Bamberg and Wurzburg, Germany

July 3^rd  and 4^th

Bamberg and Wurzburg, Germany

 Peggy and I have had two very full days of touring and walking. Each day our tours have been for 4 to 4.5 hours with extra free time to walk especially back to the ship.  Today for example, it is 6:00 and we have walked over 5 miles. After walking back to the ship we had to take a nap.

Bamberg is one of the oldest town we will visit.  It was founded in 902 and still remains much of the medieval –looking city. The cathedral was is called the Cathedral of Emperor Heinrich II who had himself declared a saint by recovering from an illness, maybe the flu. He and his wife are buried in the cathedral along with Pope Clement II (see photos)

This is the day we left the Main-Danube Canal.

Wurzburg’s main attraction is the Wurzburg Residence and Court Garden. The main building survived the bombing of WWII including the frescoes and the white room’s stucco and the remainder was saved by an American John Skilton, officer, who found enough wood to protect the ceiling frescoes from damp at the end of the war. All the interior furnishings were original as they had removed all removable items (furniture, stoves, tapestries, paintings, and even doors, before the war) I could not take photos in the Residence or chapel but we could at the front and in the garden.

The Residence has the home of the prince-bishops of Wurzburg in the 18^th century. He had originally lived at the Marienberg Fortress, a large castle across the river, but thought that this was not special enough and he needed almost 400 rooms to impress.  Today most of those rooms provide living space for university students.

After our walking tour, Peggy and I stayed in town and had lunch from a street vender of German Wurzburg-er Sausage with sweet mustard a real treat. We did some extra shopping and I found the Euro Store which had lots of German soccer fan items. 

For the 4^th of July celebration, the chef created a beautiful and delicious cake of the American Flag. They even provided the Americans with the opportunity to sing the national anthem at the end of dinner.

Tonight we had a famous glass blower demonstrate his craft.  Tomorrow we will attend his shop and museum.