• Lacey Travels
  • Lacey Travels

River Cruise 2022

Bucharest to Amsterdam - Viking River Cruise with Pre and Post extensions. Weiterlesen
  • Rhine-Main-Danube Canal

    2. November 2022 in Deutschland ⛅ 8 °C

    A little over 100 miles in length, this canal’s importance to river traffic is enormous. Connecting the Danube in Kelheim to the Main in Bamburg via Nuremberg, river traffic can sail between the Black Sea and the North Sea, traversing 11 countries. Construction took place between 1960 and 1992, but it had been planned [in one way or another] for 1,199 years. We climb the locks to the highest point at the continental divide and then start to come down the other side.
    Most of this journey was made at night while we slept.
    Weiterlesen

  • Nuremberg - Albrecht Durer House

    2. November 2022 in Deutschland ⛅ 11 °C

    Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the German Renaissance. Born in Nuremberg in 1471, Dürer established his reputation and influence across Europe in his twenties due to his high-quality woodcut prints. In 1509, he purchased the large half-timbered building in the Old Town which served as both his home and his workshop for the remainder of his life. He died in 1528.Weiterlesen

  • Surviving the War - Art in Nuremberg

    2. November 2022 in Deutschland ⛅ 11 °C

    The Historic Kunstbunker is a complex network of tunnels under the Imperial Castle. Tunnelled into the sandstone and lined with concrete and rock, the tunnels provided shelter for the people of Nuremberg during WW2 and also the preservation of artworks. In 1940, work was done on these tunnels to provide lighting and temperature control to safeguard the art held in the secret bunkers.Weiterlesen

  • Protecting the Art

    2. November 2022 in Deutschland ⛅ 12 °C

    Contents included:
    Veit Stoss' Annunciation from St. Lorenz
    The Altarpiece of Veit Stoss
    The Imperial Regalia
    The Automaton clock from the Frauenkirche
    The Erdapfel
    The Codex Manesse
    Works of Albrecht Dürer
    Historic musical instruments, scientific implements and clock mechanisms
    Furniture and windows from the churches of the old city.
    Weiterlesen

  • The Bombed City and Reconstruction

    2. November 2022 in Deutschland ⛅ 12 °C

    The city was extensively bombed in WW2 air raids. There are still undischarged bombs throughout the city.
    Reconstruction began to a clear plan agreed to by the citizens of Nuremberg - priority order, standards etc. Buildings were built to modern standards inside but with original facade and colours of the time [mostly shades of brown]. Where buildings once stood, they are clearly marked, should reconstruction be planned.Weiterlesen

  • St Sebaldus Church

    2. November 2022 in Deutschland ⛅ 13 °C

    St Sebaldus Lutheran Church, originally built in 1215, was almost bombed to the ground in WW2. It has since been reconstructed in 1957 and almost all the art was saved and hidden in the bunkers, including the stained glass, the statues and paintings. They were not able to save the organ.
    The church is named after an 8th century hermit and missionary, the patron saint of Nuremberg.
    Weiterlesen

  • The Main Market Square

    2. November 2022 in Deutschland ⛅ 13 °C

    The Hauptmarkt is busy with workers getting ready for the Christmas market beginning in a week or so. Today there is the regular farmers’ market.
    Here in the Hauptmarkt is the Schooner Brunnen [Beautiful Fountain), Frauenkirche, and the old Rathaus [Town Hall].
    Today's Schonen Brunnen is a 1912 copy of the 14th century fountain. The remains of the original were transferred to the German National Museum in the early 20th century.
    Weiterlesen

  • Bamberg

    3. November 2022 in Deutschland ☁️ 8 °C

    Bamburg is one of the loveliest towns in Germany. It is situated on 7 hills with a church on each hill. It is bisected by rivers and canals. There’s a jumble of crooked lanes and mediaeval buildings with a skyline dotted with church steeples.
    We visit the Theatre district and the old Jewish sector. More than 1,000 Jews were in Bamburg prior to WW2 - half fled and half were killed - about 700 have returned.
    Weiterlesen

  • Bishops’ Residenz, Wurzburg

    4. November 2022 in Deutschland ☁️ 9 °C

    For centuries the Wurzburg prince-bishops wielded enormous power and wealth. The Residenz is UNESCO-listed; a fine baroque palace built between 1720 and 1744. No photos are allowed inside. There’s a famous grand staircase and the largest ceiling fresco in the world [6,400 sq ft] showing 4 continents of the world. The other rooms are equally opulent and ornate.
    Outside, there are 3 gardens - French, Italian and English.
    Weiterlesen

  • Alte Mainbrucke, Wurzburg

    4. November 2022 in Deutschland ☁️ 11 °C

    Walked along the Main Promenade to the Old Stone Bridge which is adorned with religious statues, like the Charles Bridge in Prague. Originally built in the 12th Century, the bridge was badly affected by flooding and was rebuilt 1473-1543. During the period, 1724-46, The Prince Bishops of Würzburg added 12 statues, two being kings and ten being saints, to the bridge.
    Today, after additions and modifications the bridge over the years, the Old Main Bridge is a stone arch bridge with a length of 185 meters and a total width of about 7.5 meters. The bridge has eight arches, two of which are reinforced concrete with a natural stone veneer. The stone of the foundations and pillars are limestone.
    Weiterlesen

  • Wertheim am Main

    5. November 2022 in Deutschland 🌧 8 °C

    Wertheim lies at the confluence of the Main and Tauber Rivers. The Main has 34 locks and 33 hydropower stations on it and is part of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. The rivers are fed by spring snow-melt in the nearby Alps and the town is often subjected to flooding. Several buildings show the high water levels through the centuries.Weiterlesen

  • Wertheim Castle

    5. November 2022 in Deutschland 🌧 8 °C

    The red sandstone castle overlooks the town. Begun in the 12th century, it was continuously expanded until the 17th century. It was destroyed during the early 1600’s. In 1995, the castle was purchased by the town. The facade overlooking the river is intact; the ruins are visible from within the town streets.Weiterlesen

  • Wertheim

    5. November 2022 in Deutschland 🌧 9 °C

    Wertheim was a successful merchant’s town during the Middle Ages. The mediaeval buildings have half-timbered houses. Many of the buildings are overhanging and far from straight.
    The leaning tower [Pointed Tower] is due to 800 years of flooding. Built in the 13th century as a lookout tower, it also served as a prison for drunkards and “quarrelsome wenches”. It’s entry was 30 feet off the ground and people imprisoned in the. Tower had to climb a ladder up into the tower and another down to ground level [“the fear hole”] by rope. Prisoners were kept together in complete darkness until release - approx 6 weeks later.Weiterlesen