Melk Abbey and the Best Chocolate Ever!

For our second day in Austria, we spent a fun morning on the roof deck enjoying the scenery as we sailed the Danube. It was cold so we were all bundled up and the Viking staff served us shots of wonderful apricot snaps made locally.

In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to visit the Melk Abbey and it did not disappoint! It’s a Benedictine monastery that goes back to 1089. The architecture was beautiful as was the church. We were not allowed to photograph the interior of the church but it was exquisite. Our tour guide told us that there is over 11 pounds of gold inside and I have no doubt about this claim. The tour included both a museum as well as the opportunity to see some of the rooms the Hapsburg family occasionally used when visiting the area.

We ended our visit with a quick stop at the gift shop to purchase some amazing fruit-filled chocolate someone told me about as well a visit to the gardens. Others in our group used the opportunity to purchase some of the local wines produced in the area. The gift shops all had impressive displays of wine for sale.