SOMETIMES IT'S STRESSFUL

            Stress and a Great Drink

When biking along the Danube we had many interesting experiences. Ten kilometers out of Linz, Austria our guide stopped us   saying, “For the rest of the ride today you  must use extra caution. We are about to enter an elevated bike path. It is a concrete sidewalk about three feet above the street level. Traffic will be heavy and moving fast on your right and bikers going in the opposite direction will be passing on your left. Keeping your distance is very important. I caution you to be especially alert.”

It was a stressful six miles. I kept my eyes on the sidewalk and tried to ignore the vehicles whizzing by on the highway below. I would have been more comfortable if we were riding on the inside instead of the bikers going in the opposite direction. Fortunately we all made it safely with no mishaps.

Although stressed at the end of the day  I was surprised to find I was not as tired after this 40 mile day as I was on the first day to Passau. We arrived at our hotel about 5:00PM.

I was dying for a nice big glass of ice tea, something unheard of in most of Europe. After entering the hotel I went directly to the bar and asked  "May I have (buy) a cup of hot tea?”

“Yes.”

When I was handed the tea I asked, “Now, may I have the largest container you have full of ice?”

“Really?” the bar tender said as he gave me a strange look.

“Yes, please. And may I take this all up to my room? I will return everything to you when we come down to dinner.”

The bar tender was shaking his head as I walked  to the elevator.  In my room I grabbed a glass, filled it with ice and poured in the tea. Ay, the pleasure!  And that is how I got my one and only glass of ice tea on the entire trip.

I did return everything to the bar and thanked the bartender. I’m sure I was probably labeled, ‘a crazy American’ but I did not care. I was a happy biker!

AN UNUSUAL CHURCH

                                               A Small Country Church

When biking in Germany and Austria between Melk to Krems we stopped in the small village of St. Michael to visit a rather unusual church. Our guide  told us. “This hilly area is wine country. You can see the vineyards are terraced as space is at a premium. The cemetery is very small, but 11,000 people have been buried here. In order to accommodate that many people, eventually skeletons had to be dug up to make room for more recent burials.”

            What did they do with all the old bones? In a room in the back of the church they created an altar with the old dug up skulls. It was pretty eerie. A large wire bin was full of long bones—those from the arms and legs. The whole room was really spooky.

            A docent informed us, “Many years ago churches were built as fortresses to protect the village from invaders. This church originally had five towers, but only one remains today, and the gun turret is clearly visible. Also in those days people didn’t have money to pay for services so they paid in produce, eggs, chickens, or whatever  they had. As a result this church had a nice wine cellar and two rooms to keep smoked meats cool.

            “This church in St. Michael was closed from 1784-1950. In 1950 it took the residents three years to clean up the inside of the church as birds had been nesting within for over a century and a half. You can’t  imagine what a  mess that was!  In 1965 the church was renovated. The alter came from another church and is really too big for this small church. Only a few church services are held each year, but many weddings and concerts are held here.”

            An interesting if spooky visit. Not too long ago I picked up the end of a TV program that featured a similar skull room, but I missed where  it was, other than the fact that it was not the church I had visited.