We tied up at the public dock.

“150 years after the project by King Ludwig, the new Main-Donau-Channel was finished and officially opened here in Berching.”  Welcome to Berching tourist brochure

Fairy-tale image except for the modern banners covering the walls.

“In old books you can still find the description of the romantic German town with an imposing fortification, high towers, heavy gates and cobbled places.  Those towns became quite rare, often overbuilt to be modern.  But Berching is quite different: colourful houses which are standing close to each other, small chirches and a completely well preserved fortification from the Middle Ages.

    There is hardly another town in Bavaria with such a close and unchanged medieval townscape than in Berching: 13 towers, 4 gates and the defensive will from the 15^th century characterize the picture of the 1100-year-old town. “ Welcome to Berching brochure

One of the town gates.

The Berching maypole had images illustrating different professions; cobbler, woodworker, etc.

Very charming place to visit.

Examples of wood work was displayed in a shop window.

The tourist office

Gluck banners adorn many of the town walls.

“Christopher Willard Gluck, the famous reformer of the opera and creator of “Orpheus and Eurydike,”  who disregarded the motionless baroque opera, was born here in 1714.  An exhibition in the local museum shows details about Gluck’s life and works.”

Berching brochure

We ate an Italian dinner al fresco  and then went for a walk through the town.

Berching town library.  I had a lovely chat with Librarian Ingrid Olbrid. (I hope I wrote that correctly.)   The small side chapel off the children’s room made me think the building had once been a church, but Ingrid told me the library had once been a hospital.  It might have been a chapel in the hospital.

Towers and wrought iron display

In Bischberg  we bought our new “bridge height pole” to make sure we can fit underneath.

Our lock escort…..

We followed ‘Constellation 1 of Wurzburg’ through all of the locks between Bischberg and Nuremberg.  The captain was really courteous and warned us of low bridges and apologized for a short stop he had to make for a delivery.  When leaving the locks he waited until he was far enough ahead of us to turn up his engines so not to churn up the water behind. 

June 10^th Bischberg to Nuremberg

The canal was built over roads and you look down on rooftops.

A solar energy farm

June 12^th between Nuremberg and Berching 24.7 Meters and first floating bollard. 

The bollard slides so once you’re hooked on, that’s it.  So much easier.  I tried my hand at these and now Mary and I take turns. 

We were still going up river at this lock. 

The old fashioned bollards that meant changing at least a dozen times while you rose.  The sliding bollard eliminates the need for these, but were only on one side of the lock.  Sometimes the sliding bollard was on the east side and some on the west so you had to be prepared for either.  We have 2 really big, heavy fenders bow and stern.  They need to be on the side we’re tied up to.  That means changing them depending whether the sliding bollard is on the east or west wall. 

With sliding bollards there’s time for boat work.

Arriving at the top

Looking back down the river at a ship waiting for the lock to recycle.

Keeping track of the locks and their heights.  24.7 were the biggest and thankfully had floating bollards. 

The final lock we went to down as we’d “crossed the divide.”

The “divide” wall.  

Our first “going down” lock.

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/

The Rhine-Danube Canal

By Anonymous

From our April 1930 Issue

A CONSTANTLY navigable waterway through the heart of Europe, from the North Sea to the Black Sea, is now being constructed. Twice before it has been attempted. More than a thousand years ago Charlemagne tried to join together two tributaries of the Danube and Main Rivers, but geological conditions and heavy rains defeated his engineers. Nearly a century ago Ludwig I of Bavaria built a canal connecting the Main below Bamberg with the Danube at Kelheim. But this 107-mile canal, with its 100 locks and its capacity limited to 120-ton ships, went down to defeat before its latest competitor, the railroad; for while the upper reaches of the Danube and the Main are not always

navigable, steam power is always on tap. And so the traveler through Nürnberg today sees from the train a deserted waterway.

Determined to overcome the obstacles that were fatal to their predecessors, twentieth century engineers plan to make use of the 388 miles of navigable river from Rotterdam to Aschaffenburg and of the 1,362 miles of the navigable Danube from Sulina to Passau, and to construct from Aschaffenburg on the Main to Passau on the Danube — a distance of 380 miles — a waterway navigable for 1,500-ton ships (i.e., the largest ships usually engaged in inland traffic). They will also give Augsburg and Munich shipping connections with the canal.

By a treaty signed in 1921 the German Government and Bavaria agreed jointly to construct a Rhine-Main-Danube waterway. The Rhine-Main-Danube Company, of Munich, was formed for the purpose, and the stock was subscribed to by the Reich and Bavaria, as well as by other German states, by cities along the Rhine and Main, and by the public; all loans to the company are jointly guaranteed by the Reich and the Bavarian Government. The American public is interested in the company to the extent of about $6,000,000. As the Main had already been canalized as far up as Aschaffenburg, the company first set out to canalize the river above Aschaffenburg and to regulate the Danube, so that these two stretches of river will be constantly navigable. When this work is completed, it will be necessary to cut a canal connecting the two rivers, and it is planned to merge into the new waterway parts of the Ludwig Canal, which is being considerably widened and deepened to meet the demands of twentieth century river traffic.

