Today’s itinerary was a visit to Heidelberg where Rob’s family lived for three years. The city has a history of palantine princes, stampeding Swedes, Protestant reformers, raging fires and lightning bolts.
Last night Michele decided she wanted a more relaxed day and would opt out of the all-day Heidelberg tour with the rest of us. Instead she signed up for the shorter Amorbach Abbey and Library tour including the private organ recital.
We met for breakfast this morning at 7am. While waiting at the omelette station, a woman told Michele that she and her husband missed the boat in Wurzburg yesterday! They were at a cafe and noticed that the boat was no longer in front of them. Michele asked if they had to start running to catch the boat down river. The lady said she is not of Michele’s frame and therefore does not move quickly. Apparently they caught up at the lock and waved their arms frantically. The crew did not want them to “just jump” on board as she suggested, so the big crew guys hauled them over. The lady said to Michele, “They really don’t wait for you if you are late.” Michele replied, “You need to be on time for the boat!” Apparently this happens occasionally during the sailing season.
Rob, Roy, and Gwyn (without Michele, hence the break up) got on the bus at 8:30am and left for Heidelberg. The ride was about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The route rook a meandering road through the countryside where we saw a lot of farm fields and small villages. We eventually reached an elevation of 1,500 feet before descending to the Neckar river. We followed the river westward into the town of Heidelberg.
Modern Heidelberg can trace its beginnings to the fifth century. The first reference to Heidelberg can be found in a document in Schönau Abbey dated to 1196. This is considered to be the town's founding date. The city has a rich history marked by destruction during the Thirty Years’ War and the Palatine War of Succession in the 1600s. Heidelberg was left in ruins by French troops under the command of Louis XIV. It was completely rebuilt during the 18th century. During WWII, the city was relatively spared from the Allied bombing campaign unlike neighboring Mainz. This was likely due to the lack of industry in Heidelberg but the romantics like to think it is because of the city’s rich history and beauty.
Our guide led us through the Old Town section of Heidelberg and stayed with us all day for the tour. The Old Town portion has many shops, restaurants and hotels. We made our way to the town center to the cathedral and then walked over to the Alte Brucke (Old Bridge).
Although the Bridge was completed nearly 250 years ago, it is young compared to the age of Heidelberg. The nickname “Old Bridge” dates from the construction of the Theodor Heuss Bridge in 1877 (then known as the Friedrichs Bridge). Since the thirteenth century there have been eight bridges on the site; the current bridge is built on their foundations. The bridge gate (German: Brückentor) at the south end of the bridge also dates from the Middle Ages. On March 29, 1945, German troops blew up three of the bridge’s arches and two of its pillars, features that were restored after the end of World War II.
After lunch, we took the train car ride up to the castle. Castle is probably not the right word for this place because in its hey day it was an over-the-top palace.
The views from the castle over Heidelberg are amazing.
Inside the castle we got to see two wine barrels. We thought this one was pretty big.
Then we went to see the bigger one. This one holds 58,574 gallons.
We made our way back down to the bus. The other side of the river from Old Town is a hillside of fancy homes.
We loaded on the bus and made the 1 hour and 45 minute ride back to the ship which was now at a different location (now at Miltenberg). This morning we got off the ship in Wertheim. After Rob, Roy, and Gwyn left, the ship continued down the river to Miltenberg with Michele on board.
A small group remained on board this morning. Michele took pictures and enjoyed the solitude on the front deck and took in the scenery. Sometimes breaking up is good.
At a lock we shared the very tight space with another ship, a “two-fer” as Rob later said.
Michele found travelers BJ and Mike from dinner last night and continued conversations about their favorite travel locations. Soon it was lunchtime. Since so few were on board we were served in the front deck. A kind couple, Valerie and Mark, invited Michele to join them. She had salad and rigatoni for lunch with mango sorbet and fruit for dessert.
We pulled into Miltenberg at 1:55pm, having some river traffic today that slowed us a bit. At 2pm our small group of 17 loaded the van for the Abbey tour for a short 15-minute drive to the town of Amorbach.
Amorbach Abbey was a Benedictine imperial abbey of the Holy Roman Empire beginning in year 732.
It was later the residence of the rulers of the short-lived principality of Leiningen before that became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria, and its historic buildings still belong to the princely family.
After a turbulent history of invasion and wars in the area over the centuries, in the 1740s the site was completely refurbished in the late Baroque/early Rococo style. The abbey was dissolved in 1803 and given with its lands to the Princes of Leiningen as compensation for lost territories occupied in 1793 by French revolutionary troops. In 1818, the widowed Princess of Leiningen married Prince Edward. They resided at Amorbach until April 1819, returning to England so that their daughter, the future Queen Victoria, would be born on British soil.
The high altar has six red marble columns supporting black beams topped by a Holy Trinity.
An important feature of the church is its Stumm organ. It was built in 1776–82 by Johann Philipp Stumm and Johann Heinrich Stumm.
The organ has 5,116 pipes and 30 percussion devices shared across 66 stops, and is played from four manuals and one pedalboard. Pipes range from 6 inches to 30 feet.
We were treated to an amazing private recital of four pieces by Pachelbel, Bach, Schumann and Pierné. Michele was in heaven.
After, we visited the library built in 1790, an elaborately decorated two-storied room with a gallery. The oldest book is from the 1500s. A book with an entire play by Mozart is housed there. The wood floor is an optical illusion of three-dimensional posts or books depending on your perspective. We had to put on large slippers over our shoes to protect the floor.
After the Abbey, we enjoyed cake and tea/coffee at the cafe across the street. We drove back to the ship arriving with the big buses from the Heidelberg tour.
We rested in our rooms until dinner at 7pm. There were rumors on the ship all day that the crew were planning a special German dinner night. The waitresses were dressed in traditional dresses. The food was authentic and a festive spirit filled the room. We sat with sisters Mary and Kathy from Georgia, kind ladies who shared memories of their Ireland travels. Check out how much food Michele has in front of her! Soup, a smorgasbord of dishes, and a pretzel on top of the spaetzle because she ran out of room.
After dinner we all opted to skip the second trivia night and go to bed. Tomorrow is a walking tour and dinner experience and we dock in two different cities.
