Bamberg, Germany

 

Bamberg Cathedral and Old Bishop's Residence

Bamberg was founded in 902 by Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, as a gift to his wife, Cunegonde, to remind her of Rome with its seven hills. Henry eventually became a Holy Roman Emperor. She had been a nun before he married her (and it is believed that she remained a virgin).and later was accused of being a witch. (This region put to death more witches than the Spanish Inquisition.) She demonstrated her innocence by walking over flaming irons without injury. Today, she and Henry are considered saints and their tomb is in the Cathedral. Nearby are the old and new Bishop’s Residences and the Rose Garden.

Cunegonde and Henry II

The most recognizable building is the Town Hall built on an island by the merchants in the middle of the river since the bishop wouldn’t sell any land in the town to build it. It is a mix of medieval timber and baroque style painting.

Bamberg Town Hall on the river

Today, the town is known for its smoky tasting beer. The original brewer had dried his malt too long on the fire, but he decided to use it anyway. Now that is the tradition in the town.

Enjoying the beer at Brauerei Heller

Nuremberg

Nuremberg was the location for the Nazi party rallies from 1934 to 1938.

Why Nuremberg?  

·       This was where the Emperor held his first diet (meeting of the nobles) after his coronation since 1356.

·       The Bavarian Nazi party had held rallies here since the 1920s and its leader stepped down in favor of Hitler.

·       This was where the German railroad had its start and had connections to the rest of Germany.

·       This region has historically been right wing (90% of the vote in last election).

Hitler at Zeppelin Field

Zeppelin Field and Congress Hall were part of the Nazi Party rally grounds, designed to dominate the attendees. Used just one week a year, the rallies would attract 500,000 participants. Each year, the rally would have a different theme and different ceremonies each day. The 1939 rally was called a Rally for Peace but was canceled when Poland was invaded and World War II began. Today, the colonnades have been removed, and the concrete is crumbling. The field is used for parking lot for the nearby soccer stadium.

Nuremberg Defendants

We then visited Court Room 600, home of the Nuremberg Trials, where the International Military Tribunal tried 22 individuals for their part in World War II. The US, France, England, and Russia each provided a judge and his alternate. Three out of four had to agree to convict. After 11 months, 11 were sentenced to death, 7 to life imprisonment, and 3 acquitted. Why Nuremberg for the trial? It had a large courthouse of 580 rooms that survived the war with a prison next door, and was in the American sector of Germany (there was concern that the Russians would just execute them without a fair trial.

Nuremberg Castle from Sinwell Tower

After a lunch of sausages in town, many of us climbed the hill to visit Nuremberg Castle, the location used for the Holy Roman Emperor’s first diet (meeting with other royalty and bishops) after their crowning since 1356. We toured the Double Chapel, the Imperial Hall and other rooms filled with imperial items and armor. Then we visited the Sinwell Tower and the deep well. The deep well was particularly interesting. It was protected in a locked room to prevent poisoning in one of the courtyards. The guide poured water into the well, it took 3-4 seconds to splash in the bottom of the well. 44 meters below us. He lowered 4 candles into the well which we saw below us. Afterward returned to the Market Square with the Church of Our Lady and the Beautiful Fountain.

Church of our Lady and Beautiful Fountain

Germany Politics: the Shift to the Right

This last election, the AFD, Alternative for Deutschland, was second in the voting. The party was formed in 2013. The traditional parties CDU and CSU formed a coalition to govern. The AFD is against the EU, immigration, non-Christians, and democracy. It is also pro-Russian with the goal of restoring the oil and gas imports from Russia. They attracted most of the East Germany vote as well as the rural and young voters. Their issues are immigration, the high energy prices, the increasing defense budget and Ukraine. 

Kelheim, Germany

 

Interior of Liberation Hall

We can see Liberation Hall from our dock. The athletes hiked up there to see the memorial to the defeat of Napoleon.  The drinkers toured the Kuchlbauer Brewery founded in 1300. There are 598 breweries in Bavaria. The current ownership is in their ninth generation. They specialize in wheat beers using a top fermentation process. We were able to enjoy their beer. But the brewery is not only known for its beer, but also for its artistic tower and buildings designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.  

Hundertwasser Tower

That afternoon, we entered the Rhine-Mein-Danube canal. Most of the time, it was hard to tell we were in a canal. We celebrated going through the tallest lock (81 feet) of our voyage in the evening.

81 foot high lock

Rhine-Mein-Danube Canal

King Ludwig completed the first canal in 1846 with 102 locks, up to 50 feet wide and 5 feet deep, for vessels much smaller than today’s riverboats. Railroads were more competitive in 1835 when the canal were finished. It took 11 days to cross with horse versus 2 days using the modern canal. It was deserted in 1950 after the damage from World War II made it too expensive to repair compared to the boat traffic volume.

The current canal was completed in 1992. 105 miles long from Bamburg to Kelheim over the 1332-foot-high European continental divide (separating water that flows to the North Sea or the Black Sea). It took over 70 years of planning and 32 years of construction. The canal handles vessels that are 190 meters long and 11.45 meters wide.

