Cold morning, but out we went for a walking tour of Speyer. First on the list was the Imperial Cathedral of the Holy Roman Empire of Germanic Nations. The Bishop lives across the square, and since it was Sunday, church services were beginning. The bells began to toll, and went on for twenty minutes. That just wouldn't happen in the US - people would complain their sleep was interrupted. We were invited to attend mass, but walked on to see the old medieval quarter, so quaint with its winding alleys and little half-timbered houses, some decorated with the bishop's chair as a status symbol. (like a curvy X)

Speyer is the home of the pretzel. The legend goes that in the Middle Ages the bishop wanted to treat the boys' choir to something special, so he went to a local baker and asked him to prepare something that was a tasty, but also had a religious meaning. In those days, when people prayed, they crossed their arms across their chests, instead of folding hands. So the baker wound the bread in the pretzel shape we have today, called brezel in German.

In front of the cathedral, a short ways away, but directly in front of the Protestant Lutheran church, is a statue of a walking pilgrim. This was a stop on a Catholic pilgrimage in olden times, and our guide suggested the location in front of the Protestant church was meant to be an insult, but nobody paid much attention. It is rumored that if a traveler rubs the big toe of the statue, good travels will be his. So of course, we all had to polish his toe. (photo of Darrel doing so)

After a stop for cocoa or coffee, we headed back to the boat for our afternoon excursion to a typical German home for a kaffeeklatch. Divided into groups of eight, we were bused all over the region. Our little group ended up at the home of Stephanie Burger in Romerburg. She walked us through her in-laws' property, who owned the land originally, and around the block, out into the fields where horses, pigs, sheep grazed. We were amazed we were so close to the "county". Then, we went back to the house behind her in-laws that she shares with her husband, three kids (one more due in February), six cats and lots of collections: Barbie dolls, model cars, rocks, wedding plates, Babushka dolls from Russia, cacti & other succulent plants. Kids' artwork was on every vertical surface. The decorations were Turkish modern, bright and colorful. It was a visual extravaganza. We sat down to the table for coffee (or beer/wine) and learned she is a baker, so we were in for a treat: cheesecake and cinnamon bread baked that day. She spoke excellent English, having only six years of it in school. She has never been to the states, but traveled the Mediterranean and several visits to Russia, where she works to help children affected by Chernobyl. Ironically, they live in the shadow of a nuclear plant themselves. Our bus came too soon to pick us up and we waved Auf Wedersen. As we headed back to the boat, a gentleman picked up his harmonica and we had a sing-along - after comparing notes about our hosts & hostesses.

TOMORROW: Another country! Strasbourg, France and a bus trip back into Germany to the Black Forest and Baden-Baden.