15 Florian Faves
And so the travelogue continues.
Saturday, 7 July 2007, we drove to the village of St. Florian. My friend Sonja tells me that St. Florian is not actually a proper village, but is smaller than a village. If we were fluent in German there would be an actual word for the-village-that-is-smaller-than-a-village. But in English--at least to my knowledge--there is no such word.
St. Florian is a monastery and music center, housing the St. Florian Boys Choir. While not as famous to the outside world as those young 'uns from Vienna, the boys of St. Florian enjoy a fame in Austria and a reputation of great skill and tremendous talent.
The grounds are stunning. The cathedral awe inspiring.
Being that it was 7-7-07 there were plenty of bride and groom pairs running around the property having chosen this day of luck to tie the knot.
My favorite moment of the morning was the Viennese tourist who asked if I would please take his photo on the grounds. I agreed of course, happy to comply, and to my surprise he didn't want any of the gorgeous landscape or the historical architecture in the background of his portrait, but chose instead a plain, green bush to pose in front of. Go figure.
For those of you who are fascinated by facts (like me), here are a few about the cathedral of St. Florian:
- The imposing Baroque structure was built between 1686 and 1750.
- Carlo A. Carlone, Jakob Prandtauer, and Gotthard Hayberger: builders.
- The monastery church houses the world famous Bruckner Organ.
- Anton Bruckner "God's Composer" is buried in a crypt below the organ.
- The monastery is built above the legendary grave of the martyr St. Florian, who died in 304 A.D.
- The monastery boasts "The Marble Hall" and sixteen Emperor's rooms, especially furnished for the members of the imperial family. All are open for tourists.
Further, I give you my favorite 15 photos of the monastery grounds and the church.
And because I can't resist, a bonus shot of some village (which is smaller than a village) children in classic national costume. Dirndl and lederhosen, naturally.
Friday Fifteen
Love the pic of the kids! I am always excited when I see people in the "traditional" costumes, it's so fun. Around here they call the really tiny villages(4 or 5 houses and a bunch of tractors) "dorfs". Not sure if it is the same in Austria or not. Glad you had a nice trip!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures!! Loved the kids... it looked rather odd, though, traditional clothing with ice cream cones.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful it is for you to have such a great experience... You're making me want to come for a visit!
I do love your whole "village smaller than a village" explanation.
ReplyDeleteAnd Florian? Wasn't that a country in The Princess Bride?
Outstanding pics, Jenn! Way better than, say, just getting a picture in front of a green bush. (So funny that he would pick that!)
ReplyDeleteHamlet. That's what we call a village smaller than a village.
ReplyDeletekat-
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think Sonja called it something like "markt", but I am not certain. I like 'dorfs' though, sort of sounds like "dwarfs" and that would help me remember that it's small.
ma-
Thank you ma'am. I was SO excited when I spotted those kids. After grabbing several shots of them, the oldest boy looked up at me and just grinned, like "I got your number, you silly tourist!" I smiled back.
SMID-
Yes!I think you are right! And Guilder, which is what Dutch money was called before they switched to Euros.
brillig-
Thank you darling. I know! I just could not understand why he would want a photo which didn't show WHERE HE WAS! What a strange request.
am-
Ah,hah! I knew someone would know! Thanks. Now I feel like I need to use my new vocabulary word in a sentence!
Wonderful pictures, as usual. Sounds like your trip was great!
ReplyDeleteThese are such great photos!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great time!
I LOVE the little sleeping angel! And the kids, of course. It's SO great that you got to make this trip and see these wonderful sights.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures! I'm so glad to see that they still wear some of the traditional costumes. Once upon a time I had a dirndl of my own... but I grew out of it.
ReplyDeleteOh, just gorgeous photos! Amazing.
ReplyDeleteThese are just beautiful pictures! I'm so envious of your current journey and I've decided I'd love to retire to Amsterdam (unfortunately, my DH and DS don't agree!).
ReplyDeleteWere those kids REALLY in lederhosen and dirndls??
csara & dana-
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was and I did.
jami-
That little angel was on a grave behind the church. I couldn't resist. It was so sweetly sitting there.
anno-
I know! I thought it was such a great 'find'. I really wanted to buy Andrew some Lederhosen, but I wasn't sure I could ever talk him into wearing them!
leslie-
Thanks Buck! I appreciate that!
jen-
Yes, they were really in national costume, but I am certain it was for special occasion. Maybe a party or perhaps they were part of one of the many weddings going on at the church. They don't wear national costume every day, not anymore anyway. That's why I was so pleased when I spotted them!
What a great slide show, definitely beautiful. I love that kind of architecture. The detail in old churches and monasteries was the best.
ReplyDeleteShoot, authormom beat me to it! A good friend of mine lived in the Hamlet of Long Lake, and I always thought it sounded so cozy.
ReplyDeleteLoved the picture of the kids. It is kind of sad that people don't wear their traditional clothes anymore. Though my Austrian aunt still wears her dirndls daily and she has the figure for it!
jose-
ReplyDeleteI agree. I love the detail and ornamanent of the old churches and cathedrals.
mama-
Now, that's cool. I think I would really love to have dirndl myself. They are so lovely. There were a couple of shops in the city where they make and sell the national costume. Each of them was beautiful.
I'm amazed at how much architecture and beauty is found in a village-that-is-smaller-than-a-village. I also marvel at the fact that what we Americans consider old is quite modern or new to Europeans. They're history is ancient compared to ours.
ReplyDeleteI love the laderhosen (and I KNOW that's spelled wrong but I'm too tired to Google it).
ReplyDeleteI'm still jealous of the trip, these extra posts just aren't helping :)
those costumes are so gorgeous!! (although I'm not really sure which is the lederhosen and which the dirndl - but they're lovely nonetheless)
ReplyDelete