Wertheim and Miltenberg

On the morning of October 7th we had a walking tour of Wertheim.

Founded in the seventh century it is known for its intriguing castle ruins...

 

...and historic charm.

Charming indeed!

The Angel's Well is an historic fountain in the town square

...built in 1574.

This building is a memorial to the Jews that once lived here...

decorated with suns, stars. the Star of Davis and the word 'shalom'. 

One of the original old houses that had a barn attached.

Make way for the delivery van!

The cobblestone streets were made for horses and pedestrians.

Spitzer tower stands the entrance to the town.

It was originally built as a watchtower and later served as a prison.

After 800 years of flooding from the Main and Tauber rivers the tower is leaning.

In front of the tower stands a large blue gnome with 'thumbs up'.

These gnomes are everywhere in Wertheim and meant to be a symbol of optimism.

Not only was the famed tower leaning...

but many of the other buildings were leaning toward each other as well.

It was all part of the charm!

 

Wertheim is the glass capital of Germany and we had a glass-blowing demo at the Glass Art Museum.

Quite amazing, actually!

While the Emerald Star spent the day going through locks on the journey down the river...

we travelled from Weinberg to Miltenberg by coach.

The historic Main Bridge and gatehouse of Miltenberg.

A half-timber house in the medieval old town.

Welcome to Miltenberg...

where the castle overlooks the town.

Cobblestone alley ways...

...hydrangeas, shops, cafes and historic houses.

This historic guesthouse in the town centre is the oldest in Germany...

built in 1158.

Patricia (our cruise director) and Javi (the activity director) in the old market square.

The Old Town Hall

This was another building of historic significance...

the witch burning tower of the 17th century. 

Once our walking tour of Miltenberg was done...

found our ship down at the dock.

And soon we were back on the river...

...with Miltenberg in our rear view mirror.

What do they call the Canada Geese in Germany?

The south-facing vineyards on the hillside of the Main River Valley. 

At the end of the day as we ate dinner...our emergency alarms went off on our phone. Shortly after that, the cruise director announced that there had been an accident at a plant nearby and a toxic cloud was blanketing the area. We were to close all windows and doors and the AC on the ship was being turned off. Shortly after, it was announced that the ship had been ordered to stop until the 'all clear' signal was given. We had no idea how long we would be delayed. It turned out that we were just a few kilometers from the incident at a galvanizing plant. We could actually feel the toxic fumes in our throat when we went to sleep. After some four hours, our ship was able to proceed and we never missed any of our planned tours for the next day.