DAY 3 - WURZBURG DAY 2:

---

This morning we slept in a little late, waking up finally at about 9am. The free breakfast stopped being served at 9:30, so we quickly got dressed and went down to the cafeteria on the ground floor. Breakfast consisted of various types of meats and cheeses, breads, cereal, yogurt, fruit, and coffee/tea. While we ate, I uploaded yesterday's blog and photos.

Our first priority today was to climb up the the fortress above the hostel called Festung Marienberg. It was quite a long climb, but well worth it. The fortress consists of several courtyards and surrounding buildings, including two or three museums, a conference center, a chapel, a restaurant, a cafe/ice cream/souvenir store, and a nice small garden behind it all. The museums were mostly artwork, so we passed on them. The chapel was being renovated, so we couldn't go in. The small garden behind the fortress was very cool, with fantastic views down to Wurzburg and the Main River. After the fortress, we'd already decided we wanted to visit the Kapelle we could see across the valley on another hill, so away we went. After going for a kilometer or two in the wrong direction, we got reoriented and took what we thought was the quickest and shortest path to it. I think we would have taken less time, and definitely less effort if we'd known how easily you can reach it from the eastern side near the river. Instead, we climbed and climbed a zigzag path from the northern side. It was a lot of work, but we got to see how the more well-to-do live in Wurzburg, since along the way we passed a lot of individual houses, many with pools and fantastic gardens. The Kapelle was pretty cool, but if we had to go again we'd definitely take the straight, 12-station climb up the stairs from the eastern river side.

After seeing the Kapelle, we walked down the 6 sets of stairways, representing the 12 stations of Christ and the cross, to a main street, where we found a Lidl grocery store again. We'd stop there on the way up to the Kapelle to get a cold soda and bottle of water. This time we browsed around to see what we could find for a late lunch. Manoli bought some fruit and chips, and I picked out an assorted anti-pasta package and a cheese with pineapple and bananas, along with a cold cappuccino drink and another bottle of water. The hostel was only a couple blocks away, so we carried it there and ate in the cafeteria where we could use their utensils. My dishes were both excellent and quite filling. The anti-pasta consisted of feta cheese blocks with spices, a delicious cheese and olive blend, and some cheese-stuffed cherry and banana peppers.

After our "lunch", we headed out to the last sight we wanted to see in Wurzburg, since we leave tomorrow morning. The Weltkulturerbe Residenz, or Prince's Residence/Palace, was across the river and a few streets past where we'd been yesterday. It was very cool looking, but the only part that was open to the public at 5pm was the gardens. The gardens alone were worth the effort, being very large, with two cool rough rock fountains, and tons of flowers and shrubs. You can get a better idea from the photos. We left the gardens and headed towards another church spire we could see close by. It turned out to be a chapel, not a church, called St. Johannis. The inside was quite simple, although still pretty. From there, we decided to head back towards the river and our hostel, but from further down river below the Marienbrucke bridge. We walked up the side of the river, looking at all the riverboats tied up there. One of them I assume was permanent, consisting of a Chinese restaurant and a casino! We didn't find a good place to stop for coffee and light food until we reached the bridge, so we crossed over the bridge and stopped at the Cafehaus Bruckenback. After looking at the menu, Manoli decided on some sweet potato fries with humus, and I ordered a large cappuccino and an ice cream dish with two scoops. Everything was quite good, and only came to about 12 Euros.

After our "dinner", we returned to the hostel to relax and write up this blog. Tomorrow we head down the romantic road, stopping for 4 nights at the DJH hostel in Creglingen, where we'll check out the interesting towns north and south of the town. We may stop at a couple of the towns between here and Creglingen, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out which ones... since we haven't decided ourselves yet.

---

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Germany
Such a beautiful part of the world.