Our first stop was at what was once the hunting lodge of Rudolph, the crown prince of Austria, right up to when he shot his mistress and then himself. Yeah, an odd one. In order for him to be buried in the family crypt, his father had him declared mentally unsound, all because he refused to give up his relationship with his mistress. Anyway, afterwards, his father gave the lodge to a group of nuns who turned it into a convent, and it's still in use today. Apparently they spend 8 hours a day praying...
After here, there was a short trip to a monastery that has several monks and priests wandering about doing monkly and priestly things like praying and...praying and...anyway, we got a tour through it and it was actually quite impressive inside with stands for the Gregorian chants that are performed each day, in Latin, the inner garden, the crypt, the housed fountain. Right as we were leaving, there was a motorcycle gang waiting outside as a priest was giving a blessing and flicking holy water on the bikes, before hopping on one himself and taking it for a spin around the block...it was a pretty odd sight to say the least.
Again we hopped on the bust for another short trip to a massive underground grotto which housed the largest underground lake in Europe. Kept at a constant temperature of 9 degrees, it was a little chilly going inside, not to mention a bit of a tight squeeze. I forgot to duck coming back out and got a bump to remind me to do so next time.
Then after going through these tunnels, we came to a flight of stairs down to the boats. Our guide advised that there were 86 steps down, so those of us who didn't feel able to walk them could stay where we were. He also mentioned that even though normally there is 86 steps, occasionally there will be an elusive 87th step and someone will find it. And who was the one to find it? Unco. I also found the 88th and the 89th step too. Luckily I was already at the bottom.
After a quick tour of the lake, it was back up and out and back to Vienna. After a short break, I had my final tour, which included a trip to the amusement park for a trip on the oldest ferris wheel, which offers some spectacular views of the city, particularly at twilight.
Then it was off to a traditional wine tavern for a three course meal of traditional Austrian fare and a program of music, singing and polka dancing.
All in all a pretty good time. Tomorrow will see me at the tail end of my travels with a 3 days in Prague before heading home again.
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