You just can’t beat breakfast with a view! And that’s what we had this morning in Linz, Austria!
The four of us signed up for a morning walking tour of the city.
There were museums all around us—not much to see by day, but our guide assured us that they would change come dark. (Apparently, they light up!)
The town was delightful with church steeples and monuments all around. There was even a Farmer’s Market going on in the town center.
Our guide pointed out the Catholic Church she attended and it was beautiful, inside and out.
The Town Hall had an actual city map covering its’ floor! (None of us had ever seen that before!)
Linz was a very walkable town.
We grabbed a cold brewski after our tour and enjoyed the buzz of the locals all around us!
These were two Happy Campers right here! (They EARNED those beers!)
Jan and I took off after lunch and boarded our bus for an afternoon tour of Mauthausen Concentration Camp.
The stone quarry was a somber place, almost haunted by all the unnecessary murders that took place there. (However, butterflies were abundant, giving hope.) We looked over a map of the entire camp as it once stood. Many of the buildings had been destroyed by the Nazis when the war was over. They wanted to leave no evidence of what happened there. (There was plenty of evidence left.)
The actual camp walls are in the background of this photo. The foreground shows a concrete swimming pool where the Nazi guards could enjoy themselves after their shift was over. (It is impossible to imagine anyone able to enjoy themselves after witnessing and participating in the atrocities that took place behind those walls.)
Our tour guide walked us through the area where a number of different monuments stood, gifts from countries around the world, in remembrance of the lives lost. One was more moving than the next. Each told a horrific story.
These were some of the barracks that were left standing, where thousands of inmates lived in horrible conditions throughout the war.
The chimneys of crematoriums were everywhere,
as were photos of the known victims.
The “Hall of Names” was a sad realty of the number of lives that were lost.
If we didn’t know what happened there, Jan and I would say it had a gorgeous view of the Alps in the background.
This photo was hard to take—you just can’t smile so soon after seeing what we saw.
Joe decided to hang on the boat after our morning tour, so John hopped on the cutest yellow train to take it to the top of Postlingberg Hill!
His destination was that white church at the very top of the hill.
He found the views of Linz to be fabulous!
He spotted our boat after zooming in all the way on his iPhone! (Good job, Dieds!)
At the top of the hill was a beautiful church called the Basilica of The Seven Sorrows of Mary. (It was the destination of his trip!)
We all got back on the boat, cleaned up, and enjoyed Happy Hour and dinner together! John and I watched a cute Austrian musical performance in the lounge!
As promised, the museums were lit up all along the water!
It was a great ending to a somber sort of day (for some of us). You might be wondering where Flat Mary was all day—she decided to hike up Postlingberg Hill, and hasn’t yet returned! (You go, girl!) We missed you, Steve (& Mary)!
Comments
Post a Comment