A Fortress then into Schwarzwald (The Black Forest)

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As we had breakfast included with our hotel, we loaded up with eggs and fruit, cereal and everything else we could eat. Then we packed up and headed for Marienburg Fortress which is the original castle and fortress for the Prince-Bishops (the same ones that had the city Residenz built). We tried to go through fortifications up the hill but the path was under repair so we went the long way around. This turned out to be good because it was steep enough for us!

At the top of the hill the fortress is just that – a series of enormous walls built to make sure anyone attacking would suffer catastrophic losses before they ever broke through. Without doubt, it offers the best views of Wurzburg. It also has some great history within the castle keep. The original tower is still standing and the stairs and tunnels you pass through beneath the walls still have the holes above where defenders would drop all sorts of nasty things on would-be attackers. They are still excavating sections of other walls in the grounds too. Em had great fun playing horses at the water trough in the stable and entry area before we wandered back down the hill.

At the base is the oldest bridge still standing in Wurzburg. The Main Bridge as it’s called, was built in the 15^th century and is lined with statues of saints and kings. Amazing that it is still there since a whopping 90%!o(MISSING)f the city was destroyed during WW2.

Back in the city, we stopped for lunch at a hole in the wall chinese food store and had noodles and rice which we had been craving for a while and thoroughly enjoyed.



Then it was time to move on so Em passed out in the back of the car and we drove to Triberg in the black forest. It is a quaint little town squeezed into the valley at the base of huge waterfall. After checking into our hotel we struck out to find dinner and found a little Italian place in a basement called Pinochio’s. It was truly great pizza and Em enjoyed her calamari (of course).

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