Melk Abbey

All my photos are from the outside areas of the abbey. We did tour several indoor rooms as well as the library and church. No photos were allowed inside the museum, library or church.

Stift Melk (Melk Abbey) is a renowned Benedictine monastery in Austria, located on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube River. Founded in 1089, it is a significant, UNESCO-listed Baroque architectural masterpiece that operates as an active monastery, school, and cultural center. The term Stift means abbey or foundation, and it represents a major center of faith and history.

The history of Austria is closely connected with the history of Melk Abbey. Some of the first rulers of Austria, the margraves Heinrich, Adalbert and Ernst are buried in the collegiate church. Also buried there is the first patron saint of the Babenbergs, St. Koloman, who was the patron saint of the country until the 17th century.

Melk Abbey is one of the most beautiful and largest unified Baroque ensembles in Europe. Its magnificent architecture is known worldwide and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The baroque building (1702 – 1739) on a rock above the Danube is one of the most visited art-historical sites in Austria.

Known for its active Benedictine community following the motto of Ora et Labora et Lege (pray, work, and learn).

The italicized parts of my posts are information from the Melk Abbey website.

Our group from the river cruise were divided into two groups and we were the only folk at the Abbey at this point in the late afternoon. Our group went through the Abbey last and our tour guide locked up each room as we exited the room.

The Prelate’s Courtyard forms a trapezoid, 275 ft. long and 138 ft. wide. On the cornices on each of the four sides are statues of apostles and prophets. In the center of each cornice is an area framed by a round arch. These originally contained Baroque frescos by Franz Rosenstingl but, unable to be restored, were replaced recently (1988) with more contemporary forms by Peter Bischof and Helmut Krumpel.

The four murals in the courtyard represent four virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.

Time to walk up all those stairs to our bus that would take us back to the AmaMagna for dinner. We turned right at the stairs and took the elevator instead.

This was the night we were slated for a smaller dinner group in the Al Fresco Restaurant and I’ll share that dinner event in another post.

Dürnstein, Austria

On Tuesday March 3rd we had a one hour walking tour of the little town of Durnstein before we continued by bus to Melk Abbey. I’m breaking up the posts on this day because of photo overload.

You could tell our tour guide has been doing this tour for a long time. Her younger sister was also another tour guide.

Dürnstein (German pronunciation: [ˈdʏʁnˌʃtaɪ̯n]) is a small town on the Danube river in the Krems-Land district, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is one of the most-visited tourist destinations in the Wachau region and also a well-known wine growing area

The town gained its name from the medieval Dürnstein castle, which overlooked it. The castle’s name derived from the German duerr/dürr, meaning “dry”, and Stein, “stone”. The stone castle was dry because it was located on a rocky hill, high above the damp conditions of the Danube at the base of the hill. The modern town stands between the castle and the river.

Dürnstein was first mentioned in 1192 when, in the castle above the town, King Richard I of England was held captive by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, after their dispute during the Third Crusade. Richard the Lionheart had offended Leopold the Virtuous by casting down his standard from the walls at the Battle of Acre, and the duke suspected that King Richard ordered the murder of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat in Jerusalem. In consequence Pope Celestine III excommunicated Leopold for capturing a fellow crusader. The duke finally gave custody of the king to Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who imprisoned Richard at Trifels Castle.

I don’t know if this is the kind of Copy Right I would want to market with. The chocolate covered treats and the apricot bits were good, though.

I enjoyed the signs for the shops and restaurants.

Interesting architecture and the cobbled streets were distinct.

In the vibrant heart of Dürnstein, our estate stands proudly, nestled beside the historic town hall and set against the tranquil backdrop of the lightly traveled village street. A charming courtyard leads you up a stone staircase into the embrace of an ancient gem, built in 1453. On the first floor, you will find cozy guest rooms with private bathrooms and modern TVs, as well as direct access to a dreamy garden paradise. Here, after an eventful day, you can unwind in an oasis of tranquility or lose track of time while savoring a fine glass of wine.

This little town boasts a 5 star hotel, Hotel Schloss Durnstein. Entrance to the courtyard above.

I posted several photos in another post of this blue tower when we passed it earlier on this day. While we were in Durnstein we didn’t walk to this former monastery but after the fact we realized it was a big part of historic Durnstein.

