Great Rivers of Europe - 6

Hi, We spent the morning of May 7 cruising the Main River, arriving in Wurzburg after lunch.  The afternoon was spent on a walking tour of the town.

The photos above and three below are typical of what we saw while cruising.  They included swans,

castle ruins,

more quaint river side towns, and

lots of canola fields.

Here too there were low bridge clearances requiring the pilot house to be lowered into the deck and the captain to peer out over the roof.  Behind him is the chair the officer running the ship would normally sit in.

After lunch buses took us to the west end of the Old Bridge across the Main River.  The views above and two below are looking to the east across the river.

The bridge is adorned with statues of Saints (above) and historically important figures.

A lock was built on the west side of the river (above and two below).

Festung Marienberg is a fortress on hill west of the town center.  It is mostly open to the public and part of it functions as an art museum (above and below).

As we walked through town there were a number of buildings with interesting decorations.

We visited the Wurzburg Cathedral also called St. Killian Cathedral.  The conceptof the church was one moving from the old testament to the new testament, from Judaism to Christianity, so that you have a menorah at the entrance and the organ resembling the form of Noah´s Ark, for instance, and the cross at the altar.

The church had a display which included a model of the city after the British fire bombing of March 1945.

Our final stop was the Bishops Residence.  Entering into the main hall leads to the grand staircase (above and below).

The ceiling shows very intricate design.

The grand staircase in the center coming up from the bottom splits into two staircases that lead into a gallery.

One of the rooms was surrounded by mirrors.

The outside of the residence had a statue and fountain. 

Thanks for looking.

Great Rivers of Europe - 5

Hi, We arrived in Wertheim in the morning and after breakfast headed into the town for a walking tour.

The town has a castle ruin on a hillside which is open and

a watchtower situated at the point where the Tauber River flows into the River Main.

Wertheim is a typical river front town with very narrow streets.

There are always interesting things to photograph in towns such as this.

Although Jews no longer live in Wertheim the town is committed to remembering its Jewish heritage and its Jewish residents who perished during the Holocaust.  Above is a plaque where the synagogue once stood.

This torah scroll with the Hebrew word for peace was painted on a building.

As with most European towns there was a main square where people liked to come for a beer, coffee, or (in summer) ice cream.

These buildings are actually leaning toward on another.

Many of the buildings on the square had interesting decorations (above and two below).

As we walk around these towns we look for interesting views.

Here again, flower boxes provide an opportunity for gardening.

After lunch I walked up to and explored the castle (above and four below).  The view above looks down the River Main toward where the Tauber enters the Main.

There were three goats grazing in the castle.

Here is another view of the castle.

As I continued my exploration of the town I encountered these two girls enjoying a swing.

Crossing the Tauber on a bridge provided these two views looking down river and

up river.

Thanks for looking.

Great Rivers of Europe - 4

Hi, Following our afternoon cruise up the Rhine we stopped at Rudesheim and went into town.

Ruthe spotted this really funky clock as we walked toward the restaurant where we would have dinner.

The streets were narrow and the town was quaint.

After dinner some of the guests took part in some entertainment.  Here each woman has a bell which she would ring when the director pointed to her.

On May 5 we docked in Frankfurt and went by bus to Heidelberg.

This is the Bridge Gate to the Alte Bruecke, or old bridge, across the Neckar River.  It was originally part of the city wall.  The bridge was built between 1786 and 1788.

Across the river from the old town I spotted what looked like an older excursion boat.

Wherever we went in Germany there were these very interesting signs outside of businesses (above and below).  The first two photos in this post show two more.

The sign above advertizes a candy claimed to be developed in the area called Student Kiss.

Europeans seem to be ardent landscapers, even if it is just a window box, and the Germans are no exception.

At one time in its history the Church of the Holy Spirit found itself in need of additional funds.  It solved the problem by renting out stalls along its ground floor to merchants and food stands, a practice which continues today.

Here are two views from Heidelberg Castle.  In the view above the Church of the Holy Spirit is surrounded by the old town.  The Old Bridge is in the view below.

The castle is a ruin.

This is one of the many downspouts taking water off the castle's roof.

On our return to Frankfurt we departed.  Frankfurt has some very low bridges so all of the structures on the rear deck are lowered to deck level as is the pilot house.

The Captain peers out through a hatch in the pilot house as he navigates up river.

The Frankfurt skyline retreated behind us.

This interesting sculpture sat in the river off a park.

Here is one of the 68 locks we passed through on our trip.

Thanks for looking.