An evening photo of the town, taken from the bridge in Würzburg
Sunday morning, May 24, our bus was just leaving Mannheim for a two-hour drive to Würzburg where we'd be staying for the next two nights. The plan that day was to eat lunch first (on our own) and meet up with a local guide for a walking tour of the city and of the Würzburg Residence. Later that night, we'd share a group meal at a local restaurant.
Jim and I were talking about it and had decided that we'd skip the day in Würzburg and instead take off on our own up towards his old Army base. (He served 12 years in the US Army.)
In the late 80s, before he was even 20 years old, Jim was stationed for two years at Wildflecken in Germany. The base itself was decommissioned and transferred back to Germany in 1994, so we couldn't actually visit that, but there was a monastery on top of a hill that the soldiers use to visit after a long hike. When they reached the top, they were rewarded with a beer, which was brewed by the monks! Today that monastery, Kloster Kreuzberg, is a popular tourist spot and still serves beer with rave reviews.
It was the closest we'd be to his old stomping grounds during our current Germany tour ... only an hour away. And we both wanted to make it happen.
We thought Uber would be the best choice. So we talked to Farid and told him of our plans, said goodbye to our fellow travelers once we arrived in Würzburg, and set off to find our Uber pickup location around the corner.
But an Uber driver never responded to our app. We tried twice, but no luck. Apparently the Uber service had just started in the city in the last few months. It was too new. I downloaded the Bolt rideshare app .... again, crickets.
Not yet defeated, our thoughts turned to a taxi. So we kept our eyes peeled and soon enough one pulled up just a short distance away. The driver got out and popped inside a building for a bit, so we stood nearby.
Still on our phones (I was searching for rental cars by this time), and I suppose we had "TOURIST" stamped all over us, a shopkeeper soon came over and offered help. I asked about rental cars; Jim was asking about taxis; and the fellow suggested we grab a car right there. Just a few steps away was a "scouter" car-sharing spot, and one vehicle was available.
So I'm over there trying to figure out how it worked. Everything was written in foreign language and although I downloaded the app, I couldn't figure out how to change everything to English. We were standing in the sun. It was hot. Jim kept saying he didn't want to drive anyway (it defeats the purpose of going to a place specifically to drink beer). Both of us were getting frustrated.
Jim found the taxi driver ... the guy offered to take us there for 200 euros ($230 USD). That was a big amount for just one way. We'd still have to get back to Würzburg. It just wasn't worth it to pay close to $500 roundtrip. :-/
So that was it. We tried ... and tried.
I called Farid and told him we were going to join the group after all. He gave me the location and the meet-up time. There was still time for a quick lunch. So that made us feel a bit better.
Just across the old stone bridge, there was a restaurant with outdoor seating overlooking the water. This photo above is one I took of it a different time, but it shows you where we sat to eat. And this was our view (photo below). The food was great, service a bit slow, but we managed to finish just in time to rush off and meet up with the others.
Since we weren't planning on doing the walking tour that day, I hadn't put our audio systems in my bag. Farid just had one extra that he let me borrow, but Jim still didn't have one. The audio system's single earbud allows you to listen to the tour guide while walking at the same time. It's great for group trips. So that was a bummer that we didn't have ours, but Jim seemed okay and I filled him in on the highlights.
Würzburg is in Bavaria, Germany, and the city dates back to a Celtic settlement in 1000 BC. Known as the "unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire", it was ruled by powerful Prince-Bishops.
During a WWII bombing raid on March 16, 1945, close to 90% of the city was destroyed, including the historic medieval city center. Nearly 5,000 people were killed. They have a replica model of the city in a glass case that shows the devastating aftermath.
If you want to delve more into the history, there is a pdf online about the bombing in Würzburg, and it includes two interviews with people who lived through that time as children. (click on the underline)
Our guide told us that for many years people in Germany didn't want to talk about what happened during the war. But over time, that changed. They wanted future generations to learn about it. It was important.
Würzburg was painstakingly rebuilt over the years and today the picturesque town is the official start of the "Romantic Road" through southern Germany.
This church below is probably one of the most eye-catching landmarks in the city. The red and white structure is the Marienkapell (St. Mary's Chapel), a Roman Catholic church, in the town square. It was originally constructed in the Gothic style in the 14th century. Although destroyed in WWII, it was rebuilt from 1948-1961.
There are different carvings over each of the doors leading into the church, and according to our tour guide, they caused quite a bit of controversy at the time.
The figures of Adam and Eve, situated on either side of the front door, were carved almost completely nude. Although they were nude in the Bible, during that time, they were typically depicted with more foliage over their essential areas.
Over another door there is a carving of the Annunciation (when Mary learned she would be pregnant and conceive the baby Jesus). I've enlarged the photo of that for you. The carving shows a tube (depicting the Word of God) from God's mouth to Mary's ear. On the tube you'll find baby Jesus, sliding down on his belly, straight towards her head. There is also a dove at her ear signifying the Holy Ghost entering that way as well. Apparently a lot can happen when you listen carefully! haha!
Below is the Neumünster Collegiate Church, often called simply Neumünster. Today, it serves as a parish church dedicated to John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, but its history dates back to the 8th century.
