Schlierbach Abbey, Upper Austria

I’ve visited quite a few abbeys on our travels, but of course, each one is different and Schlierbach Abbey was no exception.

On the tour, the Oldies appeared to be most taken by the small but beautiful library. Small, apparently, because a couple of centuries before it became a monastery, Schlierbach Abbey had been a convent. It seemed to be the attitude of the time that women didn’t need as much learning as men. Hah! Try that on these days and I’m sure the women would teach the men a thing or two.

Although the church is in the process of being restored at the moment, we were allowed a quick peek inside. This guy is probably some sort of a saint, but he looked a bit cheesed off about being surrounded by scaffolding.

Speaking of which… I was aware that monks are generally industrious, but I hadn’t expected a state-of–the-art cheese making facility in the abbey. I should have smelt it coming though! Cheese has been made here for about 100 years, and the operation went fully organic 10 years ago. This ancient institution certainly has no problem keeping up with current trends.

I was also surprised at the monastery’s glassworks, which, like the cheese making operation, also employs a staff of 30. Here too, they are very up to date. They make stained glass and do glass restoration work as you’d expect, but they also do some really funky, modern artistic glass. Smashing!

Although there are only 25 monks in the monastery these days, it is full of life thanks to its school of over 500 pupils. There’s also a garden centre, a shop and a restaurant. A real hive of activity!

Just when I thought the tour was over, we were led to the restaurant where the Oldies were given a platter of cheese samples to taste. Uh oh! I knew I was in for it then! Sure enough, the delighted duo bought a load of their favourites to take away, forgetting, of course, that we are staying in a teeny, tiny caravan that is standing out in the hot sun all day… Those cheeses taste great, but oh boy, you don’t want to be stuck with them in confined quarters in the heat, believe me!

After all that smelly cheese I was gasping for some fresh air, and we certainly got it by the bucketful in Almtal. This beautiful river valley boasts a gorgeous lake, full of big, juicy fish tantalisingly visible in the crystal clear water, and with swans, well, swanning about gracefully. This tranquil, idyllic picture is completed by a wall of dramatic mountain peaks just beyond the lake. It’s almost chocolate box kitsch. In fact, if there had been lilac cows standing around in the nearby fields, I probably wouldn’t have batted an eyelid.

We spent a happy afternoon strolling around the lake. After all that fresh air, I’d have loved to tuck into a good healthy feed, but for once the Wingless Wonders just had a quick drink. Then back to the caravan for… I knew it! Wine and cheese. Pee-ew!