Pedestrian bridge across the canal

Regensburg, Germany

 

The Old Stone Bridge

German vs US Education Lecture

We started our day with a lecture on the German Education system by a teacher who also taught in the US. Since each of Germany's 16 states are different, this is specific to Bavaria. She captured our attention with the following differences with the US system:

· Home schooling is illegal

· To graduate from high school (gymnasium) you must know 2 other languages

·  92% of 3 year olds are in preschool

·  Only ½ as many students have a post-secondary degree

·  Religious education is mandatory

·  All education is free of charge, including to foreign students

Their elementary education is four years and then based on grades and maturity, one of four systems of education is chosen. A gymnasium education is eight years and prepares you for university. The Realschule is for administrative and white color jobs. The Mittleschule is for trade jobs, six years of schooling, followed by alternating trade school and internships. There is little adult education. The 4th type of schooling is one school that is a combination of the three, this was the system in East Germany. There is another school system for the handicapped with a much lower student/teacher ratio. The school year is 190 days with longer holiday breaks and only 6 weeks in summer. School is 8 till 1, with 2 to 3 hours of homework daily. Each year there is a one week school trip, paid for by the school. Subjects are taught in 45 or 90 minute periods. Class size is typically 24 students. Each subject will have 1 or 2 exams per semester. Schools don't sponsor music, drama, or sports teams there are clubs for these, not associated with the school. No school buses, students arrive by public transportation or a free taxi ride if transportation is unavailable.

Regensburg, the Castle on the river, was founded in 179 AD. After the Roman Empire fell, a Bavarian tribe took over the city and it became the capital of Bavaria. The high point was between the 6^th and 12^th centuries when trade to the East and West along the river made this the largest city in the region. In 1135 they began construction of the Old Stone Bridge, which would become the only bridge across the Danube for almost 200 years. The legend has it that the builder of the bridge had a bet with the builder of the Cathedral for who would complete construction first. The bet included doing bodily harm to the loser. The Cathedral had God on his side, so the bridge builder made a pact with the devil that the devil could have the souls of the first three who crossed. The bridge was built in eleven years. The duke, bishop, and mayor wanted to be the first to cross. But the builder told them we should test the bridge by having two cats and a dog cross first, saving their souls. We saw the remnants of the Roman gate into the castle.

St. Peters under reconstruction

St. Peter’s Cathedral was started in 1275, but the steeples weren’t completed until 1872 (a clear loser in that bet). Unfortunately, they were completed in cheap concrete and are undergoing their second renovation.

Nearby was the golden tower, nine stories high, taller than any of the 20 other towers built by merchants.  The town hall has rods that are the official measurements for length in the region to keep the merchants honest. After our tour of the city, we stopped at a nearby tavern for a beer. 

Let's have a beer

That evening we were entertained by the Regensburg Girls Choir. Their singing sounded angelic and brought me to tears.

Passau, Germany

 

Passau Town Hall

Passau is built on a strategic confluence of three rivers: the Danube, Ils and Inn. As such it was a key port for the lucrative salt trade. We started at the city hall, which typically was built by the trade guilds and has a clock tower to counter the power of the Church with its steeple. We could see the flood levels marked on the hall. We walked the streets until we reached St. Stevens Cathedral with its 17,000-pipe organ. Unfortunately, that organ is under refurbishment, but we still enjoyed the organ concert.

St. Stephens

In the afternoon, we hiked up to the Veste Oberhaus fortress to get a great view of the rivers and the city of Passau. The fortress built in 1219 had a major renovation in year 1499 (at the time a 4 was written as the lower half of an 8).

That evening we celebrated the twin's birthdays.

Bob and Richard 

Wachau Valley and Melk

 

Dornstein Castle

In the morning, we sailed through the Wachau Valley of the Danube. This valley has been a wine region for 1200 years. Our first castle was Dornstein Castle where Richard the Lion hearted was imprisoned during the third crusade. We cruised by several towns, churches, and castles for the next hour.

Vineyards above the town of Spitz

Melk Abbey has been here for 935 years as a Benedictine order. The Benedictine Rule was to pray, work, and study. It was a favorite retreat of Empress Maria Theresa who visited three times.  Today it houses a school for 10- to 18-year-olds. It also has 60 guest rooms. The museum tells the story of the abbey with artifacts over the centuries. The main hall looks like it is made with stone columns, but they are just stucco. The ceiling which is flat appears to the eye as a vaulted ceiling. 

Ann and Char at Melk Abbey

The library is the most impressive room with over 9000 books written in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic. The church was very impressive. We continued into the gardens and then walked into town.

The Library

Vienna Day 2

 

Hapsburg Palace

We started our day with a bus ride tour of the ring road around the old walls of the city. The road is constructed where the city walls used to be. Many of the government buildings and museums are visible along the road as well as numerous parks. Our walking tour began at the Statue of Maria Theresa, who reigned the Hapsburg empire from 1746 to 1780. She had 16 children, 10 reached adulthood, and were married to other nobility.  We entered the Hapsburg Palace  through the gate remaining from the old city walls. The palace was built from the 15^th to the 19^th century and has over 2600 rooms.  We walked to St Steven’s Cathedral built in Romanesque and Gothic Style. It was destroyed in WW II but rebuilt in 7 years.

St. Stephens

In the afternoon, most of our group went to Schoenbrun Palace, the summer home of the Habsburgs. 

Schoenbrun Palace

I visited the House of Music, which is the museum of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. It featured rooms for each of the major Viennese composers: Hayden, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Mahler. The highlight was the piano keyboard staircase, which played music on each step.

Before dinner, we heard a lecture about Austria, Past and Present. The lecturer made it interesting as he had various audience members play the various emperors, empresses or composers. The Danube was the border between the Roman Empire and the barbarians. An important Roman fort was in Vienna right where St. Steven’s Cathedral now stands. Austria was ruled by the Hapsburgs from 1273 until 1918. The Hapsburg Empire included much of Germany, Hungary Spain, the Netherlands, parts of Italy, the Spanish colonies of the New World. The Habsburgs would marry the royalty of other countries and take over when those dynasties died out. Austria also was influential in classical music. For example, Mahler created the rules for Opera. After WW II, Austria was split up similarly to Germany between the US, USSR, UK, and France. In 1955, it became a neutral state, neither in NATO nor the Warsaw Pact.