Thursday, November 7, 2024
From one end of its cobbled streets to the other, Miltenberg is populated with colorful, half-timbered buildings, standing shoulder to shoulder. Indeed, they seem almost to be leaning on one another. At first glance it might be assumed to be a part of a themed amusement park, but these buildings are the real deal.
After breakfast there was a lovely zither performance by an elderly man who had come on board at one of the lock stops. My mom used to have a zither that I believe belonged to her father. I learned how to play Silent Night on it. Unfortunately it was destroyed in their house fire.
After a short bus ride, we entered Miltenberg by way of the Wurzburg Gate. Though centuries old, it stood stalwart in the middle of the street with vehicles and pedestrians flowing through and around it. The clock appeared to be keeping the correct time.
Dating back to the fourteenth and fifteenth century, Miltenberg was not destroyed during during WWII, so the buildings are neither restored nor replicated, though obviously upkeep has been needed through the years.
Many of the buildings had their construction date painted on them, such as the building below, built in 1333.
A few centuries ago, the citizens of Miltenberg, like most people in Germany, were unable to read and write. So shop owners hung ornate pictorial signs outside their shops. Bakeries were denoted by a pretzel.
A pair of crossed axes marked a butcher shop.
The building below seemed far too elegant to be a butcher shop, but there were sausages hanging in the window.
In nearly every city I toured there were memorials to the Jewish people who suffered atrocities at the hands of the Nazis. Below, a single suitcase denotes the pitiful amount of their belongings they were allowed to take to the camps when they were deported.
Hotel Zum Riesen is noteworthy as being not only one of the most unique looking, but, dating back to as early as 1411, one of the oldest continuously operating hotels in the world. I'm unsure of the original structure, but its present, half-timbered form was constructed in 1590. Numerous interior renovations have taken place in the ensuing years. According to our guide, many famous people have stayed here, including Elvis Presley.
A couple of other interesting hotels were found about town. In the oddly angled picture below, the building on the far right is Schmuckkaestchen Hotel and Café.
Once our tour was over, I had a couple of hours to explore the cobbled streets on my own. There were endless nooks and crannies to follow, while still staying a reasonable distance from our meeting point.
Sprinkled throughout the cobbled streets were little souvenir shops, with the most common items being warm hats, scarves and gloves. It was damp and chilly, but I'd already purchased a stocking hat in Cologne, and was sticking to the one scarf I'd brought, a Van Gogh "iris" one that doubled as a cover-up for my swimsuit, as well as a blanket for the plane. One of my brighter ideas.
I have the hardest time resisting a bend in the road or a quirky flight of stairs. But I admit to being somewhat directionally challenged. The thought of the ship's crew having to scour the city for me was enough to keep me circling back on occasion to make sure I didn't get totally lost. I have, and I would prefer to avoid the anxiety that ensued.
All's well that ends well. I had my ramble, and joined the others on the brisk walk back to the busses. I even had time to run down to a public restroom before boarding. Once on the warm bus with all our extra layers peeled off, we were told that the team had gone out to search for six missing people. They were eventually found and escorted back, but I was glad to not be numbered among them.
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