Keeleys, Wright, & Forster Viking River Cruise: Danube, Main, and Rhine : Wurzburg and Rothenburg, Germany

Day ten (still on the Main River) finds us very briefly in Markbreit where 60+ passengers (including Gary) depart via two buses to Rothenburg, one of the best preserved and beautiful medieval towns in Germany. The rest of us continued cruising along the Main, enjoying the stunning views of steep hillsides blanketed with vineyards that produce the famous Franconian wine. We arrive in Wurzburg at 2:00 in the afternoon – a university town with one-in-five residents being students. Local guides meet us at the dock and tell us that Germany is a land of poets and thinkers while Franconia is the land of wine drinkers. The author Hermann Hesse wrote, "If I could choose my place of birth I would consider Wurzburg."

We walk through the town to the Bishop’s Residenz – an amazing baroque palace built between 1720 and 1744 designed and built by the architect, Balthasar Neumann. (Yet another UNESCO World Heritage site.) We all agree the famous grand staircase with its unsupported vaulted ceiling that has largest fresco in the world- the Four Continents (by Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo)- makes this one of the most splendid, opulent palaces we visited. They did highlight that the original painter used the technique “of cheating for the eyes” which makes it hard when you look up as to whether some parts of the scenes are painted on or there are three-dimensional additions. We’re then lead through 15+ rooms that consist of the imperial apartments. (We’re told that over half of the palace was destroyed in the final days of the war. Indeed, the RAF destroyed 90% of the village in just 17-minutes. Only seven houses remained intact.) When the US ground troops arrived an American solider, against orders, promptly covered the gaping holes in the ceiling of the palace. His action is credited with saving key parts of the fresco. Since then they have completed a full restoration of the palace using the same materials and methods that were used in the 18^th century.) Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photographs inside the palace, but click here for a link where you can see the grand staircase and the large 4-continent fresco. Click here to see the Imperial Hall. Click here to see the White Hall with its magnificent stucco rocaille decorations.

Dave and David break away from the group while others go on the walking tour of the town and visit the shops. Our Keeley and Wright "mountain goats" cross over a 1000 year-old stone bridge on the Main River on their way straight up a very steep hill to the Festung Marienberg – a HUGE fortress that looks down on the river and Wurzberg. (The castle became the residence of the prince-bishops of Würzburg in 1253. The Bishop then built the Residenz.) It took 30-minutes of brisk walking over cobblestone walkways and hundreds of steps. We learned the fortress was breached in its early days by an invading Swede. It then went through improvements making it truly impenetrable – perched high on a mountaintop with massive stonewalls that were over 100’ high. The interior defenses include a series of second and third walls. After a little “huffing and puffing” Dave and David were rewarded with blue skies and sweeping views of the village and the river. They walked around the grounds and then ventured into the fortress to get a feel for what it was like in the 13^th century. Very cool place!

After dinner groups assembled in the lounge for a lecture and demonstration by a famous Wurzburg glass blower, who has worked with Dale Chihuly. While his art was very interesting, his jokes were most entertaining!