Day 5: Wurzburg, Rothenburg Germany

Day 5 began behind schedule.  There is a lot of traffic on the river, with many ships jostling for position.  The ships are built to the exact size of the locks, so only one can fit at a time.  In this case, the lock between us and our destination was not working properly, and took an hour for each ship to pass. So we were delayed a few hours by the lock, and missed our walking tour of Wurzberg.  But we still had time to see its main attraction.

We enter the lock at the lower water level.  

 The water is pumped into the lock to raise the ship.

The captain keeps a careful eye on the sides of the ship, which often have only inches to spare.  Note his controls; there is a set on either side of the ship, as well as in the cabin. 

 The ship reaches the level of the river, the gates open, and we sail through. 

Wurzburg is known for the Residenz of the Schonborn family, a family of prince-bishops.  It is one of the largest Baroque palaces in Germany.  The highlights of the Palace are the staircase vault by Tiepolo, and the amazing mirror room, where the glass walls are decorated by painting on the back of the glass.

Sadly, no photos were allowed in the Palace, but you can get an idea of the interior here.

In the afternoon, we joined the other cruise passengers for a visit to Rothenburg, a village that has more or less become a theme park for a medieval walled German village.

Our guide remarked on a local pastry, which we bought to share later.  Sadly, it tasted like not very good pie crust dough sprinkled with sugar, or dipped in chocolate.  Sigh.

 At the appointed hour, the clock in the main square featured doors opening to reveal characters waving and moving.  Oh, and drinking beer. 

 It was along this street that we first saw "stumbling stones", brass markers placed in the pavement to mark the last place that a person taken by the Nazis had been seen alive.  Most were Jewish names.  We were to see many more along our way in Germany.  They are installed by volunteers, often without payment.  The installations are controversial in Germany, and those who place them do so without fanfare.  It was always hard to reconcile the knowledge that someone, or several someones, had been taken from that very place with the usually cheerful and commercial surroundings.

 We had come to the end of the street and went through the wall to the garden outside.

After taking in the views of settlements outside the walls, we headed back inside to see a few sights on our own before the bus ride back to the ship.

Our first stop was St. James Church, built in the 14th Century and a stopping place on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

 The stained glass windows looked more modern.  There was damage to the town during World War II but thanks to an American officer who knew the town from his childhood, it was spared heavier bombing. 

After our visit to the church, we headed across town so that Tom could sample the sausages (not memorable) and we could walk along the town walls. 

 For some reason Rothenburg is a favorite of Japanese tourists, who were streaming through this gate, taking pictures of anything that did not move. 

 We found some stairs and climbed to the top of the walls and walked along the covered walkway. 

 We walked a fair way around the walls, found our way back to the meeting point, and it was time to leave Rothenburg, and rejoin the ship which had sailed on to Kitzingen.