Friday 19^th September, 2014…….What a night……cruising all night on the Main River which is much narrower than the Rhine and oh the locks……we must have gone through at least 8 locks last night as I would just get to sleep and then bang again…the locks seem so narrow for our big boat thus we are always bouncing off the concrete walls……just looking at our schedule, there are 34 locks on the main river so it will take a few days to get through them all but thankfully there is not the traffic on the Main River…..the Rhine was so busy, cargo boat after cargo boat….our guide in Amsterdam told us how cheap water transport is though…she said one unit would  cost $1.00 to transport on the Rhine whereas that same one unit would cost $50.00 by road or rail……however there are a lot of trains in Germany……most of the time the rail track runs alongside the canals and trains seem to never stop, be it night or day!!! And so after cruising all night we had a leisurely morning, napkin folding lesson and a catch up on things…..in the afternoon we berthed at Freudenberg and then we were bussed to Miltenberg…..we had the choice to go to a German home for afternoon tea (we thought more food…oh no) or to take a walking tour of Miltenberg which we did……another picturesque German village……the old town hall in Miltenberg was the scale house where the official weight was kept called the “Miltenberg Pound”…All pound measurements were based on the weight kept here…..During Caesar’s era (100-44BC) Miltenberg’s law required all tradesmen to stop in the town for 3 days and display their goods for sale and this was the hall where they displayed their goods…. So Miltenberg became the place to come for shopping…in the 1500’s  people found a way to avoid coming to Miltenberg and thus avoiding the law…Miltenberg was then forgotten by most outsiders and therefore no wars or fighting occurred in the town, thus the buildings here have been preserved….lots of Franconian renaissance half timbered houses here in Miltenberg too…..later we bussed to Wertheim where the boat was to pick us up……the boat had trouble getting through a lock and didn’t arrive in Wertheim until 8.15 pm……bit of lost time there as everything closed however we wandered the streets and luckily the weather was fine…..we have had dull, grey mornings but it always seems to burn off and develop into hot days……back on board and again all night sailing….entertainment tonight too but we opted to hit the cot…..we love lying in bed with the ranch slider wide open watching the passing landscape and knowing that someone else is driving…..very low bridges on the Main River to the point that everything on the sun deck has been put away and even the captain’s flying bridge is on a hydraulic system to lower himself as we go under the bridges…..everything so green…lots of camping grounds, it would seem that camping is popular here….lots of fishermen on the banks of the river and so often we are so close to the houses and gardens……sitting in the dining room is something we enjoy too, viewing the changing landscape….so different to ocean cruising……M & F

 Saturday 20^th September, 2014…….Another night of cruising and locks……We arrived in Wurzburg this morning and so off the boat for a tour of Wurzburg Residence which was built for the prince bishops of the Schonborn family….this beautiful baroque palace is one of the largest in Germany…for us the highlight was the enormous fresco by the Italian artist Tiepolo (1753) and the gorgeous mirror room!! In the 13^th century local bishops were given the status of Prince Bishop by the ruling emperor, Friedrich II.  This made the bishop not only the religious ruler but the secular ruler as well…they became wealthy and powerful until Napoleon abolished this in 1803 with the creation of the Kingdom of Bavaria….Wurzburg itself is surrounded by vine clad slopes……back on the boat for a quick lunch and then we opted for an optional excursion to Rothenburg….about an hours drive…it poured with rain en route but when we got to Rothenburg it turned into yet again a hot sunny afternoon……we drove on a motorway to Rothenburg where you can travel at any speed you like!!!!! Something of interest our guide told us en route is that Germany has opted to shut all its nuclear power plants down by 2022 and he went on to say that on one day in June this year all their power came from solar and wind energy to the point that the national grid couldn’t store it and they had to sell some off so he said that is the next thing to upgrade the national grid, in that it will have this capacity….all very interesting as nuclear power certainly is a big thing here in Europe….Rothenburg began in 960 with a small community in Detwang in the Tauber Valley then a castle was erected in 1142…an earthquake destroyed this castle in 1356…..by this time the city had over 6,000 inhabitants and so they decided to use the stones from the castle to make Rothenburg a walled city…..thus the city survived the various wars over the years……in 1802, after 500 years of independence the Franconian Rothenburg was annexed to the Bavarian Kingdom….in 1945 the city was bombed by the allied forces and over 40% of buildings went up in flames….however support from all over the world enabled the destroyed area to be restored…today many of the halftimbered houses still stand and it is a picture postcard place wherever you look….and the Christmas shop in Rothenburg, and they have a Christmas Museum, is something else, not to mention the queues of people in there…..we managed to get in the door as we had to have a look…you could have spent hours in there but again time, time!!!! Rudesheim, Miltenburg and Rothenburg which we have visited in the last couple of days have all been well worth visiting, all similar and different with so much history, wonderful historical buildings and we have had great weather……on saying that we had the most horrendous electrical storm whilst on the bus en route back  to Wurzburg…….lightning like I have never seen and then it stopped when we got back to the boat……vine clad slopes on our drive today….grapes, grapes and more grapes in this part of Germany…Wurzburg is a university town but school is still out and our guide commented how lovely and quiet it was but soon all the uni students would be back and the noise would begin…..a festival in the streets of Wurzburg this afternoon which we missed with going to Rothenburg but those that went said it was more beer and food at the festival…..we have been having a beer in all the towns we visit and we have to admit we have been enjoying the German beer….back on board, dinner and then the evening’s entertainment…..a brother and sister act dressed in medieval costume and doing medieval music…..much audience participation was encouraged but it was a lot of fun and something different….M & F.

Our boat berthed in Freudenberg.....the chairs and railing on the sun deck still all folded down to go under all the low bridges....although here the crew did put a few chairs out on deck for those staying on board......

Freudenberg....

The streets of Miltenberg....

The oldest hotel in Miltenberg.....from memory 1600 and something!!

The streets of Miltenberg....

As above.....

One of the many old water fountains in Miltenberg.....

Pic taken from the sun deck of our boat in Freudenberg.....Vineyards up to the castle walls!!

En route to Rothenberg....vineyards, vineyards and more vineyards!!!!

The streets of Rothenberg....

The Franconian glass bottle...empties hanging as a bunch of grapes in Rothenberg....

The streets of Rothenberg...

The market square....Rothenberg....

As above....

Again, the streets of Rothenberg....

One of the entrances in through the old city wall....Rothenberg.....

Rothenberg...pic taken from the city wall.....

Rothenberg.....

Our beer drinking spot in Rothenberg....

Yours truly ascending the stairs of the old city wall....Rothenberg....

Standing on the old city wall.....Rothenberg....

More of the old city wall...Rothenberg....

City Hall...Rothenberg....