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!
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