We sailed the Main River all night and about noon made port in the town of Wurzburg. We got pictures of a couple locks we went through. At one point the ship’s pilot house lowered itself down to pass under a low bridge. Captain Car looked as if he was sticking his body out of a tank turret. It brought to mind the song The Erie Canal.
A lecture on Germany’s history after WWII was delivered in the ship’s lounge by red group director, Mihai. After being split between the Allies, the specter of the cold war took over. While the East side of the country suffered under Communism the West thrived under capitalism. Today, with the Cold War over, Germany is determined to reunite the country and its people.
After lunch we started our tour of Wurzburg. The temperature hit 83°F and made it a warm day. So staying in the shade while on the street was a priority. After getting some directions from our guide we took off.
We chose to tour the Residenz Wurburg. It reminded us of the Palace of Versailles but with a bit of humor. For example, there was a ceiling painting in which the elephant portrayed had its ears reversed. It seems that no one had seen an elephant before. Also, his trunk looked like that of a vacuum cleaner.
We might have shown you lots of pictures of the place but that was “verboten” or forbidden. Also, not allowed, were backpacks, purses, dogs, baby strollers, umbrellas, ice cream cones, food, water…et cetera, ad naseum. We got a couple of pictures in only because we didn’t notice what was not allowed until our docent gently reminded us of it. BTW, it’s a good place to visit.
We saw our first Zither played by Johannes Shubert in the ship lounge. It is definitely a different kind of instrument. And tonight, we sailed to our next port while in deep asleep. Better than a bus!