Grau-Berg

We spent a leisurely morning taking photos from the entryway since the sun deck has been closed. They had to remove it completely so that the ship can pass under the bridges on the Main River. Heather the park ranger was able to get the generic battery charger to work on her Nikon 7000. Chatted with Sam from Taiwan while outside. I took a photo of Cruise Director Sacha and a colleague, which he wants to extract and post on the ship's display board. We have an excursion this afternoon into the small German town of Miltenburg.

Miltenburg was magnificent. The half-timbered houses make one believe he is in the middle of a German fairy tale. Our affable Scotch-German guide led us through the medieval town, and then we had several hours on our own. I had an apple pastry and coffee at a local coffee shop. First, we found a way inside the big Catholic Church (we are now in Catholic Bavaria). I set up the tripod to take some high quality photos of the interior. Then we went to the Catholic parish church for more shots. Next Glenda went to find a shop that had a garment she liked, while I went back to find the site overlooking the town. I found myself alone on the path; I was a bit fearful, so I turned around and went back to the Catholic Church to refine my photos.

Miltenberg boasts the oldest hotel in Germany, the Gasthaus zum Riesen. Guests include Napoleon and Elvis Presley.

A right-wing group planned to have a political demonstration in the plaza outside the Catholic Church. They applied for the proper permits and received them. As they were having their demonstration, however, the priest started ringing the church bells so loudly that the demonstration could not proceed. He was tried and fined for disturbing the peace and for preventing a lawful demonstration. The citizens of the town paid his fine. When his bishop moved him to another parish, the priest received a considerable promotion.

We were to meet at the Maypole at 6 pm, so I headed there, stopping all along the way for photos. Two members of our party were missing, so we were delayed nearly an hour trying to find them. Cruise Director Sacha was attempting to pack the returning buses as densely as possible, and he asked for volunteers to transfer to another bus. Glenda volunteered, and as we boarded the second bus some folks must have concluded that we were the ones who were tardy. I had a lovely dinner of hazel nut encrusted cod with Len and Sandy from Sacramento, and Heather and Don from San Francisco. Heather showed me her pictures from Antelope Canyon, AZ a and gave me some practical advice on scheduling a guide. After the 9 pm briefing on tomorrow's visit to Rothenburg, we came back to the stateroom and got ready for bed.Read more