Cruising the Danube River to Melk Abbey

On November 24 we cruised up the Danube river, and went to Melk Abbey in the town of Melk, Austria.  Here are some photos of the scenery on the trip there.  The upper Danube is beautiful:

We couldn't take photos inside the Abbey, but here are some of the outside:

Views of the town of Melk from a terrace at the back:

The church part of the abbey, from the terrace:

This was the library, as we are about to enter the doors there and continue the tour:

Passageway off the courtyard:

The staircase that we entered the abbey from:

Clock in the courtyard:

Pavillion in the gardens:

View of the abbey from a modern visitor's centre beside the abbey:

I liked the rock patterns in this garden wall as we walked back towards the bus:

The grand staircase down from the parking lot, with Ed on the right:

View of the abbey from the parking lot:

After the tour, we took a bus back to the ship, which had sailed on to the town of Ybbs in our absence, we got lucky and had a seat near the front, I took this photo between the seats:

A building beside the dock in Ybbs:

The dam at Ybbs:

A large police academy is located there, the buildings are beautiful.  We sailed past them on the way out of Ybbs, just as it was getting dark:

Next stop: Passau, Germany.