I awoke early today, checked the Oiler’s score and felt sad for a moment, then went for a walk. The town was deserted except for the workers restocking the stores. It was such a peaceful change from the hordes of people here yesterday. I was better able to appreciate the architectural wonder that is this whole complex. All the stone and building materials to create all the buildings had to be hauled up using rudimentary (by today’s standards) equipment. The engineering to make it all work is definitely impressive. The architects balanced a whole Abbey on a platform built on 4 outcrops of rock.

The modern keepers of this rock have done a good job of hiding modern plumbing, etc in the Abbey, but I am sure that hauling water and getting rid of waste was a much more difficult challenge 1500 years ago. The businesses in the village are perhaps not so different now from when the Abbey was first founded. There are hotels, restaurants, and souvenir shops which may have changed what they offer, but the demands for their wares would have been the same.

In the quiet of the morning, it is possible to consider that this was once a contemplative place where devout people dedicated themselves to reflection and prayer. It was also easier to imagine the life of the villagers working to support all those who came on pilgrimage, or who provisioned the prison or the monks who lived to pray.