After arriving in Kelheim, we loaded buses for the Weltenburg Monastery. Founded in 620, this Benedictine monastery is believed to be the oldest monastery in Bavaria. The current courtyard with its Baroque buildings dedicated to Saint George were built by the Asam Brothers between 1716 and 1739.
A larger than life sculpture of St. George slaying the dragon and saving the maiden was located above the alter.
Having been in operation since 1050, Weltenburg Abbey brewery is thought by some to be the oldest monastic brewery in the world. In 2004, 2008, and 2012 it won the World Beer Cup award for the best Dunkel beer in the world. In Bavaria, beer is not considered to be alcohol, but food (they even call it liquid bread). So here we are enjoying a pretzel and I a beer at 10:30 in the morning.
After leaving the monastery, we boarded a ferry that transported us back to Kelheim via the Danube Gorge, the narrowest and deepest part of the Bavarian Danube. The dramatic limestone rock formations dated back to the Jurassic Period 180 million years ago. The building in the middle of the photo is Liberation Hall built by Kink Ludwig I of Bavaria between 1842 and 1863.
Along the way we encountered a small statue of St. Nicolas, patron saint of merchants and sailors.
We returned to the ship for lunch and then hopped back on our bus for a 45 minute ride to Beilingries where we went to the home of a local resident for a “Kaffeeklatsch.” After a tour of her lovely gardens and home, our host treated us to coffee and dessert. In the photo below, we are looking down into her yard from her third story loft. The dark green object in the lower left corner is a robotic lawn mower like a Roomba vacuum used on floors. You can see the patterns it has made on the lawn.
For the next two days, we will be traveling on the man-made Rhine-Main-Danube canal that crosses the European continental divide. Tomorrow, we will spend the day in Nuremberg.
No comments:
Post a Comment