Mt. Angel - February 2, 2023
Elizabeth Seibert | Published on 2/2/2023
A chilly, foggy morning turned into lovely sunny day. We parked in "downtown" Mt. Angel and walked up to Mt. Angel Abbey. The cemetery was our first stop, and we tried to imagine the trip from Mt. Angel, Switzerland to Oregon in the 1880s. After a warm welcome by a volunteer and a peek around the gorgeous guest house, we went on to the museum. What started out a science museum in the late 1800s, now houses a wide variety of items, some rather surprising. (If you're dying to see a taxidermied calf with eight legs, this is the place for you.) After hot drinks and lunch in the charming abbey coffee house, we went to noon "prayers", which were chanted; the length was just right -- 12 minutes. Our last stop before heading down the hill was the famous and light-filled library, designed by the Finish architect Alvar Aalto. Guests Marilyn and Eric Swanson joined members Marie Flores, Chris O'Brien, Kathy Patterson, Bruce Patterson, and leader Elizabeth Seibert.