History of Stift Dürnstein

Stift Dürnstein was founded in 1410 as an Augustinian Canons monastery. It was part of a larger spiritual and religious network that played a significant role in the medieval region. However, Dürnstein was already famous by the 11th century, particularly due to the imprisonment of Richard the Lionheart, who was held captive in the nearby castle of Dürnstein.

The monastery experienced its golden age in the 18th century when it was rebuilt in the Baroque style. Under the direction of renowned Baroque architects Jakob Prandtauer and Joseph Munggenast, the monastery was transformed into the magnificent structure seen today. The distinctive blue-and-white church tower, visible from afar, has become one of the iconic landmarks of the Wachau Valley.

In 1788, the monastery was secularized, and the Augustinian Canons left. Today, the monastery serves as a venue for cultural events and is a popular destination for visitors eager to explore its rich history and Baroque splendor.

We headed back to the bus for our trip to Melk Abbey Visit. After our visit to Melk we would be bused to the AmaMagna that was now docked in Melk. We would reach the boat in time for dinner and on this night we were scheduled to enjoy the Chef’s Table.

Scenic Sailing Wachau Valley

On Tuesday March 3rd we had scenic sailing all morning in the Wachau Valley. This is an UNESCO Heritage site. We cruised by small villages, churches and terraced vineyards. This is some of the more beautiful stretches of the Danube.

It would be more colorful and lovely in a different season of the year. Early March is still winter and can be quite stark.

This was a confusing traveling day, I missed the fact that we had sailed past Vienna but then watched as we sailed past Krems and then while we were touring the boat came back to Krems to dock before sailing back to Vienna.

We docked in Weibenkirchen for a short time. Our final docking on this day would be in Melk.

This little village was pretty sleepy with few shops and of those shops, nothing was open. I’m guessing they cater to late Spring and summer traffic. On this day we were bussed to Durnstein for an hour visit of this village and then to the Benedictine Melk Abbey overlooking the Danube. Those excursions will be another post.

While we were on those excursions the Magna sailed on to Melk where we met up after our tour and had dinner.

Bratislava, Slovakia

On Monday March 2nd, we were up early and the views along the river were moody until the sun broke through. We had sailed all night and into the morning. It was 140 miles from Budapest to Bratislava. We passed through the largest lock on our journey, Gabcikovo Lock & Hydroelectric Powerplant. We wouldn’t arrive to Bratislava until after lunch.

We are in the lock in this photo.

We were recuperating from our rude wake up call because of the fraud on our credit card.

We decided on having lunch in Jimmy’s Restaurant on this day.

We had signed up for Tastes of Slovakia excursion but decided against it since we docked early and we didn’t want to have to come back to the boat to join the excursion.

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. It was a short distance from the vessel. We enjoyed the old town and then were on a quest to find the Bratislava Flagship Restaurant, which proved to be a little difficult to navigate.

We headed to Michael’s Tower and Gate.

Of the original four gates to the original city walls, only the northern Michalská gate has been preserved. It was completed in the 14th century. It was named after the Gothic church of St. Michal, which was located before the fortification and was demolished in the 16th century during incursions of Turkish troops. Since its creation, it has been extended several times until it got its final appearance in the 18th century, shortly before almost all of the city’s fortifications were demolished.

The Statue of St. Michael the archangel with the dragon sits on top.

In the head of the statue, there is a time box from 1758.

Other statues caught my eye.

Along our haphazard journey we saw the Church of the Annunciation.

The Franciscan Church is the oldest existing religious building in the Old Town of Bratislava. The church was consecrated in the year 1297 in the presence of King Andrew III of Hungary. In the past, the church building served for larger gatherings of townspeople or Hungarian nobles.

Stained glass window depicting the Annunciation, The Angel Gabriel foretelling the birth of Jesus to Mary.

We continued on our way…

We thought this might be our destination, but it wasn’t. There was an amazing looking bakery here and we were too focused on our quest to buy something.

Finally we found the correct entrance to this 18th century monastery and theater that houses the Bratislava Flagship Restaurant.

We followed the signs.

Up the stairs? Yes, up the stairs.

We sat in this space next to the bar below at a community table. This part of the building was a theater. It also has history as being a hospital at some point in time. On what was possibly the stage of the theater is a huge clay model of Bethlehem.

