April 12, 2011---Mt. Angel Abbey, Tulip Festival

We had a beautiful day weather wise. It did not rain and the sun was out for fairly long periods of time. It was the perfect day for outdoor activities. We left home at about 11 a.m. and drove a short distance through the country to Mt. Angel. It is the same town we were in about 10 days ago when it was raining, sleeting and snowing. Today was much better.

(Editorial note--I have had very slow service since I had to buy more GB's so it is taking much longer to post our activities. Please be patient with me for keeping our blog up to date.)

As we were driving to Mt. Angel we hit a detour so we saw some new scenery as we drove along . There are many nurseries and small garden farms along with hay seed farms.

The Abbey was an impressive area. When we got to the grounds we definitely  noticed the silence. They have 2 large parking areas but they are situated on a lower level than the Abbey. You can take an elevator or a steep flight of stairs to get to the Abbey level. When we were at the Abbey many years ago you could drive right up to the church, but they changed the driveway to facilitate more silence.

As we climbed up the stairs and reached the top we were very surprised at the silence. The Abbey is on the top of a large high plateau. Remember the history of the area and how the Indians used the area as a holy place. Just as we cleared the steps we heard the church bells ringing in a new bell tower. Walt thought they may be having  noon time Mass so we walked to the church and entered a simple but beautiful church. The monks were singing in a Gregorian chant. It was the midday call to prayer. They have 6 times for prayer during the day. Vigil at 5:20 am, Lauds at 6:30 am, Mass at 7:55 am, Midday at 11:55, vespers at 5:15 pm, and compline at 7:25 am.

History of the Abbey:
Mount Angel Abbey is a community of Benedictine monks founded in 1882 by the Abbey of Engelberg in central Switzerland. The Abbey shares a monastic tradition that has been a vital part of the Roman Catholic Church for more than fifteen hundred years. The main work of the monks in the daily round of liturgical prayer. The monks' main external work is the education of men for the Catholic priesthood in the seminary. Other work includes hospitality and retreat programs in the Retreat House, Library,and artistic and cultural programs and events. At times the monks assist with pastoral ministry in the Archdiocese of Portland.

As we left the church we walked a few minutes and then we saw a student. Walt knows no strangers so he started a conversation with the young man. He was very pleasant and spoke to us in English with a slight amount of difficulty. He was using English as his second language and he also had a slight accent. He told us about the campus and pointed out all the buildings and gave a quick description of what that building contained. He highly recommended the library. So we went to the library and talked to a very pleasant librarian.  She gave us more facts about the Abbey.

One of the views from the level of the Abbey

Our first view of the church as we walked on the
upper level.

Inside of the church---note the design of the building but with very little fancy painting---simple but beautiful.

The pews in the sanctuary for the monks. There were monks of all ages in these pews when they were singing.  It is wonderful to hear the singing in such a simple environment.

View of the organ in the loft at the back of the church

View of the farms and land in the valley as view from the Mount.

Just a small sample of the natural history exhibit in the museum.

A sample of one of the many vestments in the museum

















After we left the Abbey we drove to Woodburn for the Tulip Festival. We had been here many years ago but since the day was so beautiful we added this attraction to our itinerary.

This is a cluster of pots on the patio to the gift shop.
This is a family farm who has had the festival for the past 60 years. They started growing tulips in 1974, and even before the festival began, They were awed by beauty the flowers brought them. Then they started the festival for others to enjoy.

We took a wagon and tractor ride to the fields. They even provided raised areas for you to take pictures. There were many cameras of all kinds for the owner to get the perfect picture.

There are many varieties of tulips. This is just one of the many hybrids.

Four different colors in one container

Bright colors as far as the eye can see.

Close up view of the tulips in their rows--Note how the ground is mounded around the bulbs. Walt asked how the bulbs were planted and harvested but he never did find the answer.