Anyone for glass blowing
We are entertained to a demonstration in glass blowing from Hans Ittig, who got on with his equipment at one lock and got it all off at the next - though I think he sold most of his samples. The family glass company was founded in Thuringia in 1841 by Karl Ittig I . In the Iron Curtain years the family fled to West Germany, and, now based on Wertheim, Hans Ittig is the 7th generation of the family of glassblowers. Hans was an amusing raconteur and expert glassblower, who worked miracles to turn industrial glass tubing into objects of desire and beauty.
Chris bought one of his most successful products - a glass sparrow of Ulm. And she was only one of many buyers. One was left wondering how many of the passengers making purchases were going to get them home.
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Along the Main - Danube Canal
We had a full "sea day" without a stop, apart from negotiating locks, which by now were seriously high obstacles. The hours passed easily by, with the glass demonstration, talks and just watching the scenery move by us. As well as, lets be frank, indulging in eating and drinking.
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Rothenburg
Rothenburg is known for its well-preserved medieval old town, a destination for tourists from around the world. It is on the Romantic Road through southern Germany.
The town suffered one major bombing raid in 1945, and a number of houses were destroyed. However when the advancing US Army reached the town, they were able to negotiated the surrender of the town by the German commander, hence the damage that would have been inflicted by an artillery bombardment was avoided.
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Hotel Reichskuchenmeister & Cafe Friedel
We had lunch in the garden of Hotel Reichskuchenmeister. Here we settled for the local delights of Flammenkuchen and washed it down with local wine. Flammenkuchen is really a pizza not a cake as the name might imply, made out of a very thin bread dough. The traditional topping is a mixture of sour cream and creme fraiche, onions and bacon, and spiced with salt and pepper. It is quickly baked in a very hot wood-fired oven and it is normal that it has burned crust at the edges. And we matched this with a plate of fresh asparagus which was also very good. Service was average, but the waiters were a bit rushed as many from our cruise ended up here
I enjoyed the sojourn in the Reichskuchenmeister garden, and the boys enjoyed the Flammenkuchen, but prevailed upon me to find a real cafe for real kuchen, which we did when we repaired to the Cafe Friedel for a dessert
At the cafe Friedel you can chose your cake from the enticing selection in their bakery shop on the ground floor, then eat it either outside or in the first floor cafe. As the weather was a bit iffy, we settled for a coffee and cake each upstairs. There was a waitress to serve there, and she brought the cake up from the bakery. The Germans are invariably as good with making cakes as they are at playing soccer, so I was happy to indulge myself with their cakes
I probably regret not trying one of their doughnutty looking local buns from their bakery, but after the cake I could not tackle any more!
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Rothenburg Bear joins the family
We "found" Rothenburg while walking round Rothenburg after lunch. He was hiding in an antique sort of shop under the name "Die Vitrine", where the owner was quite lugubrious, but did permit Rothenburg one last memento of the shop - a photo with the owner, below - before we took Rothenburg bear away to begin his new life. He soon began making new friends on the boat, and fitted in well with all the other boys when he got home
Actually the town of Rothenburg went big on Teddy Bears, and there were a number of specialist bear shops, some selling Steiff bears for upwards of 400 euros
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Wurzburg Wine Tasting
The Staatlicher Hofkeller in Wurzburg dates back to 1128. Beneath the baroque building of the Residence Palace are the expansive tunnels and cellars of the wine cellar of the former prince bishops. We enjoyed sampling some 8 different local wines in their very beautiful wine cellars.
The former imperial cellar of the prince-bishops of Würzburg is in the basement of the Residence Palace. The cellar is very large and its hallways are intertwined and maze-like. In 1719, the prince-bishop Johann Philipp Franz awarded the contract to build a new royal residence to Balthasar Neumann, the architect from Eger. The order included the construction of an “excellent” wine cellar.
There were 400 candles lit for our visit. Each wine was given an introduction and we also got a talk on the cellars and its wine casks
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Christmas Markets
Now part of the tourist scene in Germany, Christmas Markets are big business. In many towns in Germany and Austria, Advent is ushered in with the opening of the Christmas market or "Weihnachtsmarkt". Generally held in the town square and adjacent pedestrian zones, the market sells food, drink, and seasonal items from open-air stalls, accompanied by traditional singing and dancing. On opening nights (and in some towns more often) onlookers welcome the "Christkind" (originally boy Jesus, but more often depicted as an angel-like girl), acted out by a local child, especially at the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg.
In Rothenburg we came across a shop which offers a year round Christmas Market - the family run company Käthe Wohlfahrt is a specialist for Christmas decorations and Christmas items.The Christmas Village in Rothenburg ob der Tauber is the first specialist shop in what is now a chain of these shops. This shop is a bit like entering Dr Who's Tardis - small on the outside, it seems to go on for ever on the inside. They corral you round two floors, and at each turn, some different Christmas decorations, and everywhere sales assistants. This is big business, and I thought the prices were big prices too. Cost you a lot of Euros to decorate a Christmas tree
The place is so vast that we did slightly panic at one point that we were not going to get out in time to get back to the group rendezvous point at the appointed hour.
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