Travel Tales Excerpt – Miracle in Melk
Dr. Thompson said nothing. He just moved his mouth and made a clicking noise once. He looked at the documents and then looked back at Athanasis.
“It is not a joke, Sir,” Athanasis said defensively. “I am Greek and can read them. They describe the same symptoms that we are seeing. You see this word, ἰός (iós)? It means poison. All of these documents are from an old group called the Asclepieia. Similar to your caduceus, which is the staff with two snakes, this symbol here is the staff of Asclepius, the ancient Greek god who would ask snakes to come to him in his dreams and tell him what ailed people. The Asclepieia were his followers, and they made medical schools and hospitals and conducted research.”
“I am not following you,” Thompson stated.
“These documents describe an illness that is similar to what we are seeing now. See this scrap of paper with a note on it? It is in German. See the date 1702? Well, there had been an invasion in 1683 by the Turks, which caused severe damage to the abbey. The invaders brought the virus with them, and people started getting sick. The monks here must have found this text and developed a recipe using local herbs and plants.”
– End Excerpt
Our stop at the Melk Abbey was very brief, just a few hours. I had heard of it prior to the tour and was very excited to see it. Our ship truly glided into its docking station on that glorious sunny day, the first we had experienced since boarding over a week ago. The sky was blue and cloudless, and the sun bright, providing a breathtaking view of the abbey.
The famous and talented Italian author Umberto Eco briefly referenced Melk in his novel, “The Name of the Rose.” While I enjoy a good murder mystery, I am a public health professional, and there are other ways to have an abbey as the backdrop for a story. So, having the abbey is pivotal in addressing a healthcare emergency. During this cruise, humanity exited the COVID-19 pandemic, which inspired my historical fiction story. Prison camps had disease outbreaks during World War II; these elements became my short story’s ingredients.
As in the story, our ship’s activities director was very serious about no pictures inside the abbey. Most of these pictures are of the abbey’s exterior, some panoramic views, and a few of the town itself.I could have spent months in the abbey or even resigned everything and gone to work there. From medieval times through the Renaissance, the Melk Abbey was known as an academic center for knowledge and its preservation.
Unfortunately, the staff was very watchful in the libraries and exhibits, so they enforced the no-photography rules. Only in the Abbey Church of Melk was I able to sneak some photographs. Two of the photographs include the jewel-encrusted skeletal remains known as the Catacomb Saint Friedrich and the Catacomb Saint Clemens. They were odd items to see, and I could not figure out how to include them in the story.
While the wonders of the abbey’s inside are a challenge to photograph, its exterior was a challenge to decide which pictures should be used. It is a gorgeous place, especially in autumn. My bucket list of places to see in life included Melk Abbey, and I was happy and sad to check that item. However, I did celebrate by having an apple strudel at the Stiftsrestaurant Melk near the abbey. Our tour guide said it was the second best he had ever had, next to the one our ship’s chef prepares. Since I have had both, I would agree.