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DAY SIX ~ WÜRZBURG (continued)

"If I could choose my place of birth I would consider Würzburg," wrote author Hermann Hesse. Completely understandable when you visit this beautiful Bavarian city. The architectural splendors that define the town reflect a range of periods. Art, culture and Franconian wine are essential parts of Würzburg life.

As for the river that flows through it, the Main is quite unlike the Rhine, of which the Main is a tributary. Looking at a map of Germany, the Rhine often seems to waste no time rushing for the Rhine delta. The Main, on the other hand, takes its time, veers off to the left or the right, doubles back on itself and 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.

See how the Main River meanders across the country side. I don't remember if I mentioned it earlier, but in our
travels from Amsterdam to Budapest we pass through 67 locks, some of them at night, and others when we were off
on a shore excursion. The first few are exciting to watch, and as we progress, they become ho hum, another lock.

As we approach the entrance of the Würzburg Residenz its awesomeness keeps growing. Such enormous
palaces simply staggers the imagination, or putting it more colorfully, boggles the mind.

Regarding the palaces, my first question is 'HOW?', and my second question is 'WHY?'. I never seem to get a satisfactory answer to either of those questions. I wonder if as they built this palace they thought about what a wonderful tourist attraction it would be in the future. ;o)

The entrance is huge and very elegant. Everyone seems to be in a state of awe.
Of course there are no escalators, so we climb the stairs to get to the upper floors.

The garden at the back side of the palace is elegant, and well maintained.

Every garden should have a statue of Pan, and a fair maiden to succumb to his charms.

We continued our tour after our palace visit. The skeleton was pretty cool, but weird that it adorns a church.

I don't know the significants of this bound statue, if there is any. The open market of fruits was certainly delectable.

Our last glimpse of the old Main bridge as we head back to the boat for dinner, and Martini time!

Dinner was great. The cut of beef was very tender, and the shrimp on top made it their version of surf n' turf. ;o)

DAY SEVEN ~ HASSFURT - July 30, 2013

At 6:30 PM we are again under weigh, and leaving Würzburg for Hassfurt. In the evening we are treated with a basic introduction to ballroom dancing by our Concierge Oliver. I was merely an observer. ;o)

Hassfurt is a town of 13,300 inhabitants, on the Main River in Bavaria, Germany.

Its narrow, straight streets laid out in a grid pattern leave the impression that
this charming town was systematically planned during the 13th century.

Statues of Neptune and some saint in the square. I thought it was interesting the contrast between moss covered
stone and gold leaf used on these statues. It was kind of a mixture of Greek and Roman techniques, I thought.

It was a beautiful day for a walk through Hassfurt, in spite of the storm clouds in the distance.

DAY SEVEN (continued) ~ BAMBERG

After our brief walk about in Hassfurt, we return to the ship for lunch, and after lunch we are bused to the city of Bamberg, and enjoy a guided walking tour there. Many cities and towns along Germany's great rivers are known for their wine. Bamberg, however, has a smokier signature beverage:

Rauchbier, a smoked beer made with malt that's been dried over open flames.
Eight breweries operate here, upholding a tradition two centuries old.

This is the Altes Rathaus, or Old Town Hall (1386), built in the middle of the Regnitz River, and
it is accessible by two bridges, which are believed to be the first cantilever bridges ever built.

The artist of this fresco added a little 3-D to his creation, with a cherub at the top, and a leg sticking out at the bottom.

The sculpture is a bit bizarre, but I liked it. And that has got to be the most colorful pig I've ever seen.
Pat loves crazy things like that. We continue our walk through the steers of Bamberg, which became a
little congested with all the tourists. It's relaxing to stop for a moment on
the bridge and watch the ducks swimming in the river below.

It was quite a pleasant surprise to see the gondola with tourists come floating down the river.
It's a great way to spend an afternoon. A little wine, bread and chess and you are in heaven. ;o)

Our shore excursion ends, and we head back to the boat to rest up a bit before dinner. I wonder what our Executive Chef Karl Heinz Zwanzleitner has in store for us tonight. It is certain to be something very special, but that will have to wait for Part 7.