We had our first official "Day Trip" to Melk, Austria today! The group got up and met at the bus station at 8am... which was VERY early for us! :) Amber and I heard rumors that the weather was supposed to be in the 70's on Sunday, so we thought it would be suitable to wear shorts. We walked out to the bus, and everyone else was layered up in fleece jackets, jeans, and boots. Here come Amanda and Amber, the token Southerners, in their black shorts, flip flops, and cute shirts. Luckily, we both brought matching sweaters, in case of a slight chill in the air. Everyone else looked prepared for an arctic blizzard, and Amber and I were ready to go to the beach! Needless to say, we got several wierd looks from the other 100 people standing at the bus stop. We made it work, though, and the entire day made small comments like, "Wow, I'm so glad it's so nice out today. Pretty warm, huh" ... even if we stood huddled together for warmth. Maybe we'll start a trend!

The bus ride to Melk was pretty fun. Amber and I sat around Joe, Steve, Ralph, Ryan from Phili, and Andrew. We had a pretty good time, just laughing and talking about sports! Ryan from Philadelphia said he was very surprised that Amber and I knew as much about college sports as we did. We were pretty proud of ourselves! Then a guy a few seats behind us, Ryan from Oregon, wanted to know if Amber and I would come to this sports bar this week with him, because he wanted to talk football with somebody who knew what they were talking about. :)

We arrived in Melk, which is one of the cutest, most picturesque towns that I've ever seen. There were small cobblestone streets that slowly curved and winded up the mountains. At the top of the largest hill was the Melk Abbey, which is over 900 years old. The abbey is also still running, with around 30 monks that still work and study there. We went on a tour through the libraries, gardens, and rooms of the abbey. We got to see one of the ceremonial capes that the highest bishop wears during important events, and also one of the smallest little books I've ever seen! This book was about the size of my hand when it's opened, and contained the beginnings of all of the prayers and guidelines for the monks. None of the prayers contained inside were complete, because the monks were supposed to memorize them all! I thought that was very awesome!

In the library of the abbey was a very impressive ceiling. Painted on it were Greek mythological figures, which, we were told by our guide, were painted there because the rulers during the period that the abbey was built were obsessed with being like the Greek gods. They wanted to rule with the strength of Hercules and the wisdom of Athena, so they painted them everywhere. Also in the library were golden statues representing medicine, education, law, and music. They were amazing! The library was definately my favorite building of the abbey. The entire focus of the Benedictine monks life was to "work, pray, and study." I really liked this! This abbey was SO peaceful and really just a calming place. Our tour guide was also very fun and made this trip very worth our while!

After leaving the abbey, we went to eat a 3 course meal with the entire group. Mom would be happy, because this was probably the first proper meal that I'd eaten on the entire trip! oops! -- I ate Zander fish, salad, and apple strudel. Let me just say, that it was AMAZING! Amber and I sat across from Simone (from Italy) and Carlos (from Spain). Carlos tried to help us practice our Spanish skills by talking to us in all Spanish. He was impressed that we could understand some and say a little bit back. This dinner was SO much fun! We love these guys!

After a marvelous dinner, we headed off to a vineyard for wine testing and a tour. Now, I am all about being "one with nature," but none of us expected what we were about to experience.... the poeple who owned this vineyard were all about appeasing the wine gods (which apparently come in the form of a goat), so all throughout the wine cellars (which took about an hour to walk through), there were some very strange alters built to these goat people. There was some type of maze with shooting water and lights, built to keep the spirit of the grapes at peace.... come on now.... I don't think the grapes are going to get mad and refuse to be turned into wine if they don't get to listen to their favorite country music, do you? After we left the cellar, there was a room that displayed the three different situations where wine is important: birth, love, and death. In the section of this rather dicso-looking mirror room about birth, there stood a single table. Out of this table poked a little upside-down baby foot. (why is there the foot of a small child sticking out of a table deep in a wine cellar, you ask? We thought the SAME thing) You were supposed to tickle this plastic baby foot to symbolize drinking wine at a child's birth..... nooo thank you, weird wine people! This was the wierdest vineyard that I'd EVER been to, but by far the most entertaining. Amber, me, and our friend James from New Zealand laughed a lot at the crazy things around each corner of the cellar... this is an experience that I will never forget. I think the owners had one too many drinks of that wine, if you ask me!