We were exhausted at this point from the zigzag course we took to get to the restaurant and were happy to have these two mugs set in front of us. These were their signature brews.

The cold brew in these dimpled glass beer steins were appreciated. There were two other folk sitting at the other side of the table, a father and daughter from Ireland. We had a nice conversation with them.

Reading a little about Bratislava before we arrived had me curious about what people called the Blue Church. That was our next quest on the way back to our boat.

The Church of St. Elizabeth, commonly known as Blue Church, is a Hungarian-Secessionist Catholic church located in the eastern part of the Old Town in Bratislava, present-day Slovakia. It is consecrated to Elisabeth of Hungary, daughter of Andrew II, who grew up in the Pressburg Castle.

Constructed in the early 20th century, it was built during a time when Art Nouveau was at its peak in Europe. The church is named after St. Elizabeth of Hungary, reflecting the town’s historical ties with Hungarian culture.

The church, consecrated in 1913, is known for its fairytale appearance and is often regarded as one of the most unique examples of early 20th-century religious architecture in Central Europe.

Mosaic of St. Elizabeth: Located above the gate, this 2.6-meter diameter mosaic depicts St. Elizabeth of Hungary and the “Miracle of the Rose.”

We were able to just get inside a little vestibule area with locked iron gates so we couldn’t walk in amongst the pews. I think Blue church is a very appropriate name for this gem. As you can see even the pews are blue. The walls are blue, too, except for the Altar area.

The painting depicts St. Elizabeth distributing food to the poor.

We made it back to the boat anxious for a restroom (TMI). It was not easy to find public restrooms in the European towns we visited and local currency was necessary for those public restrooms in most cases. We countered this problem for the most part with good timing for restaurants and museums, etc., where restrooms were available without cost.

Back on the boat I changed out my shoes for my slippers as my feet were yelling, especially my baby toe with a huge blister! It was nice to relax on the upper deck and watch the sun setting before our onboard Sip and Sail followed by dinner.

We would be cruising overnight to Krems in Austria-gateway to the beautiful Wachau Valley, known for vineyards and apricots!

Thank you for following along on our journeys from the beginning of March!

Sibs and Sips Hodgepodge

All my living siblings in 2003 in age order left to right, oldest to youngest. I’m in the middle.

Time once again for the Hodgepodge questions from Joyce!

1. Egg on your face, putting all your eggs in one basket, a good egg, walk on eggshells, nest egg, or a tough egg to crack…which eggy idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain

This one wasn’t easy for me. I’ll go with walk on eggshells because of my whole Plantar Fasciitis episode in 2025. I try to walk lightly and I don’t jump or run or stay on my feet in general for long periods of time. I threw caution to the wind on our latest trip in Europe and England where we walked and walked and were on our feet every day. So thankful that my feet survived.

2. April 7th is National Beer Day…are you a beer drinker? If so do you have a favorite?

I do enjoy a good beer once in a while and especially on a sunny day. (Don’t tell my mom…oh never mind she’s in heaven now and she doesn’t care anymore.) Speaking of my mom, today was her birthday when she was on earth. She was a good Russian Baptist…no drinking, no smoking, no dancing, no gambling, no cussing. 🙂

IPA’s and Dark beer, like Guinness, are favorites.

These photos, above and below, are from Bratislava, Slovakia. These are the two beers that are brewed at Bratislava Flagship Restaurant, a Slovak beer hall housed in an 18th century monastery.

I’ll have a full post soon about our time in Bratislava.

Beer battered fish, beer bread, beer can chicken, beer brats…which one sounds good to you? Have you made any of these?

Beer battered fish and beer can chicken sound the best to me.

3. Do you have siblings?

I have/had eight siblings. Our oldest sister died in Persia/Iran when she was only two. I have seven living siblings, three sisters and four brothers. Four of my siblings still live in Southern California. Two (the twins) live in Texas. I’m the only one in the state of Washington.

Here is our oldest sister, Kathy, who died in Persia and what our Pop wrote about her in his life story.

