Prost!

 Thursday, September 24

Today we embarked on a 2 hour bus trip for the main reason we booked this particular cruise…Oktoberfest in Munich! A surprise bonus was a comfort break at the BMW headquarters on the way. I was this week old when I realized that BMW was an abbreviation for Bavarian Motor Works. The showroom was very impressive and included the latest BMW models as well as the Mini-Cooper and Rolls Royce (I didn’t know that BMW made both of these brands). From this location we could also see the 1972 Olympic housing which are now apartments. 

Our tour guides met us at BMW and took us on the subway to Munich’s Old Town. Don and I took the kids here about 20 years ago but of course have forgotten a lot about it. We walked past the Munich Residenz which is a former royal palace that I didn’t remember and the Hofbråuhaus, the famous 16th century beer hall which I did remember - go figure..

We ended up in the Marienplatz which is the square where the Town Halls are located and the famous Glockenspiel, a 16th century mechanical clock tower. Our guides were so organized that we made it there by 12 noon which is the only time it does its 15 minute show. The show is done in 2 parts. The top tier figures tell the story of a 1568 royal wedding and includes a jousting tournament between Duke Wilhelm V and Renata of Lorraine. Then the bottom tier has dancing figures that recreate the Schåfflertanz dance commemorating the end of the plague in 1635. 

From there we took another subway ride to Theresienwiese, a festival ground where the 191st Oktoberfest was in full swing. Oktoberfest started in Munich on October 12, 1810 as a public wedding celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.The success of the event resulted in this becoming an annual celebration combining it with the state agricultural fair. The dates have been moved to September to take advantage of warmer temperatures although it was kind of drizzly the day we visited. 

Because it was Thursday and in the early afternoon, the crowds were not too bad. It doesn’t cost a thing to enter and the number of amusement rides could rival Elitches. Of course there are food booths everywhere but you have to go into a tent and sit at a table to be served a beer. The “tents”  are massive with wood framing that makes you think you are in a permanent building. Each tent is run by traditional Munich breweries. Only Munich brewed Wiesen beer is served. Some tents are rowdier than others. We poked our heads inside one where the party was in full swing and few seats to be had. We ended up going into the Historic section and found a tent which had traditional dancers and band. Your only option for beer is a 1 liter stein with the alcohol content of a six pack of Bud Light. 

Surprisingly, all of our guides said that the traditional food to get there is roast chicken - not bratwurst. Their suggestion was correct because the chicken was terrific. Most locals wear traditional Bavarian clothing which is lederhosen for men and dirndls for women. It was fun to people watch and see all of the different styles. We have later found out that women wear bows strategically on their dirndls to signify if they are married, single, or widowed. Waitresses wear their bow in the back and that signifies “don’t mess with me!” 

Oktoberfest was definitely an event to attend. Such a fun atmosphere enjoyed by all ages. I think we need to attend again and definitely sporting a dirndl and spiffy lederhosen!

The Good and the Bad of Nuremberg

 Wednesday, September 23

Last night we had to pack up again because tomorrow we drive to Passau, Germany from Nuremberg where we docked this morning. We were supposed to have sailed out of the Main River and onto the Danube today but the section of Danube is too low between Nuremberg and Passau.

Nuremberg is the second largest city in the Bavarian state of Germany. This is the first city that we have visited in Germany that was not founded by the Romans. The first recorded date of the city is 1050.

The city is known for the Nazi Rallies that were held here in the 1930’s because Hitler had a fondness for Nuemberg and created large areas for parades and gatherings. The city was bombed heavily in the second part of WWII with 90% of the city destroyed.

Nuremberg is also known for the. Nuremberg Trials held here at the Palace of Justice from 1945-46 were Nazi leaders were prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. 24 top Nazi leaders were indicted, 12 were sentenced to death with 10 actually hung in Nuremberg.

Don and Gary wanted to find out more about this so they went on the Nuremberg and World War II tour. Karen and I opted for something less dark and went on the Survivng the War: Art in Nuremberg.

About 3 miles of the original wall that surrounded Nuremberg is still standing and we entered in through a gate to the historic part of the city. Inside this area reconstruction of the buildings were done so as to look like it was before the war. Outside of the historic part, we saw many basic looking concrete apartment buildings which were hastily built after the war so that the displaced citizens had a place to live. 

The outside of the churches in the historic area had to be rebuilt but all of the stained glass and art were saved through the guidance of the Nuremberg mayor at the time, Willy Liebel. Saving the art was one of his only good attributes as he was a devout Nazi who implemented anti-Semantic policies.

