2013-7-22 - 7-23 - 7-24 - Bamberg - Wurzburg - Cruising the Main

I'm trying very hard to be accurate about the places we went & the days we went there...however, I'm having a hard time. I have no pictures from the 22nd or the 24th.
7/22 The daily paper said, "there can be 2 possibilities: either we dock in Bamberg, transfer to the ship by bus..& lunch will be served at 12:30 Or we transfer to Schweinfurt & lunch will be served at 13:30: HUH??? After conferring with our friend, Judy, she said the group went to Bamberg - we didn't go & I don't have a single picture to remind me where we actually docked.
"The scenic German town was founded largely on Christian faith. In 1007, Emperor Heinrich II made Bamberg the center of the Holy Roman Empire & the capital of his reign. He intended for it to become a second Rome; like its Italian
model, Bamberg was built on seven hills, each with a church on top...One of the few cities in Germany not destroyed by WWII bombing, Bamberg is the largest Old Town to retain its medieval structures; because of this, it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. Along with its Gothic, baroque & Romanesque architecture, the city was laid out according to medieval planning rules as a cross with churches at the four cardinal points".
7/23 There were 2 excursions to Wurzburg; the short excursion from 9-1 & a full day tour from 9-4...we took the full day tour. We visited the beautiful Wurzburg Residenz. Stunning.  Unfortunately, we were unable to take pictures inside so I'll add a few from the web.

                                                             Front of the Residenz and Cour d'honneur

"This magnificent Baroque palace – one of the largest and most beautiful in Germany and surrounded by wonderful gardens – was created under the patronage of the prince-bishops Lothar Franz and Friedrich Carl von Schönborn. It was built and decorated in the 18th century by an international team of architects, painters (including Tiepolo), sculptors and stucco-workers, led by Balthasar Neuman".



 

 

 

 

 

 

 Beautiful gardens

 

 

 

 

It was an interesting & enjoyable stop. Back on the buses & on to town when we had free time - we all liked that. Lovely & an easy walk around.

"Wurzburg - the architectural splendors that define the town reflect a range of periods. Art, culture & Franconian wine are essential parts of Wurzburg life...Würzburg... is a city in the region of Franconia, Northern Bavaria, Germany. Located on the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian. Würzburg lies at about equal distance (120 kilometer, or 75 miles) between Frankfurt am Main and Nuremberg. Although the city of Würzburg is not part of the Landkreis Würzburg, i.e. the county or district of Würzburg, it is the seat of the district's administration. The city's population is 133,501 as of 31 December 2008".

 

Fortress Marienberg



 

 

 

 

 

Restaurant on the Old Main-you can see some-sort of old water management - friends were having lunch & I never saw them waiving like crazy

 

Fortress Marienberg & the Old Main bridge

 

 

 

 

Beautiful & interesting Ratskeller restaurant where we had lunch

 

 

 

I think the restaurant was an old church -we wandered around the many levels throughout this  interesting & lovely building

 

 

Tired,  hot & hungry, we returned to the Aegir, having to go through another boat to get to the Aegir.

I simply can't remember when we left the area on our way to Heidelberg, but the cruise on the Main was spectacular.

"Unlike the Rhine, of which it is a tributary, the Main is not a superhighway in terms of river traffic...Looking at a map of Germany, the Rhine often seems to waste no times rushing for the Rhine delta. The Main, on the other hand, takes its times, veers off to the left or the right, doubles back on itself & seems to be in no hurry to get to its mouth at the city of Mainz. One of the ancient names for the river is Moine, which is said to mean 'crooked snake' - a very apt description...the 20th century saw rapid development on the river, which today has 34 locks & 33 hydro-power stations & carries ships with payloads of up to 1,500 metric tons. This transformation culminated in the opening, in 1992, of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, which today allows passage by river ships across the entire face of Europe from the North Sea to the Black Sea. Yet, the traffic is not comparable with that of the Rhine & you are likely to experience the Main as the ancient Celts did: a river in no hurry".

 

 



 

Lazy dayz of summer

 

 

 

Storm coming in with thunder & lightening

Amazing vineyards on the hills

 

Religion rules many things in Europe

7/24 - I'm really lost now. I have no idea where or when we docked. I have no pictures for reference. According to the daily paper, there was a tour to Heidelberg from 8:30 to 3:30 - probably by bus, otherwise, we would have walked around had we docked in town. The open deck was still closed which really pissed off a lot of people. Moral was low. There was the daily 'happy hour' & daily briefing about upcoming tours & events. Well, tonight was a shocker. We could see that George was distraught but trying to remain positive about what he had to say...try a 'spoonful of sugar to make the (terrible) medicine go down'.  He informed us that there was no way the boat can reach Amsterdam by the 27th  consequently, the plans would really change now. We had to be packed & off the boat early AM to board buses to Ruedesheim which would take about 4 hours!!!!!!! Dinner was served after this disturbing news. Tonight's dinner featured foods from around the world of Viking - not many had the appetite & almost no one attended the Glassblowing demonstration at 9pm.