Würzburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria

 Port number 4 of the Grand European Tour on the Viking Skirnir, November, 2014

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Although Würzburg is a city of 130,000, we only went to the Würzburger Residenz (Würzburg Residence).

From Wikipedia: The Prince-Bishops of Würzburg resided in the Marienberg Fortress on a hill west of the Main river until the early 18th century. Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn (1719–24) moved the court to a palace erected in 1701–4, the predecessor of the Residence. However, the rather small palace did not, in his opinion, measure up to his position as an absolute monarch – he was looking for something comparable to the Palace of Versailles or Schönbrunn Palace.[1]: 52  Having won a sum of 600,000 florins (a fortune at the time) in a court case in the year of his accession, he used the funds to undertake a building project that would proclaim his political standing to all.

A portion of the Residence as seen from the back garden

Detail from one of the over 300 rooms

Quite frankly, I found the scale and design of the place pretty overwhelming--so many wings, so Baroque, largest fresco, etc. Yes, we saw the bedroom where Napoleon once slept--he reportedly called the place "the largest parsonage in Europe." I just couldn't help thinking my socialist thoughts about how much money was spent basically to satisfy the pride and arrogance of a single man, the Prince-Bishop--money that could have helped the people who lived nearby. 

When I am overwhelmed, I often focus on small details. That is my excuse for this final photograph in the Residence. found inside the modern public restrooms. 

Miltenberg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria

Port number 3 of the Grand European Tour on the Viking Skirnir, November, 2014

 

Judging from the fountain that greeted us just outside of the public restrooms, the folks in the town of Miltenberg (pop. 9400, more or less) have a sense of humor. Note: Miltenberg residents are referred to as "group pissers" by the people in the surrounding towns. 

Alter Marktplatz

Town Square

I am always fascinated by the way Europeans blend modern shops with medieval structures

This statue indicates "Here is a Catholic settlement"

Memorial brasses set into the sidewalk in front of the houses where Jews lived and were taken away by the Nazis. The brasses tell when they were taken and when/where they died in the death camps. 

Built in 1333

The same building as above; you can see how the oak beams have warped over the centuries as the building has settled

Hotel Zum Riesen/Inn of the Giant/The Giant Hotel

Said to be the oldest in Germany

Built in 1411, according to our tour guide; but I found places online saying parts of it date from 1158

Elvis Presley stayed there when he was in the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany

Old Town Hall, sandstone building from the 14th century

It is still used for cultural events and concerts

Yellow building now housing a butcher shop, Miltenberg. 

Note, as pointed out by the tour guide: During the witchcraft trials, butchers (and bakers) were never accused of witchcraft--possibly because they were so essential to the townspeople.

Germany has over 1000 kinds of sausage and 3000 kinds of bread.

Köln (Cologne)

 Port 2 of the Grand European Tour on the Viking Skirnir, November 2024.

Cologne Cathedral was built between 1248 and 1880 (with many interruptions). At the time it was completed, it was the tallest building in the world. Pollution has darkened the stones of the cathedral and it is being gently cleaned, using a low-pressure microparticle blasting technique, with repairs being made along the way. 

Gypsy woman in front of the cathedral. Our tour guide was quite angry about the presence of gypsies and repeatedly warned us not to engage with them. She said that although they received housing and income assistance from the government they prey on tourists as pickpockets and scammers. I was fascinated by their colorful skirts. 

The interior made us feel so small. 

This is my amateurish photo of some of the Cologne Cathedral's stained glass. For a lovely collection of photos showing details of this and other windows in the cathedral, go to https://buffaloah.com/a/virtual/ger/colog/cathed/int.html

The 14th century Clara Altar in one of the chapels of the cathedral. The altar is made up of a large number of wooden panels, separated by wood carvings in the Gothic style. Originally painted for a 14th century Franciscan nunnery in Cologne, the panels depict scenes from the life of Christ. Description of the altar from https://www.werelderfgoedfotos.nl/en/photos/121-cologne-cathedral.html

After visiting the cathedral, we wandered around a bit, coming across this bakery. Theses nougatbrezels were the most delicious soft pretzels I've ever eaten. The dough was rolled around a cinnamon mixture before forming the pretzel, which was drizzled with a sugar glaze and coated with slivered almonds. If anyone can point me to a recipe, I would love to try my hand at sweet pretzel making. 

Kinderdijk

Port 1 of the Grand European Tour on the Viking Skirnir, November 2024.

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After boarding the ship in Amsterdam, our first stop was in Kinderdijk in the Netherlands' South Holland province. We learned how the Dutch have been managing the waters that would otherwise flood their low-lying land, and the engineering expertise that they have developed over the centuries. 

The more I learned about clever Dutch engineering, planning, and management, the more my admiration and understanding grew for the Dutch family (VandenBoom) I married into, and for my own Dutch ancestors, the Gibersons/Guibersons. 

Looking up the canal, showing some of the 19 windmills built around 1740.

The job of miller was handed down from father to son (and now to daughters, as well), sometimes over as many as 16 generations. One of the fathers built a small-scale windmill (unfortunately not shown here) for his little son, so that the boy could mimic his father's tasks on the larger mill and thus safely learn his future job.

This photo was meant to show just how tall the windmill stretches up. Inside there were steep stairways (more like ladders) from the kitchen/living room floor, to the one where the parents of the family slept, to the floors with small rooms for the sons and for the daughters of the family. At one time, a family of 14 lived here. 

November 18, 1741: A huge storm caused the catastrophic St. Elizabeth's Flood, which drowned both people and villages. A folk tale grew up over time, telling the story of searchers finding a child floating in a cradle that was kept in balance by a cat that jumping back and forth on the basket to keep it from sinking. This brass monument to the tale is called Beatrice's Cradle, unveiled 600 years after the flood. 

 

A Grand European Tour

Viking Skirnir
from https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/longships/viking-skirnir.html

On November 11, 2024, my friend Florence and I boarded the Viking river ship Skirnir for our Grand European Tour. 

Over the next 18 days, we would visit a village in the southern part of the Netherlands, see many medieval villages in Bavaria, Germany, then travel to Austria and Hungary. We also chose an inland trip extension to Prague in the Czech Republic for an additional three days.

We would travel on the Rhine River, the Main River, through the Main-Danube Canal, and finally on the Danube River. As a friend of mine said, following our journey from back in New Mexico--the ship would go through 67 locks, allowing it to essentially "climb" over a mountain range and down the other side (in a manner of speaking). 

Florence and I have traveled with a group of friends on some big ocean-bound ships that held between 2000 and 4000 passengers. On such ships we would occasionally see a person twice, but never to speak with. The Skirnir, on the other hand, had a total of 180-190 passengers, allowing us to meet a great number of people, especially since the dining room was large enough to hold all of us at once. This was really the best part of the trip for us--getting to know people from all over the United States, Canada, China, and Australia. At a time when our own country is so politically divided it was a relief to be able to chat with people and trade stories that made us all aware of the things we have in common. 

The following blog posts will chronicle our journeys. 

Port 1: Kinderdijk

Port 2: Köln (Cologne)

Port 3: Miltenberg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria

Port 4: Würzburg, Lower Franconia, Bavaria