Art from the churches and other areas in Nuremberg were gathered in the Historischer Kunstbunker which were built underneath the Nuremberg castle in the Middle Ages to store beer. In 1940, Nazi officials under the direction of Liebel, renovated the cellars which have been empty. Since the invention of refrigeration. State of the art heating and ventilation systems were installed to preserve the art which included the Imperial Regalia of the Roman Empire.

Some of the art like the city’s “Beautiful Fountain” was too large to move so they built concrete and brick casing around it to protect it. Some church sculptures were encased in wood and then filled with sand. 

Near the end of the war, mayor Liebel got nervous and had some of his men move the Imperial  Reglia and hid the items in a brick wall. After the war, an American unit called the Monument Men found the bunkers and thanks to the German penchant for keeping meticulous records, returned the art to its owners. The men who hid the Regalia were arrested and one was “convinced” to show them where the treasures were hidden. However, the Monument Men made a mistake according to our Nuremberg guide. It was decreed several years ago that the collection of Regalia should always stay in Nuremberg but it was sent back to Vienna where it was safeguarded for a short time at the beginning of the war until Hitler ordered it to be returned to Nuremberg. This is a sore subject for the people of Nuremberg because Vienna refuses to return it. 

We met up with our husbands for lunch and then finally had time for shopping. Nuremberg is known for its gingerbread which usually they eat only at Christmas but because of the many tourists you can find it all year round. Their tradional gingerbread has no flour and a lot of nuts with spices but surprisingly no ginger. It was delicious!

Not the Excursion We Had Signed Up For

 Tuesday, September 22

Today we didn’t get the excursion that we planned for. Don had been fighting a cold for the last couple of days and it hit him hard last night. The Viking crew was very helpful and later convinced us that he should visit the hospital in Bamberg the next day to “get a shot of vitamins” instead of going on a beer tour. He said I could go on the tour without him but let’s think about that…an American man who isn’t feeling well and who has trouble understanding anyone with an accent, by himself at a German hospital…what could go wrong? Nein! I went with him. 

The program director hailed us a cab and gave instructions to the driver who didn’t speak any English. I thought we both would have more injuries before we got there but we ended up getting there in one piece. Did I mention that where we have been in Germany so far, none of the public signs have English on them. In Italy, many signs have English subtitles and I can kind of figure out words because they are somewhat similiar but this is not so in Germany. “Emergency Room” in German is “Notaufnah me”. Needless to say, my Translator app came in very handy, especially when I was dealing with the payment office. The women in there did not speak English.

Fortunatley, Don’s nurse was very fluent in English and the doctor was pretty good. The ER visit, blood work, x-ray, ultrasound and IV fluids totaled 700 euro. It would probably be at least double that in the states. We think that the Viking Program Director called ahead and emphasized that Don needed on the fast track since we got to the hospital at 2:30pm and needed back at the ship by 5:45pm. Don kept reminding the nurse of that as well. (He may or may not have turned up the drip on his IV.) They perked him up with fluids and all the tests came out good. We were in the cab by 5:20pm and slid into the meeting point exactly at 5:45pm! 

The Klinikum am Bruderwald is a very nice teaching hospital in Bamberg but I don’t think Viking should add it to the excursion list..I guess we need to come back to see Bamberg properly and taste the smoky beer which is this area’s specialty.

P.S. For the record, Don wanted me to add that he didn’t have any problems with understanding the German accents….

Everything Franconian

 Monday, September 21

Today we arrived in Würzburg in the early morning. This city on the Main River has a population of around 130,000 people with about 30,000 of them being students at the Julius Maximilians University. This university has produced 14 Nobel Laureates. Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen won in 1901 foe discovering x-rays. An “x-ray” is called a “Röntgen” in Germany.

Wǔrzburg is surrounded by vineyards on the hillsides. It is in the Franconia region of northern Bavaria but citizens of Würzburg consider themselves Franconian and not Bavarian. 

Buses were waiting by the ship to take us the short distance to the Würzburg Residence. This palace was commissioned by  the Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn in 1720 and the shell was finished in 1744. A different Prince-Bishop - Prince-Bishop Franz Ludwig von Erthal was in power when the residence was completely finished in 1780. The architect for this project was Balthasar Neumann who was a master in the baroque style. There is a magnificent stairway inside with a tremendous unsupported flat vault ceiling.

