Danube Cruise Blog #36: Gottweig Abbey: Becoming a Monk, the Church, Creepy Skull

L to R: Rob, Don, Mary Margaret and Tom

In today's travel blog along the Danube we  continue to explore the Gottweig Abbey in Krems, Austria. In today's blog you'll learn what it takes to be a Monk, explore the linked  Church and see a Creepy Skull!!
  Of course, Tom wasn't that uncomfortable because I call him "Mr. Monk" after the OCD detective. haha. Here's the story of the visit>>

What a big 3,500 pipe organ they have!

TO BECOME A MONK - First, this isn't recommended. It's a lonely life and there are just a few men who can endure it. Nope, there are no female monks.  To be a monk you need to be a guy, at least 18 years old, single and in good health. After 6 months they ask if you still want to be a monk. If so, the other monks vote to make you a novice. If that happens you have to change your name (they give you choices). The other monks vote to accept you and you take a vow of celibacy and obedience. Monks pray 5 times a day, too.

Mr. Monk the detective

TO BECOME A MR. MONK - Tom can teach you how to arrange the cans in the closet all facing the same way, clean the kitchen countertops many times a day, and make the house floors clean enough to eat off of. :LOL   Since I didn't have a picture of a monk, I thought I'd use a pic of the TV detective Adrian Monk, the OCD detective obsessed with cleaning. :) 


THE CHURCH - The church associated with the Abbey is dark and about 300 years old. It made me feel very uncomfortable - like there was a lot of depressed energy in there.Being piano players, our friend Don and Tom were impressed  by the 3,500 pipe organ that is still in use!  We learned that almost monks know how to play it, too. 

The skull of the Bishop inside

THE CREEPY SKULL - There's a crypt under the altar. We learned about that from our handsome, dark haired, bearded tour guide (whom I found out went to school in New England, where I'm from- yeah, I'm a flirt). But he was nice to look at. In fact, I missed most of what the crypt was about staring at him... so I'll just say this. In the crypt, you won't find an entire body. Instead, there's a glass box about 2 feet wide by 3 feet long and about 2 feet high. Inside, there is an ornamental box that has little windows on the side. Inside is the SKULL of  Bishop Altmann. You could see his teeth... and his profile was creepy. Needless to say, I didn't stick around. 

Close up of the skull- you can see the teeth!

NEXT: THE ABBEY ATTIC TOUR