Burg Kreuzenstein 
Checking out the birds
A Bald Eagle descending on its prey
Inside the castle
Stift Klosterneuburg
To all my readers, I am once again sorry for the long break in between posts. Two weeks ago, we went on an excursion to the Burg Kreuzentstein and Stift Klosterneuburg. These are both just outside Vienna, in Niederösterreich. When we arrived at the Burg Kreuzentstein the first thing we saw was a bird show. We were able to walk around and see the birds beforehand, from owls to ravens to bald eagles to condors, it was very cool. Then the show began, they had trained the birds to fly back and forth between the handlers and they flew so close that you could reach out and touch them. Sometimes the birds flew over your head and were so close that you could feel the rush of the wind from their wings. It lasted about 30 minutes and they showed all of the different birds. One of the coolest parts was when they had the eagle dive towards a pool of water and snatch food out.
After the bird show, we headed into the Burg Kreuzenstein. A “Burg” is a castle that is used for living, but can easily be defended. Kreuzenstein was built in the 19th century as a show castle. No one has ever actually lived there, but it is now a museum where visitors can see what it was like to live in a castle. It was huge. We entered through the big stereotypical castle doors over a small moat bridge. Inside we saw a large courtyard with a well and a beautiful clock tower. Unfortunately, this was the last place we were able to take pictures. Once inside the castle we traveled to the kitchen and saw the giant rotisseries and cooking utensils that they used to use. The tour guide said that in castles, the kitchens were always worked by men because the work was so difficult and heavy. We then saw the chapel (every castle must have a chapel) and the living quarters. It was a little chilly out and I realized that life inside a castle must be very cold during the winter. The beds were also interesting, because they were very short. The guide said it wasn’t because the people were smaller, instead it was because they slept sitting up, which caused a lot of heart problems in the long run. Overall, the castle was extremely cool.
We then traveled to Stift Klosterneuburg (I believe I explained what a Stift was in an earlier post). Stift Klosterneuburg was not quite as gaudy as Stift Melk, but it was still interesting. Major Lampersberger decided we should go on the wine tour (they have several different types of tours). Unfortunately, the wine tour was a little boring, especially because the tour was more about the commercial process of making wine, instead of being about the wine itself. After the tour, we were able to sample some of the wines, which was nice.
I think the nicest part of the excursion was that my fiancée was able to come. After a 44-hour trip from Fairbanks, Alaska to the other side of the world, she was tired when the excursion was done, but she still enjoyed it. On the way back to Wiener Neustadt, Michelle (my fiancée) and I were dropped off at the airport so that we could catch a flight to Athens.
After the bird show, we headed into the Burg Kreuzenstein. A “Burg” is a castle that is used for living, but can easily be defended. Kreuzenstein was built in the 19th century as a show castle. No one has ever actually lived there, but it is now a museum where visitors can see what it was like to live in a castle. It was huge. We entered through the big stereotypical castle doors over a small moat bridge. Inside we saw a large courtyard with a well and a beautiful clock tower. Unfortunately, this was the last place we were able to take pictures. Once inside the castle we traveled to the kitchen and saw the giant rotisseries and cooking utensils that they used to use. The tour guide said that in castles, the kitchens were always worked by men because the work was so difficult and heavy. We then saw the chapel (every castle must have a chapel) and the living quarters. It was a little chilly out and I realized that life inside a castle must be very cold during the winter. The beds were also interesting, because they were very short. The guide said it wasn’t because the people were smaller, instead it was because they slept sitting up, which caused a lot of heart problems in the long run. Overall, the castle was extremely cool.
We then traveled to Stift Klosterneuburg (I believe I explained what a Stift was in an earlier post). Stift Klosterneuburg was not quite as gaudy as Stift Melk, but it was still interesting. Major Lampersberger decided we should go on the wine tour (they have several different types of tours). Unfortunately, the wine tour was a little boring, especially because the tour was more about the commercial process of making wine, instead of being about the wine itself. After the tour, we were able to sample some of the wines, which was nice.
I think the nicest part of the excursion was that my fiancée was able to come. After a 44-hour trip from Fairbanks, Alaska to the other side of the world, she was tired when the excursion was done, but she still enjoyed it. On the way back to Wiener Neustadt, Michelle (my fiancée) and I were dropped off at the airport so that we could catch a flight to Athens.
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