Another large church in Würzburg is Saint Kilian’s Cathedral (below). It's the fourth largest Romanesque church in Germany.
First constructed in the 11th century, it still serves as a major place of worship and is the seat of the Bishop of Würzburg. Reconstruction after WWII was completed in 1967. Although I wouldn't consider it "beautiful" on the outside, the inside was especially detailed.
This figure (above) certainly catches your eye. He's sitting on the stairs facing the side of the Cathedral. Behind him is the museum. According to our tour guide, it's a work of art showing the man bound up because he is staring up at the Cathedral and it's so magnificent that he can't move from the spot.
I found another interpretation online. After the short flight of stairs was added to improve the square's appearance, city planners realized that the stairs posed a safety hazard and ordered the museum to add a railing. Not wanting to ruin the aesthetics, the museum instead asked German artist Maria Lehnen to create a statue, which was then placed in a central spot at the top of the stairs. It's been said the bound-up man represents a way of following the letter of the law but not its spirit.
After the walking tour of the city, we visited the Würzburg "Residence". According to Wikipedia, the Residence was commissioned by the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn and his brother Friedrich Carl von Schönborn in 1720, and completed in 1744. The Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, assisted by his son, Domenico, painted frescoes in the building. In 1981 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its outstanding Baroque art, design, and architecture.
It was amazing to see that while some of the ceiling details are painted, sculpted pieces are also incorporated, to give the whole thing a 3D look. It was extremely hard to tell which parts were painted and which were sculpted. Even when our tour guide pointed things out, I couldn't always see it.
The place was massive! We had been on our feet all day and I was getting tired. Jim was thirsty so he went off in search of water. I continued on by myself, not knowing exactly where I was, while room after room it was the same ... hyper-detailed, honestly gaudy décor. Whew, the style back then. It was a lot! haha!
Unfortunately after finally getting out of the building, we were too tired and too hot to try and tour the gardens in the full sun. Although the huge staircase and hand-painted ceilings were exquisite (the best part in my opinion), I probably would have been much happier if I had only toured the gardens instead of going inside.
Out in front of the Residence was a lot of activity, including wedding photos underway. As a photographer myself, I always love seeing other photographers work!
And there were a bunch of sporty little cars driving through too! It looked like a little car show or meet-up was happening.
Once our tour group reassembled outside the Residence, we walked from there to our hotel at the Dorint. And the hotel was fine. It was pretty modern. Nothing really stood out to me in particular, and the breakfast again, just so-so.
One thing we didn't care for was this large piece of artwork on the wall in our room. With a comic-book drawing of a woman crying, she says, "I lost him because of one stupid mistake!"
uh, huh? This wouldn't be my first choice for hotel room décor ... like anywhere. Apologies to the artist.
I mean, we're in Germany ... in a historic city ... on the "Romantic road." Okay.
For dinner Sunday night, George brought the bus around and drove us to a restaurant in town. I was glad we didn't have to walk this time for a change. haha! As we arrived, the place had a really cool entrance.
But the entrance, it turned out, was the best part of it. haha! We were again eating a group meal, so our menu was pre-assigned. It was a traditional Franconian beef plate for all of us, cabbage, and two potato balls. None of us cared for the potato balls really. They were kinda sticky, and dense ... tolerable, but not tasty. The gravy was too much also. It had such a strong flavor. And I didn't care for the sweet purple cabbage either. The whole meal was certainly not a crowd favorite at our table!
In addition, the Wine Creme soup before the meal was really salty, so a few of us opted for a beef liver soup. I could manage most of the broth, and a taste or two of the beef liver, but it sure wasn't a pretty dish. I tried not to look at it too much. haha!
The fruit, pancake, and ice cream dessert was okay ... the best part of the meal. But whew, Jim and I would have much rather had schnitzel again!! And that's exactly what we went hunting for the next day too. :)
Day Two in Würzburg
Our second day in Würzburg was actually just the late afternoon and into the evening. The morning of May 25, we were on the bus by 8:45 and on our way to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, one of our most favorite stops on the tour! I was going to try and include it here, but it deserves its own post ... and there's a whole bunch of photos!! So that's coming next!
But closing out our stay in Würzburg, we arrived back to the hotel around 4:30 and spent a little time just relaxing in the room. As the day was getting later, I suggested we walk into the old downtown and to the bridge so that I could take some photos. The day before we had rushed through that area in order to meet up with our group for the walking tour.
Constructed in the 12th century, the old bridge is only used by pedestrians and bicycles these days. On nice evenings, such as this one, people love to gather on the bridge and enjoy glasses of Franconian wine. It's a regular tradition and most everyone out there had a glass. No plastic to-go cups here!
A unique feature of the bridge are the round side alcoves housing the 12 bridge statues, which represent, among others, apostles of Franconia, Würzburg bishops, various saints as well as Charlemagne and his father Pippin.
It was a great evening enjoying the last hours of daylight. We walked back through town and decided to grab a late dinner at a restaurant not too far from our hotel, and yes, I had schnitzel. It was already after 9 pm, but that was fine. Tomorrow we'd be packing up once again and heading to our final city stop on the tour. It's all going by so fast! But before we get to the last stop, I'm circling back to yesterday and the cutest little village town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber! See you there! :)