On the river in Austria
Guten Tag,
We left Grein early this morning, though not as early as we’d hoped. We woke about 5 am but didn’t actually leave until 7:25. We’ve done three locks and are still going now at 4 pm.
Leaving a fog shrouded Grein behind.
Grein was charming, just big enough to explore but small enough to do it easily on foot in a day. Our second full day we visited the Castle Greinburg. I have lots of photos but their website tells lots for anyone interested in castles.
Not sure where we’ll be tonight, but tomorrow we should be in Vienna.
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http://www.schloss-greinburg.at/english/index.html tells all about the history of the castle and offers a virtual tour.
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The castle overlooks the town and DoraMac
Looking down at DoraMac from the castle |
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Buying our tickets; no over 60 or 65 concession prices. Bicycle Parking with rings for chain locks. |
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Walking through the Gate Tower into the Arcaded Court Every arechway had stags horns… with painted stag faces.
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“ The “Diamond Vault” dates back to the original building period in the late Middle Ages. It is the only example of a vault of this kind in Austria.” Castle Greinberg brochure |
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Great Hall of the Knights The decoration over the door is painted, not carved wood |
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Castle Chapel created during the Counter-Reformation. “In the chapel stands an exceptionally fine baroque altar. It is decorated with various scenes from the Nativity, with the Adoration of the Shepherds as the central motif. The structural reinforcement of the altar from behind is also remarkable.” Castle Greinburg brochure
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Not marble, but faux finish . |
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Artificial Grotton “The Sala Terrena is known as the ‘Stone Theatre’ because of its unusual form of decoration. A Danube-pebble mosaic covering the entire surface of the walls and ceiling depicts the imaginary continuation of the arcades and a garden pavilion looking out onto and open landscape.” Castle Greinburg brochure |
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Beautiful blue and purple hydrangeas in the Castle garden |
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Will one day garden statues be holding Kindles…. |
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A found a shop with lovely crafts and cards made and run (with some help) by adults with special needs.
These are the two lovely cards I bought.
I saw this photo in a window down the street and recognized the young man behind the cash register who is second from the left in this photo. There was a woman weaving on a large floor loom, but she didn’t want her photo taken so I didn’t. |
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A statue to the men who, once upon a time, poled the boats down the river.
This drawing was in the castle. |
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After our walk around town we stopped along the river for a snack. A cruise ship pulled in and we watched them having a time getting a second line to shore (they should have taken the really easy way but were trying the show-off way instead.) The top deck was full of bicycles and it occurred to me that the top deck was an odd place for bikes. You had to get them up and down. We wondered how that was done and soon found out. |
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For Jane and Peter, the real lock was at the Castle |
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And for Martha whose home becomes Pension Martha when Randal and I visit. |