On April 25, 1944 our first daughter was born. She was the ideal baby – beautiful, happy, loveable. Then in early 1946 she contracted dysentery and died. Our hearts were broken. In addition we as parents were blamed for her death because we didn’t have a dedication ceremony for her when she was born – neither in the Baptist or the Molokan church – because we could not agree as to what church should conduct it. This guilt added to our grief. But fortunately, it was mitigated with the birth of our second daughter, Kathy, in May of 1946.

Yes, they named their second daughter Kathy, too.

What’s the best thing about being your sibling? If you don’t have siblings, what would you say are the pros and cons of being an only child?

I keep in contact and check up on my siblings. On many occasions, I’m the communication link for us all. Over the years all of my siblings (but one) have stayed in our home for an overnight or longer visit.

My older brother has chosen to separate himself and his family from the rest of us for the past twenty or more years. It is hard to understand and sad for all of us.

4. How do you feel about floral scents in products? Do you have a favorite?

I’d rather enjoy real flowers with their scents. I’m not a big fan of manufactured scents in general. Subtle fragrance in candles are okay. I like a clean light citrus scent. If I was to pick a floral fragrance, I’d choose lavender.

5. What’s one thing in your home that begins with the letter G that you would say is a keeper, something you’ll hold on to? Tell us why.

I could have said the Grand Piano but that is slated to go to our daughter in the future.

I’m going with goblets. I like a nice goblet to set a table with. When we moved I scaled down on my goblets but I still have a nice collection in different colors and clear glass, too.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

It has been so beautiful here the past several days.

I finished this very hard puzzle yesterday. It was a challenge and it felt good to put the last piece in!

I’m still basking in the celebration of Easter and my wonderful Savior who when I repented gave me immunity with his own life and not just immunity but I was delivered by God from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

Leaving Budapest

Our boat set on it’s cruising course on the evening of Sunday March 1st. The captain let us know when we would be traveling past the Parliament building so we could get the night time photos. It was during our dinner that we sailed past.

Below is a fold out map of the parts of the Danube that we would be traveling on.

Our first stop would be at Bratislava, Slovakia.

We would then cruise beyond Vienna to Melk, Linz and Grein returning to Vienna for a two night stay before we returned to Budapest.

On this first evening on board we had a welcome cocktail with the captain of the ship for his mandatory safety briefing.

For our cruise the heads of the departments were from Spain, Romania, Indonesia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Poland, and the Philippines. During our briefing we met some of the heads.

Dinner on the first night was open seating and we sat at a table of eight and enjoyed learning about the different people we ate with.

Most days breakfast was from 7:30 – 9:30 with a bistro option from 6:30am-10:30am for early or late risers.

Lunch was served from 12:30 until 2:00

Dinner was from 7:00-8:30 (some evenings dinner started later when excursions were longer)

There was a sip and sail cocktail hour every evening and after dinner entertainment, too.

Late night snacks were available each evening.

On this first night of our journey I woke and looked at my phone to see what time it was. It was 2am and I noticed a message from our credit card company about possible fraud on my card. After a call to the credit card company to verify that I did not make the charge, I was advised to destroy my card and they would issue me a new one. What a bother that was so early into our trip. Thankfully we would still be able to use Greg’s card. Next time we travel I’ll take a back up card, too. Oye! Needless to say there was no going back to sleep for me and when I made the call to our credit card company Greg was up, too. After a couple hours we ended up going in search of coffee. Coffee pods were available in our room but we preferred going to the machines on board that were available 24 hours a day.

Next river cruise post will be about Bratislava, Slovakia.

Back to the present: What beautiful weather we have been enjoying since Saturday. The highs are reaching 60 and beyond with lots of sunshine and blue skies. We even got outside to clear some of the thousands of branches that are strewn across our yard from the major wind storm that developed while we were away.

Our kids gathered the largest branches while we were gone but there are many more smaller branches that still need gathering.

Our unprotected daffodils finally opened up on Easter.

These tulips that we bought at Trader Joe’s this past Saturday are Peony Tulips. They make me smile.

I’ve made good progress on my Easter puzzle and only have the very hardest dark part left.

That is all the up to the minute news from our house to yours. Hope all is well in your corner.

Jesus Prepares to Die…

On the Thursday of Easter week we remember the Passover supper Jesus had with his disciples and the washing of the disciples feet. Some of what Jesus shared with his disciples on this day in history is copied below.

