Excerpts from Good Night and God Bless

Austria – Open Houses – Page 9
Previously the sisters’ main source of income was from breeding chickens on the abbey’s farm. This was tiring work and once too often a hardworking nun would fall asleep during prayer time. Justifiably unhappy with this state of affairs the Abbess proposed turning the farm into a health complex, and convinced the local bank manager to support the project. While the complex was constructed, the sisters learned healing therapies and studied hospitality and accounting. Under the control of the sisters, the business achieved great success; so much so that a hotel was later established to cope with the demand.

Austria – Salzburg – Page 19
Centuries earlier, in 714ad, St Rupert (the first bishop of Salzburg) founded the great Nonnberg Nunnery, which has overlooked the city from its hillside perch for almost 1300 years. The nunnery, formally titled St Ehrentraud Abbey, after its first abbess, is the oldest women’s monastery in Austria. Up until the mid-19th century only daughters of the aristocracy were allowed to enter the Nonnberg Convent. Today overnight guests join with the nuns in days of prayer and silence.

Austria – Places of Interest – Page 29
Liquid refreshment in the form of Gösser Beer (Austria’s finest beer, according to locals) can be enjoyed in any of the taverns and beer gardens in the town. The locally produced variety is the most popular brand in Styria. It was Benedictine nuns of the local convent, Stift-Göss, who first established a brewery in Leoben in 1020 and brewed the beer themselves, considering the product ‘liquid bread’ which they are said to have distributed freely. The nuns have long gone but a brewery is still active. The remains of the ancient convent and the nuns’ now restored church are local tourist attractions. The brewery tavern serves full meals.

Austria – Pilgrimages – Page 77
Some make a pilgrimage to the Pfarrkirche (parish church) in Mondsee on the outskirts of Salzburg, where the on-screen marriage of Baron Georg Von Trapp and Fraulien Maria Augusta Kutschera was filmed for the timeless movie The Sound of Music. In 1939 Georg and Maria and family moved to Stowe in Vermont, USA where they established an Austrian-style ski lodge. The 1965 movie launched the family into a lifetime of celebrity. Georg and Maria have passed on and the much heralded Trapp Family Lodge is now run by the youngest child Johannes. During World War I the Von Trapp family lived for a time at the Abbey of Klosterneuberg, near Vienna.

Czech Republic – Open Houses – Page 100
A separate section of the monastery has been converted into a comfortable, 60-room 3-star hotel which is open all year. Accommodation ranges from single and double guestrooms to comfortable, well-appointed apartments. All guestrooms have private bathrooms, telephones and televisions; some have views over the still substantial monastery estate. Conference and seminar facilities are on-site.

Czech Republic – Food and Drink – Page 102
Spa Wafers, a speciality of Mariánské Lázně, have been made by the Kolonáda Company for over 150 years. The wafers are thin enough not to undo any previous good work at the baths and are filled with delicious chocolate or nut paste.

Czech Republic – Pilgrimages – Page 111
The iconic Pilgrim Church of St John of Nepomuk on the Zelena Hill near the town of Žd’ár nad Sázavou, northwest of Brno is a listed UNESCO world heritage site and considered a ‘miracle’ of architectural design. The church was designed by Czech-born architect Giovanni Santini (1677–1723) with encircling cloisters formed in the shape of a 5-pointed star, symbolising the wounds of the crucified Christ. St John Nepomuk is said to have been martyred in 1393 for refusing to reveal details of the Confession of the Catholic Queen of Bohemia. His body was thrown from Prague’s Charles Bridge where 3 centuries later a statue was erected in his honour.

Italy – Page 115
When I eat alone I feel like a seminarian being punished. I tried it for one week and I was not comfortable. Then I searched through Sacred Scripture for something saying I had to eat alone. I found nothing, so I gave it up, and its much better now. Pope John XXIII

Italy – Food and Drink – Page 124
This affordable restaurant is run by a community of Carmelite missionary nuns called Donum Dei. The sisters wait on the tables, serving traditional French-style dishes and a select choice of French wines. Much to the surprise of many guests, the sister who is head chef trained in Paris. The menu generally includes lobster tails, Australian or New Zealand beef, escargot, scallops and French wines from Bordeaux. During the evening there is a short halt in proceedings while the nuns gather together in the dining room to pray briefly and sing Ave Maria. Hymn sheets are handed around and guests are invited to join in the singing. The sisters come from all corners of the world and will sometimes perform a dance in their national dress. Profits from the restaurant are sent to the order’s missions in Kenya, Madagascar and India.

Italy – Open Houses – Page 196
There is an interesting anecdote, the authenticity of which has not been verified. Until quite recently, an Augustinian brother, Fra Romolo OSA, was well known as sacristan of the church. Apparently he refused to make an exception and closed the church door to exclude HRH Prince Charles, Prince of Wales when he arrived late. It was the monastery’s scheduled afternoon closing time and it was dinner time for the friars.

Italy – Pilgrimages – Page 221
Every Saturday night, from Easter until the end of October, an evening pilgrimage departs from the city, with visitors and tourists invited to participate. The pilgrimage leaves at midnight from the Piazza di Porta Capena, (near the Circus Maximus and the Circo Massimo train station) and reaches the Sanctuary of Madonna del Divino Amore in the early hours of Sunday morning. The route followed (on foot) is along the Via Appia Antica, on to Via Ardeatina and past the Ardeatine Catacombs and the Catacombs of St Callisto to the sanctuary.

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