Würzburg

Just a mere two hour drive from home is a charming Baroque town, Würzburg.  It was recommended by a native, a chapter left unexplored in Rick's book and after a little more research I found out that Würzburg maintains cultural, economic and educational ties with it's Sister City, Rochester, NY!  Therefore it was a good reason for an overnight stay for my friend Christie and I since our men were out of town. 

We set out the morning of March 23rd and were able to check right into The Novotel, just a quick walk into the historic Old Town on the River Main.  We set out in search of lunch and then spent the afternoon exploring the city until our fingers and toes were too numb to do any more.  We visited the 500 year old Tavern in the Ratskeller (the city hall cellar restaurant) with it's vaulted ceilings and exposed stone walls that gave a very medieval feel!  We warmed up with some wine and headed back into the cold. 

Würzburg's Old Main Bridge (Alte Mainbrücke) was built 1473–1543 to replace the destroyed Romanesque bridge that had dated from 1133. In two phases, beginning in 1730, the bridge was adorned with statues of saints and historically relevant figures. The bridge shows similarities to the Charles Bridge in Prague - probably why I liked it so much!

The Alte Mainbrücke and the city of Würzburg

There are many notable churches in Würzburg and surely we could have spent a day visiting them all.  The Käppele, perched on a hill facing the fortress, and the Dom (Würzburg Cathedral). The Baroque Schönborn Chapel, a side-chapel of the cathedral, has interior decoration made of (artificial) human bones and skulls - darn it we missed this!   Marienkapelle (on the market square), the Neumünster is a Romanesque minster church and the Baroque churches in center of the city are Stift Haug, St. Michael, St. Stephan and St. Peter.

The Stift Haug was built in the years 1670–1691 as the first Baroque church in Franconia. It is the most important building of the Italian architect Antonio Petrini.

The Stift Haug

Back at the Novotel we were like two excited 5 year old kids to go swim in the hotel pool.  It was really nice!  It was warm, decorated in an "island" theme, equipped with the most powerful jetted hot tub I'd ever sat in - wait - no sitting - we had to hold the sides of the tub as well as our suits because those jets were so crazy!  And we even did like the German's and sweated it out in the sauna.  There were quite a few people with the same idea, warming up out of the cold but left shortly after one of the women in the pool said to her daughter, "it's time to go because there are some people making some not-so-good-decisions in this pool."  It was a little R-rated for a pool with children in it.  We had dinner at the hotel and were so excited to find Daniel Craig in Casino Royale playing (in German) when we got back to the room.  Party animals we are!

Fortress Marianberg

Sunday we headed up to the Marienberg Fortress which is a prominent landmark on the Main River in Würzburg. The mighty Fortress Marienberg is the symbol of Würzburg and served as a home of the prince-bishops for nearly five centuries. It has been a fort since ancient times. After Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden conquered the area in 1631, the castle was reconstructed in the Baroque style. Today, it is a park and museum and we braved the wind and cold to capture some beautiful views and pictures before heading back home.   It was a nice city but definitely worth a visit in spring/summertime when gardens are blooming and weather was a bit warmer.

A perfect way to end our weekend was being able to stop into an outlet mall on a Sunday and actually shop!  As we drove by it the day before we googled Wertheim Village and with our luck was open from 1-6 on Sunday.  Even though there is a huge resistance to Sunday shopping from churches and politicians, local governments allow certain stores a fixed number of Sundays a year to be opened.  Like the 1 million other people that were just as excited, we popped in and out of a few of our favourite shops and did not leave empty handed.

Wertheim Village Outlet Mall

We could really only manage an hour or so with all of the people so we went back to the car where people were anxiously waiting for our spot. I'm still waiting to hear from our car rental company but as Christie is my witness, I DID NOT hit the parked car next to us! As I was backing out of the tiny space, attempting a 12 point turn, in the tiny lot with my not so tiny vehicle it was close but luckily we have sensors in the vehicle that beep BEFORE I am about to hit something. I was pulling out and a woman was frantically waving at me from her car so I put down the window and she was yelling at me in German that I hit the car - it wasn't her car. She insisted on my name and plate number and I'm not really sure why I was arguing with her since I didn't hit the car. I finally pulled away and she may or may not have gotten all of my lisence plate number.

Lesson learned - don't almost hit a car!

Next up: Easter in Dresden with JJ and Prague take 2!

Pictures from Würzburg:

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Location:Würzburg, Germany