Excerpts from John chapter 13…

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Artists have tried to depict the last supper and we’ve seen some of those attempts in person over the years in our travels.

While in England in 2014 year we saw two amazing paintings of the last supper, one in the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist in Windsor and one in the chapel of Magdalen College.

Above the stalls in the chapel hangs Giampetrino’s remarkable 15th copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, on permanent loan from the Royal Academy. In view of the bad condition of the original fresco in Milan, Magdalen’s copy on canvas is a piece of increasing historic and artistic significance.

This photo is a life sized artist’s depiction of the night Jesus had the Passover meal with his disciples, the event we call the Last Supper. This was taken at the Monumentale Cemetery in Milan Italy in 2013. “Do this in remembrance of me”

There seems to be only 11 of the 12 disciples which makes me wonder if the artist depicted the scene after Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, had left the meal.

The sculpture of Jesus washing Peter’s feet at the top of this post was taken in Thousand Oaks California at the Gardens of the World.

“Come, my heart, rejoice in the immunity that your Redeemer has secured for you, and bless His name all day and everyday.” C.H. Spurgeon

Easter week, remembering what was accomplished by Jesus on the Cross and in His resurrection, our redemption, is celebrated every week and every day for true believers!

March Was Lovely Hodgepodge

Thank you, Joyce for keeping the Hodgepodge questions coming.

1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less.

Budapest, Bratislava, Czech-Republic, Austria, Cambridge, Seventy-Five, Nine…Travel and Birthday Joys!

2. Are you afraid of heights? No

When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous?

Besides flying at whatever thousands of feet, the highest was climbing with our own two feet to the Panorama Look-Out at St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest last month.

It did not make me nervous until we started down on these stairs.

3. What’s a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down?

Occassion , Ocasion, Ocassion, Occasion whew…finally I got it right.

Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar.

We are looking forward to several occasions to celebrate in April starting with Resurrection Sunday and then two more family birthdays.

4. Love ’em or hate ’em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So… do you love ’em or hate ’em?

I neither love them or hate them, I ignore them.

Speaking of peeps, what’s your favorite way to have chicken?

Chicken pot pie is a favorite.

5. This week’s Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry? Share a favorite line or two from one of your favorite poems. What makes this one a favorite?

The form of poetry I love are old hymns by people like Fanny Crosby, John Newton, Wesley, and others. I’ll share a stanza and refrain from Fanny Crosby’s, Like a River Glorious;

Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase
Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.

Refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest

This has been a favorite for years. It was a hymn we sang often at Bethany Baptist church in L.A. and in other churches we’ve been a part of. It has a great four part harmony and the alto part comes back to my memory easily when singing it with the congregation. The longer I’ve been following Jesus as my Lord and Savior, God’s peace gets fuller and deeper.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

It’s Easter week and this is another hymn that speaks of Jesus Christ and what the cross, Good Friday and Easter are about. Happy Easter, Hodgepodgers!

Lamb of God, We Fall Before Thee

Lamb of God, we fall before Thee,
Humbly trusting in Thy cross.
That alone be all our glory;
All things else are only dross.

Thee we own a perfect Savior,
Only source of all that’s good.
Every grace and every favor
Comes to us through Jesus’ blood.

Jesus gives us true repentance
By His Spirit sent from Heav’n;
Whispers this transporting sentence,
Son, thy sins are all forgiv’n.

Faith He grants us to believe it,
Grateful hearts His love to prize;
Want we wisdom? He must give it,
Hearing ears and seeing eyes.

Jesus gives us pure affections,
Wills to do what He requires,
Makes us follow His directions,
And what He commands, inspires.

All our prayers and all our praises,
Rightly offered in His name—
He that dictates them is Jesus;
He that answers is the same.

When we live on Jesu’s merit,
Then we worship God aright;
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Then we savingly unite.

Hear the whole conclusion of it:
Great or good, whate’er we call,
God, or King, or Priest, or Prophet,
Jesus Christ is all in all.

Words: Joseph Hart, 1759

Hero’s Temple and Jewish Museum ~ Budapest

We continued our tour of the Dohany Street Synagogue and other buildings on the grounds on Sunday, March 1st.