A channel with a minimum depth of six feet has already been completed for a distance of 100 miles above Passau, and a dam and double locks have been constructed at Kachlet. Canalization of the Main above Aschaffenburg is proceeding rapidly; a dam at Obernau, about six miles above Aschaffenburg, is already in operation, and three others, at Kleinwallstadt, Klingenberg and Kleinheubach, are now under construction.

In order to pass over the range of mountains separating the Main valley from the Danube, the waterway will have to accomplish a rise of nearly 1,000 feet from Aschaffenburg to the summit level, near Hilpoltstein, and then descend about 400 feet to Passau. This will be done by constructing 52 dams, and the locks will be so placed that ships will be able to proceed in the canal at an average speed of six miles per hour. In order to be assured of sufficient water for working the locks of this canal, a reservoir will be constructed at Hilpoltstein, to be fed by a canal about 45 miles long, which, crossing the Danube by aqueduct, will tap the River Lech below Augsburg.

From the financial point of view probably the most valuable asset of the canal is the hydroelectric power stations to be erected at 38 of the 52 dams. It is estimated that the profits derived from the sale of power will within twenty-five years pay off the construction costs of each plant, and thereafter will contribute annually to the amortization of the capital invested in the waterway itself. When all the power plants are in operation, they are expected to yield 1,475,000,000 kilowatt hours annually. The Kachlet plant, above Passau, consists of eight 8,000-horsepower turbines with an annual capacity of 275,000,000 kilowatt hours; this electrical energy is carried by cables to Nürnberg and Furth. Each of the four power plants on the Main, mentioned above, has two turbines yielding between 18,000,000 and 22,000,000 kilowatt hours annually. With such a great source of electrical energy, Middle Germany, though far from good coal supplies, will soon enjoy plenty of power for her metallurgical and electro-chemical industries, and also for other industries and perhaps even for her railroads. Abundant electricity for industry will doubtless create new values for Austria also.

The total cost of constructing the waterway has been estimated at $185,000,000, and the annual operation and maintenance cost are put at $800,000. But as sections of the waterway are completed, they may (at the request either of the Reich or of the company) be taken over by the Reich, in which event the company will be relieved of operation and maintenance costs. The cost of constructing the power plants (which will pay operation and maintenance costs out of profits from the sale of power) is estimated at $70,000,000. They are to be operated by the company until the end of the year 2050, when they revert to the Reich without compensation. The present program of work calls for an expenditure of $32,500,000, nearly half of which is to be contributed by the Reich in ten annual instalments.

This trans-Europe waterway, with its western depot at London and its eastern depot at Sulina, at the mouth of the Danube, where freight can be transshipped for Russian, Turkish and Levantine ports, will be open to free competition to all countries. The Versailles Treaty declared the Danube international below Ulm (Art. 331), as also — were it ever constructed — the deep-draught Rhine-Danube navigable waterway (Arts. 331, 353); it also provided for "the free navigation of vessels and crews of all nations on the Rhine" (Art. 356). The Danube is administered by two international commissions.

Traffic on the Danube has never equalled that on the Rhine, which passes through districts much more highly developed industrially. But since the war the Danube has become much more important as an international highway. Seven independent states now have access to its waters, five of them possessing territory on both banks. For Austria, Czechoslovakia and Hungary it affords the only practicable and independent right of access to the sea. It has been estimated that the canal connecting the Rhine and the Danube would attract at least 10,000,000 tons of shipping annually. To handle this volume of traffic harbors must be extended and improved, warehouses and docks must be built, and railroad and trucking services must be improved. Czechoslovakia already possesses, at Bratislava (Pressburg), big modern docks, and Aschaffenburg and Budapest have considerable harbors. Passau and Regensburg are looking forward to enlarging their docks, and ports in Jugoslavia, Bulgaria and Rumania are planning improved accommodations.

The districts through which the canal will pass are mainly agricultural; but iron-ore deposits have been located in the highlands between Nürnberg, Bamberg and Baireuth, and the huge hydroelectric plants should, by encouraging the development of industry here, provide much traffic for the new waterway. Experts calculate that 48 percent of the total traffic on the new waterway will move westwards and 52 percent, eastwards. Germany will send to the Danubian states Westphalian coal, agricultural machines and artificial fertilizers (for both of which there is a great demand in the agricultural states of the lower Danube basin), as well as other finished products of her industries; in return she will receive agricultural products, timber and oil. Hungary, Jugoslavia and Bulgaria will benefit by the cheaper rates of water transportation for sending their surplus grain up the river to Czechoslovakia and southern Germany. Before the war, the regions now contained in Czechoslovakia produced about 75 percent of the industrial output of Austria-Hungary; this must now be exported, and, as Germany offers no market, it should logically be sold in Hungary and the other Danubian states, rather than as now in countries far distant, often overseas.

