Wurzburg and a visit to a palace

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There were a number of choices today but we went for a visit to a local castle called Weikersheim Palace. A castle was built on this site in the 1200s but a local Count rebuilt it in Renaissance style in the late 1500s. It was rebuilt again in the 1700s by Count's grandson in a Baroque style. Unfortunately for the title, the line then died out and the palace was unoccupied for 250 years. What was bad for the family turned out to be good for the palace as its furnishings, art and decor were preserved intact and eventually restored in the 1970s by a distant relative of the original owners. This was a real treat as beds, tables, desks, chairs, wall hangings and paintings were all original equipment. The garden (channeling French gardens of the Versailles era) was also restored and is beautifully arranged with an amazing Orangerie at one end. Definitely a surprising highlight of the trip so far.

I have not talked about our ship, Scenic Jade. This vessel, which looks like a floating mid-Century modern apartment with frameless glass windows from end to end, is a very luxurious way to travel. It is 415 feet long and carries about 140 passengers. We are on the Diamond deck which is the top deck of the ship. This is not as great an advantage as it seems because the banks of the canals and rivers we traverse are usually higher than even the Sun Deck above us. We rarely get much of a glimpse of the surrounding countryside. Nevertheless, there is a lot of traffic on the river and towns and cities pass by frequently. Like our other cruises, for me, the best part of the trip is being on the ship moving down the river. The food has been excellent but sometimes too much of a good thing. Alcohol on this line is included in the price so by and large the guest are pretty mellow in the evenings. We found a few fellow souls among the Canadians, Brits and Aussies on board and dinner conversations have been interesting and lively.

Tomorrow, Bamburg.

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