Kitzingen, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Wertheim

It doesn’t pay to get behind with this blog as so much happens. Today is Tuesday and it is Katherine's Graduation Day. Congratulations. We are entering the Rhine River where the ABC changes from Another Bloody Church to Another Bloody Castle! Despite that I am looking forward to cruising down the Rhine Gorge. Apparently there are 24 castles that can be spotted from the river. Some dating back to the 10th century. We will be able to view them from the Sun Deck while sipping Rudesheimer Coffee. Coffee made with the addition of “Asbach” brandy a specialty of Ruedesheim!! Now to catch up on what we have done in the last few days. SUNDAY –Kitzingen, Rothenburg. This morning we had an early morning wine tasting in a small village, Kitzingen. A local councilor and the Wine Queen greeted us and walked us through the streets to the underground cellar , one of the oldest wine cellars in Germany. We got to taste 5 wines. Interesting way to start a Sunday morning. The area is famous for white wine and the fascinating thing is that they plant their grapes up the steep hills in vertical rows! Apparently this allows them to get more sun and the benefit from the reflection off the river. All the grapes are harvested by hand as the hills are tooooooo steep for machines. I do have some photos but am still having trouble finding a place to upload them. We had a bit of free time after the tasting to explore the town. Not a lot of action, however we walked over a stone bridge and down a walk way along the river. The Autumn leaves are just starting. The flowers planted along the river where beautiful. After lunch we boarded buses and we went to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. (burg meaning a castle and ob der Tauber, meaning on the Tauber River.) This village is reportedly one of the most picturesque in Germany. It is completely surrounded by a city wall. We had the opportunity to walk around part of the wall. Lovely views of the village and surrounding countryside, a bit foggy but no rain as predicted. It would not meet any Workplace Health and Safety Standards. We survived, fortunately we did not fall down the steep stone steps. This village is the home of the famous Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas Store. It is a bit like an Ikea Christmas shop, once you get in you can’t exit because you can’t find a way out. Amazing. We were quiet restrained, mainly because we need to consider the luggage limits!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No photos allowed but I did sneak one inside. The bus trip back to Wurzburg was very scenic and even more scenic than usual as we had to avoid the main motorway because it was the end of a long weekend and the traffic was very thick and slow. There are lots of wind mills in the rural areas. Farmers tend to live together in villages. The cows are housed in barns and the land is used to grow crops for cow food and Sugar Beet for making sugar. The guide told us that the young men in the village looked out for a wife who came from a rich farm. As the cattle are housed in the barns it is difficult to gauge the wealth of the farmer so they use the size of the dung heaps outside the barns to determine the most appropriate wife!! After dinner we were entertained by a 7th generation glass blower , Hans Ittig from Wertheim. He was very talented and very entertaining. He makes the Galileo thermometers that we can buy in Australian Stores. (Long tubes filled with liquid and contains glass balls that move up and down according to the temperature.) MONDAY – Wertheim. This morning we took one of the shorter guided bike rides of the cruise, 10 kms. Making our way through the old township down along the railway line through a small village, Waldenhausen, to a recreation area near the river. Lovely ride, fairly flat. We still had some time to explore and shop in Wertheim when we returned. I bought some great shoes. Shoes and clothes are reasonably priced in Germany. The winter clothes are beautiful and it would be easy to get carried away. The sun came out today after the fog lifted at about lunch time. (We have been lucky with the weather. It has only rained once and it was while we were cruising.) It was beautiful and it was very pleasant cruising down the river taking in the views while embroidering. A great way to spend time. There are lots of locks in this part of the river. 16 I think they said.