But important as the waterway undoubtedly will be to the Danubian states, they will not benefit from it alone. France is interested in it because, in Alsace, she is again on the Rhine. Great Britain is interested, because of the possibilities it opens for the Levant trade and also for direct communication with the petroleum depots of Batum and Baku. Germany is interested, because she desires to revive her trade routes to the East, which is rich in raw materials. Ultimately, the waterway is of world importance, as affording a direct connection between the terminals of transatlantic shipping and the ports of the Levant.

Site of a former Nuremberg synagogue burnt during Kristallnacht

     “On the 10 August 1938 on the orders of Streicher, the Great Synagogue and the adjacent Jewish community building were torn down, under the pretext “that they were spoiling the look of the city.” The synagogue’s Jewish Stone, a remnant of a medieval synagogue that served as the base for the Holy Ark, was saved by a non-Jewish architect.  On Kristallnacht, which took place throughout the Reich, at 2.00am, SA men armed with sticks gathered in the main city square and set fire to the Adas Israel synagogue, and the Ahiezer prayer hall.”

http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/nazioccupation/nuremberg.html

Just next to the Synagogue memorial

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007908

Katzenberger Case, March 13, 1942

     “Leo Katzenberger was a prominent Jewish businessman in Nuremberg who owned a wholesale shoe business and a number of stores throughout southern Germany and who was a leading figure in the Nuremberg Jewish community. Beginning in 1932, he rented an apartment and a small storefront in his building at 19 Spittlertorgraben to Irene Seiler, the daughter of a non-Jewish friend. Although his business was “Aryanized” in 1938, he was still considered well-off and continued to own his building and rent space to Seiler.

In the spring of 1941, Katzenberger, who was 76, and Seiler, who was 30, were accused of having a sexual affair and arrested on charges of race defilement (Rassenschande). Under interrogation they steadfastly denied that there was any sexual element to their relationship and asserted that it was merely a longstanding friendship in which Katzenberger helped Seiler as a father would help a daughter. The judge who initially investigated the case was unable to find sufficient evidence that sexual intercourse between Katzenberger and Seiler had occurred and delayed bringing the case to trial until further investigation. Then, in March 1942, following a sworn statement by Irene Seiler in which she also denied the charges, the case was brought before the Nuremberg Special Court and presided over by the notorious Nazi judge Dr. Oswald Rothaug.

There was great public interest in the proceedings and the court was crowded both days. In what was a deliberately orchestrated show trial, Rothaug referred to Katzenberger several times as a “syphilitic Jew” and an “agent of world Jewry.” There was no question of the outcome. The court convicted Katzenberger of race defilement and imposed the death penalty by applying not just the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, but also the Ordinance against Public Enemies (also called the Folk Pest Law) of 1939. The latter law — which permitted the death penalty if the accused exploited wartime conditions to further his or her crime — was used against Katzenberger on the grounds that he secretly visited Seiler “after dark.”

The written findings of the case reveal a series of inconsistencies and perversions allowed under the Nazi system of justice. The accused were arrested on the basis of rumors and innuendo; their sworn statements were twisted and used against them to further the aims of the prosecution; and the verdict was written to meet a predetermined outcome of guilt. It was a public demonstration designed to inflame antisemitic feeling and justify the extraordinary measures put in place to persecute Jews and other so-called enemies of the regime.

Irene Seiler was found guilty of perjury and sentenced to two years of hard labor. Leo Katzenberger was beheaded on June 2, 1942, at Stadelheim Prison in Munich.”

Around the corner kids enjoying this modernistic water fountain on a very hot day

An unintended smiley face on the tower.

Beautiful Fountain

“Built ca. 1358-1396 by construction supervisor and stonemason Heinrich Beheim.  The 19 m tall stone pyramid rises from the octagonal basin like a Gothic church spire, narrowing in three stages to the finial.  Four rows of 40 stone figures represent the world-view of the Holy Roman Empire.  The railing with the famous brass ring that can be turned, and has been replaced several times, was made in 1587.” Nuremberg and Furth Tourist Booklet

Durer home and museum on the far left and the half stone and half concrete house on the right.

I saw an exhibit of Durer drawings at the Courtauld  in London.  As I was participating in that life drawing group every Sunday, seeing the Durer drawings was quite amazing.

Albrecht Durer Statue

The laying of the foundation stone for the monument to mark the 300th anniversary of his death in 1828 was a national event, as was the official inauguration in 1840. The Albrecht-Dürer monument was the first monument in Germany to be erected in honour of an artist, designed by Christian Rauch and cast by Jacob Burgschmiet.  http://tourismus.nuernberg.de/en/sightseeing/places-of-interest/monuments-and-fountains/d/nuernberger-denkmaeler-und-brunnen-albrecht-duerer-denkmal.html

Der Hase—Hommage à Dürer (The Hare—a Homage to Dürer), Nuremberg, Germany

     “This dazed or possibly dead rabbit seems unaware of the swarm of mice that shares its busted-up crate. Positioned outside of Albert Dürer’s house in Nuremberg, the nightmarish sculpture by Jürgen Goertz is a satiric take on a much more pleasingly proportioned bunny—the one immortalized in Dürer’s watercolor Der Feldhase.”

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-ugliest-public-art/13

Der Feldhase  by Durer

Not VanGogh but an electrical box.

