Weltenburger Monastery

Woke up to a beautiful, cool morning, some clouds in the sky, but the sun promised to be shining for most of the day.  We had a lazy morning, each of us kind of doing their own thing.  Diane was up early, I was awake but refused to get up as I was too cozy.  David was sleeping, as was Brian.  We had all planned to meet up for breakfast downstairs at 9 a.m.  Uli and Walter already had a big spread laid out for us inside the dining room.  Walter was the barrista and made all of us wonderful coffees to personal order - latte macchiato, Americana, espresso, and tea.  We sat down and helped ourselves to various breads, meats, cheeses, jams, jellies, and some special honey that Uli shared with us.  Walter made us some special white sausage, which is supposed to be eaten in the morning.  It was very smooth and creamy meat, best eaten with some sweet mustard.  We discussed what plans were for the day and decided upon going to the Weltenburger Monastery.

By 10 a.m. we were loading up the car, David, Brian, Diane, Walter, Miriam and me.  We threw our jackets and umbrellas in the back, just in case.  The drive was about a half of an hour to the town of Kelheim where we decided NOT to take jackets or umbrellas because it was such a gorgeous day and no rain clouds in sight.  Walter was our fearless leader, and we took off walking down a beautiful path, towards our destination of the Weltenburger Monastery, which was 5.7 km or 3.54 miles.  The windy path was right next to the Danube River, which was swollen from the enormous amounts of rain that Germany has received lately, but not too flooded that we were unable to take the trail.  Huge trees loomed above us, both up the sides of the mountains and right on the walkway as well.  A profusion of greenery surrounded us on all sides, flowers, bushes, and moss covered trees.  The footpath was sunny and warm until we were driven up to the next higher path due to the level of the overflowing river.  Then we were surrounded by the coolness of the trees and the sounds  and sights of nature.

We found a huge tree snail as we walked, as well as a beautifully colored lizard that surprised the heck out of me when I bent down to touch the water.  Lol. Came to a small, and very old,  kloster  (church) built in the year 1411.  It was literally built into the side of a cliff.  Walked and walked and looked and observed and talked and were quiet at times as well, just enjoying being surrounded by such calming nature.


At one point we had to go UP the
mountain...  this meant going up, up, up some wooden stairs that were (thank heaven) put into the side of the mountain to help us go up.  We were huffing and puffing until we finally reached the summit.  Yes, we did take a few breathers along the way.  And my calves are still very sore from all the stairs we did in Paris! We had a few breath taking lookout points, our favorite being the one where we could finally see the Weltenburger Monastery.  Such an incredibly beautiful compound, with the walled in church, the rock beach, and the swirling river in front.  We got to the bottom of our mountain and took a little skiff (boat) across the river to the shore.  Skipped a few flat rocks into the river...  Brian won with 4 skips.  Headed off into the main gate and were awed at all that was contained there.  Decided that we deserved a bier after that long trek in and sat down at a big table right away.

Everyone ordered the famous and delicious Welterburger Barok Dunkel (dark), except David, who went with a Hefeweisen.  We were hungry, but not starving, so Walter ordered us some regional dishes that he assured us that we would love.  We shared 3 meals amongst the 6 of us and it was perfect.  We had Schweinshaxe, Schweinebraten, Leberkaese, Krautsalat, Kartoffelsalat und  then, believe it or not, Walter talked us in to having some dessert, too, Dampfnudeln with Vanillasouce and plums.  Sooooo delicious!  OK...  Walter typed this up for me in German, so I will just tell you there was some pork shank with crispy skin, potato salad, cabbage salad (like the beginnings of saurkraut), a delicious potato dumpling that was just so airy and spongy.  YUM is what it was!

Walked around the compound and checked out the church there, one of the most ornate in the entire world, due to the amount of gold that was used to decorate the inside.  Absolutely stunning.   Then off to hike up a hill, or stairs, depending upon which way you wanted to go, and up to a smaller church (kloster) on a hill above the central compound of the Monastery.  Came back down the opposite way that we went up, and, being that it was after 3, decided to go get in line for our ferry ride back to Kelheim.  The cool breeze felt so good on us as we sat in the sun on the deck.  The mountains that rose up around us were all covered in green, and the water was flowing very quickly down the engorged river.  We made quick time with the added help of the raging river, and were back on dry land in no time.  Decided to call it a day rather than go look at a close museum, and drove home quietly, as we were a little spent from our expedition.

Arrived back to Uli's and had coffee, 2 different kinds of homemade cake, and sat on the back patio to enjoy the solitude and beautiful weather.  I had to catch up my blog from yesterday AND get going on todays, so that's what I did.  Brian was checking work emails, Diane was going through her HUNDREDS of photos, only saving the best.  She is doing an incredible job taking all the pictures for our trip and my blog.  David decided to nap, Uli is getting some school stuff ready, as she leaves tomorrow morning to go on a trip with her students to the Special Olympics.  Walter hung out with us for most of the afternoon, talking and relaxing.  Miriam was out for a while, but quietly slipped away.  What a perfect setting for me to blog.  Relaxed and as happy as a clam.  :)

Today is Walter and Uli's 35th wedding anniversary!  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!  We are figuring out what our plans will be for tonight, but Di, Bri, David, and I already decided we want to take them somewhere nice for dinner to celebrate.  So...  more coming later!