20240823 Viking European Sojourn River Cruise Day 22/27 - Würzburg, Germany - We are Vikings!

Viking European Sojourn River Cruise Day 22/27 - Würzburg, Germany

I forgot to mention yesterday that the night before, we spent our 300th night on a Viking vessel. We had mentioned that to Daniel, the General Manager as we were discussing previous cruises. When we returned to our room last night, this was waiting for us.

French Champagne and praline chocolates

It was a small touch, but still nice. On to today - Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg lies in the northern part of the German state of Bavaria (one of 16 states that make up Germany). It is also affiliated with the Franconian region which includes Nuremberg and Bamberg.

We mentioned before that we're in room 118, on the first floor, at the water line. I called them aquarium rooms, but they are more commonly known as swan rooms. Why? We found out when we pulled back the drapes this morning.

This swan was not more than perhaps three feet from us, of course on the other side of the double-pane glass window

It paid us no mind and went about its swanning business

On the way to the tour bus, I saw this business - I could get behind that

The bus took us to Würzburg Residence. It was built for Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn by architect Balthasar Neumann from 1720 to 1744. The interior took another 36 years and was completed in 1780. Many of these German Prince-Bishops built residences styled in part like the Palace of Versailles in France and you can certainly see the resemblance in the Würzburg Residence.

Franconia fountain outside the residence

The main staircase ceiling is covered in the largest fresco ever painted - 600 square meters or nearly 6500 square feet. Painted in 1752-1753 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, it places Würzburg as the center of the arts and culture with each side of the fresco representing each of the then four known continents. Photos simply do not do it justice.

We moved into the large guard room that was finished in a Rococo style - monotone with lots of asymmetry.

All the adornments were hand-created with plaster and a spatula - nothing was made in forms

The room was completed in only nine months

Our guide pointed out this humorous element, a female dragon, complete with human-looking breasts

The Garden Hall was equally impressive.

We toured the north apartment area.

The Napolean bedroom

We continued touring the north and south wings.

The Mirror Cabinet

Well, that won't work

Children's toys - a merry-go-round

We continued outside to the gardens.

The garden gate

All of these trees had figures hidden under them

Modern pointed double towers of the St. Johannis Protestant Luthern Church

We looked for but had a hard time finding the church at the residence.

This is why - the entry is not obvious and not well-labeled

But, the inside - well, that did not disappoint.

Next, we started our walking tour of the town.

Chronos Fountain

Würzburg Cathedral

This was the residence of the Prince-Bishop after Napolean kicked him out of the Residence

The Cathedral

Our guide, Claudia, explained her theory about the taped man sculpture - something to do about marriage constraining him - ha!

The Cathedral again

The Neumünster Collegiate church

The church dates back to the 11th century

Hackerbrunnen

St Mary's Chapel

Falkenhaus was the residence of the cathedral priest in the Middle Ages - the rococo stucco was added in 1751 to get a ten-year tax abatement from the Prince-Bishop - our guide called this the Wedding Cake building

St Mary's Chapel

The gold emblem at the top is a weathervane and honors the Virgin Mary

A maypole

A vending machine for vacuum-seal sausages? Yup

Oh, look - water

We had never seen artichoke flowers - they're gorgeous

A fun pedestrian street

This store smelled amazing

Four Tubes Fountain

Old Town Hall

The clock and sundial were an hour different - they don't adjust the sundial for daylight saving time

Our tour ended and we did more wandering on our own.

The oldest winery in the city

Alas, they only took cash and we didn't get any Euros, so no wine for us

The building had a working paddlewheel - no idea what it was running

Old Main Bridge

Wine vending machine? Yup

We went back to St Mary's Chapel for a look

A very modern-looking organ

We decided to grab lunch in the town. We just split a sandwich. Of course, I had a local beer.

It was a "Helles", or lighter beer and it was terrific

Since we split a sandwich, we had room for dessert. This place specializes in "spaghetti ice cream". The ice cream is pushed through an extruder producing spaghetti-like strands. It is then piled on chilled cream and then piled with toppings.

Arlona's Spaghetti Carbonara - cream underneath, hazelnut ice cream, hazelnuts, walnuts, candied almonds, cashews, eggnog, and brittle crumble

My Spaghetti Neri - Cream layered with chocolate spaghetti ice cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate shavings

After those fantastic desserts (both were very good), we decided to burn a calorie or two by touring the Würzburg Cathedral.

This sure looked like a menorah

The organ was amazing - look at all those pipes pointing straight out

A better look at the organ

We continued our walk.

Star Fountain

Another view of the Four Tubes Fountain

Old Main Bridge

Marienberg Fortress - check out the vineyards

Looking back at the Old Main Bridge

Käppele Sanctuary - also built by Balthasar Neumann

Lion's Bridge, guarded by what else - lions

Our Viking Lofn was moored right next to Lion's Bridge

Another look at Käppele Sanctuary

And one last look at Marienberg Fortress

We returned to the ship and were thrilled to be able to shower. Why so excited? Last night, the Lofn suffered a significant failure in its plumbing systems. A valve failed and a section of pipe had to be replaced. This created a major air blockage in the system. The ship's pumps could not generate enough pressure to blow out the air blockage. This resulted in a catastrophic failure of the water systems on the ship. No water at any sink, toilet, or shower. Woo. 

This morning, after we docked, they hooked up to the dock water source. That generated enough pressure to push out the air blockage, restoring water to the ship. Yay! Now that the airlock has been relieved and the valve repaired, we should be good once we sail tonight.

We went up to the lounge where I put this blog together while enjoying a cocktail (or cocktails) and Arlona caught up on some reading on her Kindle.

We enjoyed a nice dinner out front on the Aquavit Terrace, watching vineyards go by and traversing a couple of locks on the Main. After dinner, they had a glass-blowing demonstration. Unfortunately, that demo was cut short as the glass blower didn't bring a full tank of gas for the flame and his heat source died mid-demo.

Tomorrow, we'll be in Wertheim, Germany and it is known for its glass blowers.