Not sure what these are but I’ll have to try one when I next see them.

Craftsmen’s Courtyard at Konigstor Tower

“Behind the massive city walls craftsmen’s traditions are still being cultivated in the small workshops.  Pewterers, glass cuters, leather workers, gold and silversmiths, stained glass painters, gingerbread-makers, and a doll-maker offer their wares for sale and let visitors look over their shoulders while they work….” Nuremberg Furth Tourist Booklet  (We actually didn’t see any workshops, just shops and restaurants.  But we didn’t ask either. 

Mary selecting some “made in Nuremberg” souvenirs.

Was ist das? 

http://www.nmn.de/de/presse/unschaerfe.htm  explains it all in German but I wasn’t surprised to find it was next to the Design Museum.  The Design Museum in London had interesting exhibits in its outdoor plaza.

Great reflective windows!

The New Museum with its curved glass facade rises over the medieval city walls in the heart of Nuremberg. The handsome museum has received many awards for its striking modern architecture and is a venue for contemporary art and design.  http://tourismus.nuernberg.de/

The prominent building by the architect Volker Staab with its nearly 100 metre wide, gently curved glass façade is a completely new element in the old town of Nuremberg. Two storeys provide an exhibition space of nearly 2300 m² for the presentation of art and design. The art collection, opened in 2000, includes works from all sectors of art from around 1960.

http://www.bavaria.by/

Old town Nuremberg

Central Monument to Escape and Expulsion 1945

  “…..Some of the people who left those eastern countries were recent arrivals, who had been settled in German-conquered territories by the Nazis as part of their long-term plan for German domination of eastern Europe. But most of those being expelled came of stock whose ancestors had been settled in the eastern lands for generations, and who knew no other place as home.

   The Volksdeutsche, as the Nazis had called them were, however, for the most part, victims of a calamity of which they were themselves part-authors. Not all were Nazis, but a majority had become supporters of Hitler.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/refugees_01.shtml  explains

A more sympathetic explanation of this expulsion  can also be found in the Huffington Post article by R.M. Douglas the author of "Orderly and Humane: The Expulsion of the Germans after the Second World War" Yale University Press   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

I saw these ladies in their lovely hats and snuck a photo.  Then I walked up to them and told them I loved their hats and asked if I could take a photo.  One smiled and seemed she agreed, but the other shook her head and said no so that was that.

Historic Old town

I have no words to do this fountain the justice it deserves. 

“In 1589, the iron caster, Benedikt Wurzelbauer, completed the Fountain of the Virtues (Tugendbrunnen), commissioned by the City Council of the Free City of the Empire who had intended to demonstrate their stature in the world. Six allegories of the three theological and the three cardinal virtues with their attributes are placed on a round platform: Faith with a cross and a chalice, Love with two children, Hope with an anchor, Courage with a lion, Moderation with a jug, and Patience with a lamb. Above the figures, cherubs carry the two coats of arms of the City of Nuremberg. The seventh virtue, Justice, stands on the top of the pillar with blindfolded eyes, a sword and a crane as a symbol of alertness. The fountain marks the spatial boundary of Lorenzer Platz towards Königsstraße.”

http://www.nuernberg.de/internet/portal_e/reiseziel/ctz_4604.html

Germany, the home of the Nutcracker legend.

E T A Hoffmann (creator of the Nutcracker characters) at one point lived and worked in Bamberg managing the theater and giving music lessons.

http://www.npr.org/

http://imgartists.com/artist/igor_mitoraj

Until I looked at the photo on my computer I hadn’t seen the face on the back side; it just looked like empty space. 

Street Side Little Venice

Little Venice water side

“The once fisherman’s settlement was lovingly named "Little Venice" .Dating from the Middle Ages, these small, half-timbered houses, standing side-by-side with their balconies and tiny front gardens, line the shores of Regnitz.

http://www.bamberg-germany.european-vacation.net/

On the east bank of the left Regnitz low below the old town hall is the former estates of the fishermen, sailors, dyers and tanners. The picturesque buildings are mainly from the 17th and 18th century. The romantic name comes from the Bavarian king Maximilian II, derived from the old buildings on stilts. Thanks to the Locks and flood gates in the south of Bamberg, little Venice is flood free since 1962.

http://bambergerbahnen.de/index.php/en/sights-of-bamberg/upper-bridge

Buying Birkenstock shoes in Germany is like buying Teva Naot shoes in Israel.  I bought Birkenstock in Roanoke, VA; Naot in Herzliya in Israel and ECCO while in Bischberg.  ECCO are a Danish company.

On the bridge….   Lots of love locks

And crazy young men diving off.

The one mid-photo asked if I liked to take photos as I was walking past him.  My first thought was “what’s he selling.”  I said, “I’m a tourist, I take photos.”  Then when he climbed over the guard railing I got worried but he and his friend did seem sane. 

It was a really hot day and they were just cooling off. 

Georgia on My Mind  but not Almost Heave, West Virginia which is what we’ve heard all around the world.  The final day of Bamberg’s wine festival wasn’t so well attended while we were there but it was late afternoon and hot. 

