10/7/14 Wurzburg

Today we arrived in Wurzburg.  We had to take a bus into town as one of the gates on the locks was not operating properly, but it was a short 20 minute ride so no problem.  We had a lovely American born guide, Mary, who met her husband, a German, and moved here 15 years ago.  She was very enthusiastic and knowledgable about the sites, history and art that we encountered on the tour.  We started at the Prince Bishop's Palace - a mini-Versailles - an ornate baroque palace.  We toured through the royal guest rooms - quite fancy - the opulence is breathtaking, especially when you think that the common people paid for most of it through their taxes and tithes and the ruler was both the head of government and the church. The palace was commissioned by the Prince/Bishop von Schonborn and he chose the architect Neumann to design the palace.  His grand staircase with its magnificent vaulted ceiling is a work of art and a treat for the eye as he was a master of spatial illusion.  The four continents (the only ones known in 1752) are illustrated on the ceiling.  We wanted to spend some time in the gardens, but it was raining a bit at that point so we skipped it.  We had a short walk to the city center and then took a shuttle bus back to the ship for lunch.  After lunch, the ship finally arrived in Wurzburg and we went back to the center to poke into some of the shops.  I was a bit disappointed as most of the stores were big ones and I prefer the small specialty shops - I find them much more interesting.  Although we did not get to his museum, Wurzburg is known as the birthplace of Wilhelm Rontgen who is credited with discovering the x-ray.  He won a Nobel Prize for this in 1901.  The other outstanding item of note in this city is that the vineyards are all around and come right down to the edged of the city.  The castle which is situated on the top of the hill across the river from the main part of town has vineyards up the slope to the castle walls - quite striking.  It is still a bit gloomy out, but the rain has stopped for the moment.  We have free time now until dinner so will try to get a few pix on the blog.