Today we took a one hour bus ride to Rothenburg, where we had a walking tour, a German-style lunch (mashed potatoes, sausages, soup, saurkraut and apple strudel) and some free time to walk about town. It's a quaint Bavarian-style town, which still has a covered wall around it. We walked around a small part of the wall, and then strolled past the shops.This town is considered to be the best preserved Medieval town in Germany. The wall has guard towers that date from the 13th - 16th centuries. When I was in Germany with my parents as a child of 13 years, I think I was here. I have no recognition of the place, but I remember them talking at some length about Rothenburg, and the surrounding wall. Too bad I'll never know for sure, as mom is gone and dad has Alzheimer's. As an interesting aside, the fellow for whom this disease was named is from this part of Germany.
Later that afternoon the bus took us to the Wurzburg Residenz, a UNESCO site buitlt in the Baroque style between 1720-1744. It was commissioned by a prince-bishop, and it's opulence is breathtaking. It has the largest fresco ceiling in the world. This painting is amazing, and even has 3D sculptures on both ends, and a grand staircase below. One room was almost entirely white, while another contained many mirrors and gold leaf on the walls, which was vey elaborate and hard to look at for very long. Unfortunately Michael wasn't feeling well by this point and missed the palace, as well as the nautical presentation given by the chief engineer of the ship after dinner.
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