The current Bamberg Synagogue is housed in what was a Jewish owned silk thread factory.

“Rabbi Deusel, who was born in Nuremberg and completed her rabbinical training at the Abraham Geiger College in Potsdam, discovered her Jewish roots by chance. “

http://www.cjnews.com/

http://collections.yadvashem.org/photosarchive/en-us/58712.html  shows the former synagogue which had been built in 1910 but no longer exists.

http://www.jpost.com/

Our first Bamberg stop was “iced coffee.” 

I was wondering how they made the vanilla ice for the “iced coffee”  so it was a surprise that vanilla ice was actually vanilla ice cream. 

A happy family scene

He took a photo of her and she took a photo of him, so Randal offered to take a photo of both. 

Meeting a German couple from Stuttgart; he had who had worked in Chester VA   along route 128 in Boston, MA.

A map of the Old Town Hall.

The back side of the Old Town Hall

According to the Bamberg brochure, the Bishop wouldn’t give up any of his land to the citizens for a town hall so they built it in the river. 

The Old Town Hall, sometimes called the Bridge Town Hall or Island Town Hall, built in the middle of the Regnitz as a border between the civil and ecclesiastical centers of Bamberg on neutral “ground”, connected with the upper and lower bridge. Architecture and location demonstrates one of the most original Town Halls of Germany. First mentioned 1386, The Tower and Town Hall were destroyed by a gunpowder explosion in 1440. Rebuilt from 1450-1463. The facade is decorated with frescoes paintings.

http://bambergerbahnen.de/index.php/en/sights-of-bamberg/upper-bridge

Walking along one of the many Bamberg bridges.

Controlling the water flow.

Old part of town

The predominantly undamaged city center, with over 2,000 protected historical buildings and monuments on approximately 250 hectares of land, makes Bamberg one of the largest, interconnected medieval cities of Europe. The "Bamburger Weg" , an established model for preservation and refurbishment of the city, with co-operation from other cities concerned with the preservation of historical monuments (Regensburg, Lübeck, Stralsund, Görlitz, Meißen) and multiple means of building preservation, won the city high-ranking acknowledgement. In 1993 the city of Bamburg was admitted into the UNESCO list of "world culture and nature heritage of mankind."

A bridge was already leading across the river in the early 11th century. The original town hall, dating from the middle 14th century, was reconstructed by the inhabitants after a catastrophical fire in 1440. Michael Küchel redesigned the town hall (between 1744 to 1756) in Baroque/Rococo Style. Not only the wonderful architecture captivates, but particularly the frescos, with their 3-dimentional vitality.

http://www.bamberg-germany.european-vacation.net/

Some copper and silver coins had been embeded in the road and some of the children were trying unsuccessfully to pick them out. 

Posing on the bridge

Mary and Rick

Looking back towards the Town Hall

A very beautiful book shop just near the bridge with wood floors and Oriental carpets.

Shops were closed for the Monday holiday.

Judenstrasse

This local guide, speaking English,  was telling her tour group about the history of the Jews in Bamberg. 

A memorial to Keoni Kupfer who died at Theresienstadt

Willy Lessing’s stumbling stone  not far from the bus terminal

I had read about his family’s brewery so it was like meeting someone I had known. 

http://www.franconiabeerguide.com/hofbraeu.asp    tells the entire story.

“When the Nazi’s came to power Bamberg was not spared the horrors the rest of Germany experienced. The Jewish community in Bamberg was one of the oldest in Bavaria. Starting in 1934 the Nazi’s forced many Jewish stockholders to sell their holdings at fire sale prices. In 1936 the Nazi’s appropriated the shares of Hofbräu AG owned by Willy Lessing . Around this time his wife and son left Germany for England (his son, Fred Lessing, later lived in New York City.) Willy stayed in Bamberg.

In the evening of November 9th, 1938 ("Kristalnacht") the Bamberg Synagogue was set on fire by the mob. At 2am Willy Lessing came down to the Synagogue and implored the fire department to put out the fire (They did not put out the fire but stood by to make sure the fire didn’t spread to nearby buildings.). A gang of Hitler Youth then beat Willy severely. At this time Jews were not allowed into the local hospital but the Archbishop of Bamberg was able to bring pressure to bear and WIlly was admitted. However, he died of his injuries two months later on January 17, 1939, two days before his 58th birthday.

After the Second World War, in 1946, one of the arsonists was sentenced to two years in prison and one of Willy’s assailants was sentenced to four years in prison. Two others were identified, but not tried. Two years later in 1948 the Bamberg City Council renamed Sophienstrasse, the street where Simon Lessing had his hop brokerage and both generations of Lessings lived, to Willy-Lessing-Strasse. (For those of you familiar with Bamberg, this is the street from the Luitpold Bridge over the Regnitz towards the Altstadt). Fred Lessing appears to have received some compensation, but the he was no longer involved in the brewery. His mother (Willy’s wife) had died in London in 1944.”

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2422-bamberg

http://en.bamberg.info/  Levi Strauss’s family came from Buttenheim just near Bamberg.  Bamberg opened a museum in what had been the Strauss family homein Buttenheim in 2000.  It is dedicated to the family and all things ‘jeans.’

