Speyer and cruising onto Rudesheim

Woke up in Speyer, only one guide appeared for our 9:00 walking tour, the other apparently couldn’t find where we were moored. No coaches today, 15 minutes walk along the river path then through a park brought us to the impressive cathedral, claimed to be the largest Romanesque church still in existence a marked contrast in style to the gothic architecture we have previously seen. Although the town was developed by the romans as part of their defence line against the German tribes there is little sign of any Roman remains, the few bits found are in the museum ( closed today). Main claim for fame is when one of the leading centres of the Holy Roman Empire. “Imperial Diets” as they were known were held here to perform important acts like the election of Emperors, but probably one of the most significant was the trial and excommunication of Martin Luther. The subsequent “protestation” in Speyer causing the schism in the church and the reformation. One of the pictures is of a large “bowl” in the front of the cathedral, the tradition is that upon election the bishop fills this with wine for the townsfolk. Back on the boat for lunchtime we are now heading north to Rudesheim where we arrive during dinner this evening, but we are no seeing signs of the shoreline changing as the tree lined beaches give way to large industrial ( look like chemical type plants) with commercial barges there to collect the products or deliver materials. One of the barges that passed us must have had around 150 containers on board.Read more