The Heroes’ Temple has become an inseparable part of the Dohány Street Synagogue.
The arcade and the Heroes’ Temple, designed by László Vágó, seats 186 people. It was built in 1931 and is used for religious services.
The Heroes’ Synagogue commemorates the 10.000 Hungarian Jewish soldiers who earned glory on the battlefields of World War I and died heroes’ deaths.

The museum was the last area we would visit.

The Stained glass windows featured Moses, David and Saul and the last one pictured also featured Daniel in the Lion’s Den.

Speaking of Moses…

We left the Dohany Synagogue property and walked back to the hotel.

On the way we saw a few interesting doors and buildings.

We stopped to exchange our dollars for some Forints, Hungary’s currency.

Hungary has not bought into euros.

The Hungarian forint (HUF) consists of six banknote denominations (500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 Ft) and six coin denominations (5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 Ft). Banknotes feature famous Hungarian historical figures, while coins are used for smaller transactions, with the 200 forint being the highest-value coin. A 200 forint coin is what you need for public restrooms.

2000 forints converts to about $5.94.

We wanted to leave a tip for our room housekeeper at the hotel. It was hard to wrap our heads around such large sounding currency actually being such a small amount in our own currency.

We caught our AmaWaterways shuttle to take us to the boat for our embarkation. I took a video of us walking on to the boat instead of taking photos and never took photos of our room. I took a video of our room. Sad but true I cannot add those videos here.

We had a warm welcome when we arrived and made it to our room where we found our luggage waiting for us with welcome notes and other items.

Our room was one of the least expensive rooms and on the lower deck but we were impressed with the size and the conveniences it afforded. The bed was very comfortable and it was larger than a queen. Another notable thing is how quiet our room was. We never heard any noise from the rooms next to ours. We never heard load engine noises and anything of that kind while in bed for the night.

Our windows were at water level.

The journey would commence on the Danube as we were enjoying our first dinner aboard. We sat at a round table for eight and enjoyed getting to know total strangers that would become more familiar by the end of our seven day journey. We were told that the Captain would tell us when we were passing the Parliament Building in Budapest so we could go up on the upper deck and get some nice photos. I’ll share those photos in my next River Cruise post. This was more of an off season time and there were only 130 passengers on this cruise. The boat could have 190 if full.

Back to the present:

It is the last day of March and we are going full speed ahead to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I finally brought our Easter Bin in. I started a new puzzle this week that Josh and Laura brought last weekend and I don’t think I’ll be able to complete it by Easter. It is a tough one because of the coloring. I’ve done the easiest parts, ha! I’m using my new puzzle mat that Andrew and Katie gifted me for my birthday. It is one of those that you can roll up with the puzzle intact if you need to move it before finishing.

The Empty Tomb!

Thanks for stopping by. Goodbye March and thank you, LORD, for a wonderful month filled with blessings galore!

Panorama Look-Out, St. Stephens Basilica

To get to the panorama views of St. Stephen’s Basilica and Budapest, there was an elevator option and stairs. We took the elevator up but when it was time to go down again we chose the stairs. Thankfully there were good railings and it was an open airy space so we didn’t get claustrophobic.

Saturday February 28th was a beautiful sunny day. We were so thankful.

This view is of the square in front of the Basilica with the pedestrian street beyond that takes you to the Danube. Looking beyond small slice of the Danube you can see the Buda side of Budapest.

On our way down to exit the Basilica we stopped at the Treasury. This painting of Peter and the Rooster caught my eye, “the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times“. This experience of Peter makes me emotionally as I consider times that I’ve denied or not stood up for my Lord and Savior.

The “Holy Family” was painted by Murillo (1682).

An artistic depiction of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the well.

Not quite busts but these circular heads of all the apostles were on an arched ceiling as we left the Treasury.

It was a narrower exit and walkway and I wasn’t able to get photos of all the apostles because of other people pressing in.

We exited the Basilica and found our way to the Jewish District for our lunch meal at Mazel-Tov. I wrote about our eating experience in Budapest and this restaurant in an earlier post.

This was a day that we were up on our feet and walking for the majority of the day. I was thankful that my Plantar Fasciitis was not an issue for me during this trip. I thanked the LORD several times. I did manage to get a nasty blister on my baby toe, though, that I had to doctor and pamper the next few days!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Travel