A Day In Grein

 Saturday, September 26

 Today we got to have a lazy morning and slept in. Most everyone left early to be bussed to the Melk Abbey for a tour. We have already visited the Abbey when we were here 2 years ago so we took advantage of not doing anything.

The best part of river cruises is waking up to find that you are docked in yet another quaint little town that is so scenic it almost seems unreal. Grein, Austria is one of those places. It was a lovely day so we spent most of the morning on the top deck of the ship enjoying the view and the sunshine. 

After lunch we joined the walking tour of the town which didn’t take long - old church, old town hall, old square..but this time we were shown the town theatre, the Stadttheater Grein. This is Austria’s oldest preserved civic theatre and was built in 1791 by the townspeople. It was originally a granary. It is still used today by local and touring groups and entertainers. Currently, a high school group is performing 12th Night. 

The theatre is small and seats around 130 people. The floor is slanted to create theatre seating but the chairs are hard wood with no cushions. However, the seats fold up and can be locked and only you would have access to the key for the season - the original season tickets. Another quirky thing was that the prison was also in the same small building and there were peep holes so the prisoners could watch the performances for free. Theatre goers were expected to bring treats for the prisoners to keep them happy and  prevent any disturbances during the shows! Another "amenity” was a pit toilet behind a curtain on the side since some of the early performances could run 5 hours. If you were using the facility you could easily peak out the curtain to see what you were missing! 

Don and I found our way up the hill to the Schloss Greinburg, a castle built between 1488 and 1495. This served as a residence and hunting lodge for generations of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha family. There were only a few rooms that we could tour and nothing was furnished but the courtyard was beautiful and the architecture definitely something to see. I think I have decided that we need a courtyard… Of course the added benefit of walking up the hill is to see the view. 

Unfortunately, no shopping to be had today since it was Saturday. Although Europeans have better work/life balance it sure is inconvenient for tourists!