Day 7 - Happy Birthday Captain!

Today we celebrated our favorite captain of the clans bday. Hurray! Our day started off pulled off to the side of the river just before Wurzburg in the industrial part. That way we wouldn't have to go through 2 locks and save ourselves hours going through them. Buses picked us up and we were shuttled into Wurzburg to the Residenz, the palace of the Prince Archbishop. A Prince Archbishop is a prince of the royal family who has decided to work for the catholics.

Wurzburg, Uncle D recognize anything?

The Residenz was magnificent! During WWII the allies bombed Wurzburg so heavily that 5000 people were killed and the whole town was on fire. The heat was so intense that it ranged around 2000 degrees and the bells in the church towers were beginning to melt. The Residenz was destroyed save for the main entrance and the beautiful muraled ceiling. After WWII repair to the building began and much of the building, interiors and grounds have been restored to their original beauty. Unfortunately no pictures of the interior can be taken, so you'll have to enjoy the outside picture and surf the web for more. http://www.residenz-wuerzburg.de/englisch/virtual/index.htm .

The Residenz from the garden side of the palace.

After the Residenz our local guide took us on a walking tour of the center of town. We passed many churches, the market and the Rathaus. All of which is a reconstruction of what used to be before it was destroyed during the war.

The Marienkappelle or Church of Marie, notice the Maypole next to it, it is put up end of April and taken down in September.

We then had free time and Grandpa and I went to the store to pick up his birthday treats. We first stopped off at the local backerai (bakery) for some cheese pretzels, and some other goodies that I can't remember their names. Then we grabbed lunch. Below is what Grandpa picked for his bday lunch.

Grandpa's bday lunch (Rivella, Tilsinger (major stinky cheese), blueberry yoghurt and a goodie from the backerai))

We walked to our ship, ate and then decided to climb the hill across the river to visit the Prince Archbishops fortress. Some didn't like the Prince Archbishop, and invaders would often come to visit. So a fortress was built on top of the hill to keep the Prince Archbishop safe. It was quite a little climb, but good exercise.

Festung Marienberg on the top of the hill

The fortress Festung Marienberg was built over time and has medieval parts and other sections from the 1500s, etc. But again alot of it is a reconstruction because of the bombing. We visited the museum which housed the largest collection of wooden sculptures from a famous sculptor Riemenschnieder. He lived around the 1500's. The museum is quite large and had quite a few other interesting pieces but we were late and the museum was closing.

Back down the mountain we went and propped our tootsies up until dinner time. At dinner the boat staff surprised us with a flaming cake for Grandpa, but of course I forgot to take a picture. So you'll have to be good with the aftermath when he's eating it. Sorry family photog, I let you down.

As we drift to sleep we go through 12 more locks overnight and into tomorrow morning. This should get us through over half of the locks we have to complete before we are done. More slo-mo carnival riding. Tomorrow we visit Bamberg.

Speaking of locks, in Wurzburg and in Cologne they have a tradition. On a bridge or in this case along the rivers edge,  couples engrave their name on a lock and when married take the lock and put it on the rail then throw the key in the river. Cologne had alot more than Wurzburg, but they're working on it.