that are major suppliers of Reisling Wine.   Germany and all of Eastern Europe has some incredible wines. 

We got to sample a lot, so the Minkster was in Wine Heaven.   Minkey Mama doesn’t let him drink at home because she says she’d have to send him to Monkey AA if she did, but she let him have wine while we were over there because it’s part of the culture.

In this area is also a town called MELK which is known for the most beautiful cathedral Minkey Mama had ever seen , and she’s been to 7 countries, so she’s seen quite a few.    This cathedral was originally built for the monarchy under Maria Theresa and later became a monastery for the Benedictine Monks.   Pretty fancy by Monk standards ….. or anybody’s standards for that matter!   You can see it below in the next post.   It’s not far from Durnstein and is officially in the country of Austria very near Vienna.

This is one of the shops we loved with window flower boxes, shutters, and the charming lanterns and sideways signs, and below is that beautiful cemetery overlooking the town and the Danube River.

    TOWN OF MELK & THE BENEDICTINE ABBEY

…. 

This cathedral will take your breath away from the moment you walk in the doorway.  The word spectacular doesn’t even come close to the feeling you get when you enter it.  It’s truly “awe-inspiring” to describe one of Minkey Mama’s fancy long phrases.  Sometimes she gets so excited over things,  she makes me gag.   Geeeeez, Louise.   CALM DOWN, Minkey Mama!!!   HeeeeeHeeeeeee!   If Minkey had a purse, he’d put HER in it for a change to shut her up.

Well, guys, this it is it for Durnstein.   This whole post is a tiny, tiny part of everything we saw and did, but we had to cut it off somewhere.  Otherwise, we’d have to get one of those fancy numbers from the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and publish it as a book!

Hope this wasn’t too boring for my fun-loving peeps and fans.   But you can’t really talk about places like this without telling what the pictures are all about.   So it couldn’t be quite as crazy as some of the Minkster’s posts are.    Trust me, he got in plenty of trouble (especially at churches), and kept all the other passengers and crew stirred up all the time.  As this one British lady onboard said,  “EVERYBODY KNOWS WHO MINKEY IS!”.  LOL

Ok.  That’s really it for now.  

Check you peeps out later.   After the $$$ we spent, our next trip will be to Ft. Worth, Texas, about 2 miles from where we live.   Hahaha!    Well, it is a  COW TOWN, so it’s at least TEXAS history.    

Hope y’all enjoyed this!

xxxooo

Minkey AND Minkey Mama

OH, AND HERE IS THE SLIDESHOW.  Hope it works for you.  Flickr keeps changing their data base and messing them up.

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