Karl “Charly” and Erika Heinritz, the heart and soul of the  Motor-und Segelboot Club Coburg at Bischberg am Main.

Either Karl or Erika mentioned cherry trees up on the hill near the marina so we had to make a plan to pick some Saturday morning.

Most of the cherries were up too high but there were enough for us to each pick more than we needed.   For me it was one for me, one for the bag….   Mary wanted to make cherry cobbler so we really didn’t need many and there are still some in the frig now several days later.

  Erika leading us along the farm land back to town. 

And for my friend Martha who told me she once mixed up kirche, which is church with kirsche, which is cherry so asked for a container of church.  And Charly pointed out to us that cherries were .59 Euro at the store in Bischberg where the yacht club was located

Sunday was barbeque day; an occasional bratwurst won’t kill me.  I opted for the fizzy water rather than the beer. 

Karl, Rick, Randal, me and Erika

Music, of course, and this young man playing loved every minute.  So did the crowd that sang along.

The small keyboard was activated by blowing air through the tube.

Everyone loves Karl.

Karl and Erika have a “winter home” in Florida near St Petersburg where they’ve gone for the past 20 years I think he said.

A welcoming committee in Eibelstadt where we parked the boat overnight

We were the second largest boat to ever come into this yacht club.  Not many “live aboard” pleasure boats make this journey.  The small, plentiful, yacht clubs along the way are designed for smaller boats and the cruise ships stop at public docks built for them.  Our size boat is the “odd man out.”  That’s why we didn’t stop in Wurzburg with the boat; no place to park.  But Eibelstadt was lovely and the club manager very helpful.  We took the bus to Wurzburg for the day. 

Our first stop was “the Residence.”  But no photos allowed inside.

Another book reader. 

Yī’ èr sān    One, two, three…jump!

Outside the 18^th century Bishops Residence where everyone was enjoying the gardens in his or her own way.  No photos were allowed in the Residence which was huge and ostentatious to befit the times.

http://www.hofgarten-wuerzburg.de/englisch/virtual/index.htm is a virtual tour.

Zebra “electric train” heading towards the Dom

  “The Cathedral is dedicated to the Irish martyr St Kilian, who met his death here on missionary work. The original cathedral is now thought to have been where the current Neumünster basilica is located – the location of the current cathedral was chosen in the 11th century. The cathedral was badly damaged in aerial bombing that destroyed much of Würzburg at the end of the Second World War. In 1946 much of the remaining building collapsed and reconstruction lasted until the 1960s.

    The Neumünster was where the bones of St Kilian and his two assistants were said to have been "rediscovered" (they had been killed for trying to persuade the current ruler that his marriage was "unchristian"). During the time of the closure of the cathedral it served as a replacement and is now officially the Würzburg parish church.”

http://www.romanticroadgermany.com/wuerzburg/index.php

A ‘May Pole’ had been erected in the town center; I can’t remember having ever seen one before.

1st May is maypole day in Bavaria and a day for the local folklore group dressed in their finest costumes to gather all the villagers together to celebrate this important annual occasion. Each and every maypole is uniquely decorated with ribbons, wreaths or signs denoting local craftsmen’s guilds. Soon it is time for the brass band to tune up and accompany the dancers well into the night. A traditional dark “Maibock“ beer is brewed especially for the occasion.

     The hoisting of a maypole is an important part of all spring festivities. Most Bavarian villages have a club known as the “Burschenverein” that is akin to Young Farmer’s associations. Long before the 1st May the young men of the Burschenverein go out to the woods to choose a tall straight pine tree that is then felled and hidden away for safe keeping.

     The earliest reports of Maypoles, as a symbol of all things that grow and bear fruit, date back to the 13th century. Today the Maypole reflects the wealth of the paticular community.

     Part of this whole tradition is that one village tries to steal the maypole from the neighbours. If they succeed the safe return of the maypole is up for negotiation with ransoms involving copious quantities of beer and food. Some "Burschenvereine" have specialised in stealing the maypoles that are most closely watched by the strongest security. Maypole stealing is governed by a pretty strict code of conduct: sawing or damaging the maypole in any way is absolutely frowned upon as is a non-payment of the ransom. The most spectacular theft occurred back in 2004 when cunning thieves stole the maypole from the top of the Zugspitze using a helicopter. Once the 20 m long maypole had been safely flown to an Alpine hut negotiations began to determine how much ransom would be paid for its return. Rumour has it that the there were copious quantities of food and the beer flowed freely all night.

     Hoisting the maypole is a really tough job that makes most men break out in a sweat. It is raised using smaller trees that have been stripped of the bark and slung together at the top by thick rope together with a whole lot of muscle power. Centimetre by centimetre the maypole is slowly hoisted into a pre-prepared hole. Once firmly anchored in place it is decorated with signs indicating local craftsmen’s guilds and topped with a wreath from which sausages, bacon, wine and schnapps bottles are hung. Fixing the wreath in place is the job of the "Maibaumkraxler" who has to scale the maypole, attach the wreath and make it safely back down to the ground again. When all the work is done its time to celebrate with Bavarian brass band music and dancing long into the night.

http://www.bavaria.by/maypole-day-in-bavaria-germany

This part of Germany is grape growing country so wine making country so wine drinking country.  Every town is having a wine festival now so we joined in at Wurzburg’s.  There was a 2 Euro deposit for each wine mug which you could keep or return for your deposit.   We turned ours in.