The ceiling frescoes were done by Venetian painter Giovanni Batista Tiepolo. There is so much detail in this artwork and not only do the frescoes look 3-D, some of it is, with sculptures coming out of some of the frescoes. Photos can’t do it justice. In some of the adjacent rooms, Tiepolo created more frescoes and there is also stucco art by Antonio Bossi. Because it is the Baroque style it is over the top with gold leaf everywhere and large tapestries adoring many walls. All 300 rooms are not on display. Some rooms are used for university lectures. 

Unfortunately, the residence had to be restored after WWII because most of it was destroyed by a 20 minute bombing raid. The dome was not destroyed because of the wood frame above it and how it was constructed. 

There is a beautiful garden behind the residence which I will have to see in the future because the interior kept me intrigued until it was time for the tour to move on. 

The rest of the tour was walking through the historic old town most of which was restored as well. The tour ended at the Old Main pedestrian Bridge  which is made of stone and decorated in the Baroque style featuring statues of saints. The tradition called Bruckenschoppen is to buy a glass of Fraconian wine at the end of the bridge and drink it while enjoying the stroll along the bridge. It is the only place in Germany where you can wander around with alcohol. We had to skip it in order to get back to the ship for our afternoon hiking excursion. Darn it!

After a quick lunch, those who were up for a little hike, boarded a bus that headed to the top of the hill to find the Kåppele (Little Chapel). This was designed again by Balthasar Neumann. This is a pilgrimage church where there are  14 outdoor stations of the cross in separate little chapels alongside the hill. We started from the top and went down but to go in order you would need to go up. Some dedicated pilgrims climb on their knees all the way which would be difficult.

Our tour guide then led us on a hike through the vineyards which are all on the hillside so it was pretty steep. The grapes have already been harvested but we found a few on the vine and were tasty. Fraconian wine is primarily white with the most popular made with the Silvaner grape. 

We finally made our way to the Marienberg Fortress with wonderful views of the city. This was the original residence of the Prince-Bishops. We were able to walk around the grounds but weren’t able to enter the palace because it is closed for renovation. 

On the way back down the hill we walked through some pretty gardens, some of which were donated by sister cities around the world such as Japan and Switzerland. 

A 15,000 step day but worth every one!

P.S. I did get my glass of Franconian Silvaner wine on the ship!

An Enchanting Day in Milltenberg

 Sunday, September 20

We woke up to sunny skies this morning in Miltenberg, Germany, often referred to as “Pearl of the Main.”  This is a small medieval town on the Main River (pronounced ‘mine’) which we have been traveling on since Frankfurt. This river water is controlled and we will pass through 34 locks and 33 hydropower stations on the way. No low water levels on this stretch. 

Our tour guide today was Terri and was from Detroit, Michigan so we understood her perfectly! She married an automotive engineer from Germany and has lived in Miltenberg for 8 years and is very happy here. I can see why. Miltenberg is an idyllic German town with a population of a little over 9,000. 

We had just a short walk along the river to the historic town made up of only two streets that run parallel to the river. There is a section called Schwarzviertel (black quarter) because of the narrow street and tall houses that prevent most sunlight from shining in. None of this town had to be rebuilt after WWII. Some of the old buildings are a little crooked but our tour guide thought maybe some of that was because during the years they were built, the river water was too polluted to drink so most people drank beer which could affect the quality of the craftsmanship(?!)

Speaking of beer, the Faust family founded their brewery here in 1654 and has been run by four generations. The beer is aged in sandstone cellars in this area and never exported beyond the local area. The owners believe to do so would compromise the quality of the beer. If you don’t drink it here you are out of luck! Of course we had some, although I opted for the Faust Natur-Radler which is Faust beer mixed with lemonade. It was very good.

Terri told us many great stories about Miltenberg but here is one of my favorites:

The Schnatterloch is a famous square which is in front of St. James Church. The square is a popular spot for the community and also where you would hold meetings and protests. In 2006 a neo-nazi group from out of town got a permit to have a rally in this square to the chagrin of the townspeople. Coincidentally the priest, Father Boom, decided that during the gathering would be a great time to try out all of the bells in the church’s bell tower. After 20 minutes of the extremely loud bell ringing, the neo-nazi group left. However a few months later the court found in favor of the group’s claim that the church infringed on their right to protest and fined the church 5,000 euros. Of course the church members helped pay the fine. Most importantly, when the archdiocese found out about it, Father Boom was promoted to Bishop Boom and is in a cathedral near here. 

Another historic site we saw was the Gashaus Zum Riesen which is one of the oldest operating inns in Germany dating back to when Trestam zum Riesen (Trestam the Giant) was registered in 1411. It used to be a drive through Inn so no one had to walk in the filthy street (yes bed pans were dumped from balconies at that time). Royalty has stayed here and many years later this was a favorite accommodation to Elvis Presley when he was stationed in Europe. 

