This morning we wake up in Wurzburg the capital of Franconia in northwestern Bavaria. We are off the ship at 9.00 am for a tour of the 'Residenze' built for the prince bishop of the Schonborn Family. We are able to tour some of the palace and the frescos and the plaster decorations are to be seen to be believed. Everyday we marvel at how these buildings came to be so many years ago. This palace was partly destroyed during the 30 year war but has been restored to it's former glory.
Once we have toured the inside we go out into the garden which is huge and very well maintained. There are a lot of fruit trees and roses. These days the garden is open to the public. Back to the bus for lunch and then off on the coach once more to Rothenburg on der Taube.
Rothenburg is definitely like stepping back in time and especially today. It is an old walled medieval town. The wall is still in tact and the buildings are still the originals. Today there is a festival to celebrate independence. They first celebrated 700 years in 1974 and had such a good time that they have done it every year since. The towns people are dressed in medieval clothing and are reenacting scenes from the past. There is lots of music and dancing. It's a bit unnerving to come around a corner and be confronted by a knight or executioner. We did a lot of walking in Rothenburg as you can walk around the top of the wall and climb to the to of the tower for spectacular views and ofcourse we did all of that just because it was there to be done. Back on the coach it is happy hour and beer and wine is on offer for 1.50€ a beer and 2.50€ a bottle of wine. The coach will take us back to the ship which will be docked at Kitzingen, the birth place of Henry Kissinger, and xxxxxx Altzheimer (can't remember his first name)
Its Fathers day and on Michelle's recommendation we are dining in the exclusive restaurant on the ship tonight. It only seats 24 and you can only book twice to dine here as the menu only changes weekly. It certainly lived up to it's promises as the meal was delicious. Instead of choosing an entree main and dessert, we got a tasting of each entree (4 small servings) choice if main, we had herb encrusted rack of lamb and we had a tasting of all 3 desserts. The food is cooked fresh in the kitchen within the restaurant and we can see the chef preparing and cooking the meal. It is all fresh and beautifully presented. Yum!
Tonight we have an the Aulic council and his wine queens coming on board to invite us to Germany's oldest wine cellar for wine tasting. It is raining quite heavily tonight but we have umbrellas in our rooms and it is not at all cold so head out for a "short" walk to the wine cellar. Another lovely old town with cobblestone streets. The wine cellar also doesn't disappoint but we are spoilt for white wine and it's not quite as good although they certainly claim it to be the best. It is good fun and informative. We make our way back to the ship in the rain. It's 11pm the ship sails for Bamburg and we head to bed.