I saw some young teenaged boys cranking the arm of this contraption to make a cyclone.  So, of course I had to try.  Then this little girl who had seen me, she had to try.  She did quite well too.

We had to ‘lock through’ the Schleuse Randersacker in Wurzburg to get to Eibelstadt.

“Würzburg’s Old Main Bridge (Alte Mainbrücke) was built 1473–1543 to replace the destroyed Romanesque bridge that had dated from 1133. In two phases, beginning in 1730, the bridge was adorned with statues of saints and historically relevant figures. The bridge shows similarities to the Charles Bridge in Prague.”  Wikipedia

In the background is the Marienberg Fortress our destination after crossing the bridge from Wurzburg Center

“The Fortress Marienberg is visible from seemingly everywhere in Würzburg. Originally, there was a celtic palisade castle at this site. 704 AD the first Würzburg church was erected here. At the beginning of the 13th century fortificatins were built around the church. The Fortress was expanded and renovated several times during the renaissance and baroque periods.”

http://www.wuerzburg.de/

Stopping on the bridge to share some ice cream     and a bundle of ‘love locks’

The map showing the route from the bridge to the fortress and a map of the fortress.

The tree trunk sculpture at the entrance and men working to repair the mansard roof on one of the fortress buildings were what I found most interesting.  The rest of the fortress not so much.  The church entrance was blocked and you couldn’t climb the tower.  Then it was back down the hill to town to catch the bus back to Eibelstadt.

Stolperstein, or "stumbling stones"   there are more than 30,000 commemorative bricks in dozens of cities and towns across Germany. http://www.npr.org/2012/05/31/153943491/stumbling-upon-miniature-memorials-to-nazi-victims

"I think the large Holocaust memorial here [in Berlin] will always remain abstract. You have to make the decision to visit it," Demnig says. "But not with the stumbling blocks. Suddenly they are there, right outside your front door, at your feet, in front of you."     I did stumble across these ‘stones’ not looking for them.  But once you’ve seen any, in any city or town, you notice them,  I stop to read the names.

A reminder of war’s destruction.  The bombing and destruction of the Francis Church which has been rebuilt.  A fragment of the bomb is hanging here on the entrance wall.

We just about fit! 

We were definitely not the biggest boat in the marinas around the world, but we seem supersized now compared to most of the “pleasure boats” that travel these rivers. 

Window Lady of Lohr  on our way to the old town for dinner

Snow White’s Castle?

German town brings Snow White to life

Fact or fiction? The Brothers Grimm fairytale ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ has captured the imagination of many, but history suggests that the children’s heroine was more than just a made-up character.

     Millions of people are familiar with the fairytale of Snow White: the beautiful princess whose escapes from her jealous stepmother and goes to live in the house of the Seven Dwarves. The evil stepmother tries to have her killed after her magic mirror tells her that Snow White is "the fairest of them all."

     Locals of the German town of Lohr am Main like to believe that this mirror really exists.  In fact, it is on display at the local Spessart Museum. That is because, according to some sources, the girl who inspired the fairytale lived in Lohr am Main.

     However, the true Snow White – Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal – was a bit different from the princess in the story. She was of noble heritage and was born in 1729 in Lohr’s castle, which today houses the Spessart Museum. She also had a domineering stepmother: Claudia Elisabeth Maria von Venningen.

     The rest of the story can also be followed in the museum, including the murder plot and Snow White’s escape through the mountains to the cottage of the Seven Dwarves. In reality, the dwarves were most likely miners – small and hunchbacked due to the terrible working conditions in the mine’s low tunnels – or children who were used as laborers.

     It is believed that Snow White’s escape route was the 35-kilometer (22-mile) hiking path through the Spessart mountain range, one of the largest deciduous forest areas in Germany. Signs along the route now give visitors the chance to learn more about the forest’s connection to fairytales.

   The tourist information office in Lohr am Main has special hiking programs on offer. It also provides information about local attractions, such as the old town with its black-and-white timber-frame houses, the historic Fishermen’s Quarter and the old town hall.

     Of course, the other must-see is the Lohr castle and the Spessart Museum, which houses a collection of mirrors from local glass manufacturers. Once upon a time, one of these mirrors may have spoken to Snow White’s stepmother.

http://www.dw.de/german-town-brings-snow-white-to-life/a-15854753

A fairy tale house; perhaps similar to the one out in the forest where the 7 dwarfs lived.

Statue of a fisherman : There is a section of Lohr called the Fisherman’s Quarter

Lovely lace decorates these windows.

Heading to the town center

Dinner with a dose of gruesome history….  But the food and wine were good.