After the tour, Gary, Karen, Don and I hiked up the hill to see the castle. Part of the castle is an art museum but you can also climb the stairs to the top of the tower which we did. There we had a terrific view of the town and beyond. 

We all felt that we would love to spend more time in this beautiful town but alas, our ship sailed at noon. 

It turns out that the morning was the best weather of the day. We had rain all afternoon so it was good weather for sailing. River cruises are very relaxing as you cruise through the countryside and towns along the way. It was a great time for reading, playing cribbage and catching up on this blog!

Prost with Kölsch!

 Saturday September 19

This morning started bright and early because our bags had to be out in the hallway by 7am in order to be transported to our new ship out of Frankfurt. The Viking Program Director tried to make us feel better about re-packing by having us think of it as an exercise in reassessing how many souvenirs we have purchased and how much room we have for more! Well if you put it that way I can already tell you that I need another suitcase!

We were loaded up on coach buses after breakfast and then made our way about 1.5 hours to the city of Cologne, Germany. The German name for Cologne is Köln and it is the fourth largest city in Germany. It was a Roman Colony in 50 AD and we were shown some pieces of the Roman wall that originally surrounded the city. 

Much of Cologne was destroyed during WWII but the Cologne Cathedral survived 84 bombings. It is a massive gothic style church which took 600 years to build (1248-1880). We were unable to go inside because of time constraints which was unfortunate. Viking may be hearing about that..

The city is on the Rhine river which we were supposed to be arriving on. The is river down 4-6 feet of where it is supposed to be. Not only is this effecting the tour business in this area but also many goods that are usually imported by ships have to be shipped by truck or train which is more expensive. The result is the prices of things are going up for all Germans. 

A fun fact is that Cologne is the birthplace of Eau de Cologne in 1709, a famous fragrance created by Italian perfumer Johann Maria Farina. It was first marketed as medicinal and called “miracle water”. I bought a liter!

Viking treated us and over 100 of our Viking friends to lunch at Peter’s Brauhaus. Cologne is known for their Kölsch beer which is served in slim small glasses. We were forewarned that the Köbes (waiter) will keep bringing you full glasses of beer until you put your coaster on top of your empty glass. We fact checked that today and it’s true! After lunch we had a small window of time for shopping and then headed back to the bus. 

Most of the people on the bus slept after all that beer  - luckily the ride included another pit stop on the way - and we got to Frankfurt around 5:45. About a 2.5 hour drive. We then boarded our new ship Gefjon where we hope to sail on for at least a few days. We have a whole new crew and they seemed happy to see us. We have the same rooms and our luggage was waiting for us when we got there so that was pretty easy. They didn’t unpack for us though…

Meandering Maastricht

 Friday,  September 18

After cruising all through the night, we arrived in Maastricht, The Netherlands this afternoon around 1pm. It was a sunny day and we thought we might spend the morning on the top deck but it was closed. There were many low bridges along our voyage that our ship barely made it under so the railings on the top deck had to be down in order to finagle it. If the railings couldn’t  be up,  a person certainly couldn’t  be standing on top!

The original itinerary had us arriving in Cologne, Germany today instead of Maastricht.  However, due to low water levels we could not make it to Cologne. Instead, Viking had arranged for local tour guides to take groups on a walking tour of the  Maastricht.

Our guide’s name was Karen and she was a resident of Maastricht. This town is on the Meuse River and is very quaint with cobblestone streets. It was established in 50 BC by the Romans and you can still see remnants of the stone walls that surrounded the city many years ago. It is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. Maastricht was really bustling and has many shops. There was a market going on in one of the squares but shopping was not built into the tour. There were lots of fabric and sewing notions but no time to shop. However, Karen managed to buy some socks in record time whithout losing our group. 

At one time Maastricht had over 50 churches. Not many people go to churches anymore so many have converted them into pubs and restaurants, etc. Karen the tour guide took us to a church that is now a popular book store called Book Store Dominicanen.  I would have loved to spend some time there too.

We did have time at the end of the tour to walk around by ourselves so we found an outdoor cafe for a beer and shopped around a bit. 

Unfortunately, because of the low water levels, we have to pack our bags tonight so that they can be transported to another ship outside of Frankfurt to  continue our voyage. We have two options to choose from to get ourselves there. We chose the option to tour Cologne, Germany but it looks like we will be spending around 5 hours on the tour bus. On the plus side we will be getting to see some of the countryside.