Wurzburg / Rothenburg

Today was a beautiful  day.  Although it looked a little gloomy we boarded busses for the short ride into Wurzburg. Our first stop was the Bishop's Residenz.  As another UNESCO World Heritage Site it makes me realize how smart we are to take pride and responsibility for the treasures of the world.

Prinz-Bishops were the political rulers in Germany as well as the religious ones.  They controlled the people by the fear they created for them of eternal retribution. Prince - Bishops were eminant in all of pre - Napoleonic Europe.  The Bishops of Wurzburg controlled the Main river and all the territory surrounding it and used the "donations" of the poor people, and the licensing of the merchants to increase their own wealth.  The ornateness of their palace was not so much to demonstrate wealth as it was an in your face statement of power.  But then, as is often the case now, wealth IS power.

The palace was built after Versailles and that the architects and artists had been to Paris is evident.  The Hall of mirrors, the perfectly lined up chamber doors and the overwrought ornateness makes this evident.  The entire building was greatly damaged by incendiary bombs in the war and have been rebuilt based on the drawings from the 1800"s.  Howeverever in some areas the original frescos remain. We could not take even non-flash photos but then the little books of the palace pictures to buy afterwards were all sold out so you will have to rely on the internet to see these beautiful rooms and massive building.  When I get home  I will be able to post my own photos of the gardens. I did like that instead of scattering ID signs throughout, they had a small adjacent bed with one or two of eveything clearly identified.

We then boarded the bus to travel through the Franconian countryside to Rothenburg.  Upon arrival we passed through the narrow city gate and were stunned by the beautiful, German town. Walking up hill over original cobbles we came to a tiny restaurant where our delicious lunch of cauliflower soup, bratwurst, wine - saurkraut, mashed potatoes, and strawberry custard was served.  We then set out on a walking tour of churches and shops.

A highlight was St. Jacobs Church with the fantastic carved altar.  Strangely enough, Judas, not Christ is the centerpiece of this carving.  He is removed at Good Friday and replaced after Whitsunday! We walked out to the Castle Garden.  There are no remnants of this enclave except the wall.  Within that is a really beautiful, well designed garden through which we strolled for most of our afternoon.  It has within it a small building dedicated to the town's heroes from W.W. II.  Outside of that was a small memorial to all those lost in the Pograms.

In the distance we could hear the music coming from the annual Woodstock type music festival.  A little time in the many Christmas shops and Teddy Bear Emporium and we had to reboard the bus to return to the ship.  It was about an hour each way although on the return we traveled on the Autobahn.  Busses have to maintain a 100kph! (65 mph)

We were greeted ship side with warm washcloths to freshen up and Virgin Pina Coladas to tide us over until dinner.  Dinner was delicious Surf 'n' Turf and now I am writing this while listening to tongiht's entertainment which is a lecture on the EU - European Union.