“The half-timbered house was built at the beginning of the 17^th century…The builder was the wealthy merchant Hieronymus Wiedenweber;   also council man, and for a while, Mayor of the town.

Between 1626 and 1629 under the regency of the archbishop Georg Friedrichs von Greiffenklau  of Mainz, Lohr became the center of a wave of witch hunts.  During that time, the wealth and reputation of Hieronymus {Wiedenweber} caused much envy among the town folk who denounced him as a warlock.  In spite of the lack of prior convictions and despite his declaration of innocence — even while tortured— He was declared guilty and burned at the stake in 1627.”

His son or brother was the next owner, but after him the name Wiedenweber is not mentioned again in the history of the inn. 

Our Salem Witch Trials took place between 1692-1693

Several centuries ago, many practicing Christians, and those of other religions, had a strong belief that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. A "witchcraft craze" rippled through Europe from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of supposed witches—mostly women—were executed.”

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

A smile made from human and horse shoes decorates the front of this shoe shop.

Lovely wrought iron icons as signboard for a wine seller and a bakery

Lots of ice cream shops all over Germany.  I even found some rhubarb lactose free ice cream in Miltenberg.  Once upon a time in my life I lived on broccoli, cheese, and ice cream.  But that was back in the days when I rode twice on the weekends and a couple times during the week.  Now I just mostly take a pass.  But  I like the trash can!

Helene Hanff books were displayed in Miltenberg; here in Lohr its Jojo Moyes

    Jojo Moyes is a British novelist and journalist. She is one of only a few authors to have twice won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists’ Association and has been translated into eleven different languages.

Sculptures in Aschaffenberg where we spent one night and walked into town for groceries and to stretch our legs.

Fun sculpture : Greeting the “Schiffer” by Martin Stein  

Stein in German means stone.    But I can’t find a translation for Schiffer.

On the river on our way to Miltenberg

This man was feeding the swans.  They are everywhere and quite lovely.  But when they take off to fly it’s the silliest thing to watch.  It’s like a jumbo jet flopping along.  They come up and beg for food and wag their tail feathers too.

Miltenberg Yacht Club where we spent one night.  We arrived at 1 pm so had time to tour the town.

Having a drink with the Harbor Master after our day in town.

We walked across the bridge to enter the  Altstadt  ‘old town.’

Zum Riesen

Gasthaus zum Riesen (center) is a beautifully restored inn that claims to be Germany’s oldest Inn. It dates from 1590, and a local historical document indicates that the owner at the time was granted the right to fell a hundred oak trees for its construction.

http://www.worldatlas.com/

The Six-Point Brewer’s Star

     For centuries, it was customary for brewers — particularly those in Europe and, later, in America — to brand or paint a six-point star on the ends of their beer kegs. And, indeed, many brewers of the 19th and early 20th centuries actually fashioned their logos to incorporate the six-point star — known as the "brewer’s star." So, what exactly does the star have to do with beer or brewing?

Of course, there has been much speculation that the brewer’s emblem was somehow descended from the Star of David — a curious match to the brewer’s star. It has even been suggested that King David himself was a brewer. But others assert that the emblem’s use by beer-makers originated independently of the Jewish Star, and has no historical connection thereto.

     The latter have some historical facts on their side. This geometric figure, which is technically called a hexagram, has existed throughout the world for several millennia, usually as a talisman. This includes the Middle East, Africa, and the Far East. The earliest appearance in a Jewish context is in the 13-16 centuries BCE, but long after that it continued in widespread use in other circumstances not associated with the Jewish faith.

     The first use of the term "Shield of David" was about 1300 CE when a Spanish practitioner of Jewish mysticism wrote a commentary on the central book of that mysticism, the Zohar. The first actual linkage of the hexagram to a Jewish community appears in the early 1300s on the flag of the Jewish community of Prague, which was designed with permission of Charles IV when he became king of Bohemia.  It is known that the star was the official insignia of the Brewer’s Guild as early as the 1500s, and that its association with beer and brewing can be traced as far back as the late 1300s.

     Whatever the case, it is clear that the brewer’s star was intended to symbolize purity; that is, a brewer who affixed the insignia to his product was thereby declaring his brew be completely pure of additives, adjuncts, etc. In fact, folklore has it that the six points of the star represented the six aspects of brewing most critical to purity: the water, the hops, the grain, the malt, the yeast, and the brewer.

(Thanks to Stroh archivist Peter Blum and Brews Brother Steve Frank.)

http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/brewerstar.shtml

Miltenberg is a major tourist town for Germans but most of the tourists I heard the Sunday we were there were from the US.  The horse and carriage reminded me of the months I worked in the stable of Lake Minnewaska  in New Paltz, New York.

Another “window lady.”

This book shop was closed so I couldn’t go in and ask about the display featuring Helen Hanff’s

84 Charing Cross Road.  It’s a wonderful book I read years ago and Randal and I visited the “address” while in London though it’s no longer a book shop.

“Miltenberg’s "Marktplatz" has several half-timbered houses, most dating to the 16th century. “

http://www.worldatlas.com/

and a small castle where we walked to see the view.

The view from Miltenberg Castle