Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Cities along the Rhine and Mosel Rivers

Cities along the Rhine and Mosel Rivers

In this blog I will cover the German cities/towns that we stopped in on our cruise down the Rhine and Mosel Rivers.  With a few exceptions, most of the towns are very similar to each other.  They all, of course, are located on the Rhine or Mosel, many are surrounded by vineyards, they have an Old Town with a beautiful church, all have their origins with the Celts and early Romans, and many are very old but were heavily damaged in WWII and have been almost entirely reconstructed.

I have already talked about Strasbourg (in France) and Baden-Baden (our first stop in Germany).  Speyer was our next stop and one of the prettiest and oldest of the towns visited.  It was founded in about 50 AD as a Roman town and became a significant religious center in 1529, when the Diet of Seyer united its followers of Luther in a protest against the Church of Rome.  Speyer is built around the Kaiserdom (Imperial Cathedral).  Dedicated in 1061, it is the largest Romanesque basilica in all of Europe.  Inside its large crypt are the remains of eight German emperors or kings, four queens, and many bishops.  Although this church has been damaged through the years by fire and wars, it was finally restored to its original shape during a restoration period from 1957-1961.  During the middle ages, the town also became an important Jewish community.  Jewish people began settling here in 1084, building synagogues and a mikveh (ritual Bath), the oldest of its kind still existing in Europe today.  Another claim to fame is that Speyer claims to have invented the brezel (what we call a pretzel).  As the story goes, a priest was trying to make it easier for young children to worship God.  Instead of having them hold their hands in prayer, he said it would be easier for them to cross their hands over their chest.  An ingenious local baker saw this and took the shape of the crossed hands and made it into a bretzel.  Today, one of the statues that adorn the front door of the church has a bretzel in his lap.  Needless to say, Bill and I had to try one – they are good, but we like the soft Philly pretzels better.  While the bretzel has the same shape and size of our soft pretzels, it has a much harder consistency.

We saw the convent where Dr. Edith Stern lived for a while.  She was born a Jew, but became an atheist in her early teens.  She became a nursing assistant and continued her studies to become a Doctor of Philosophy.  She became interested in the teachings of the Catholic Church and converted to Catholicism after her education was complete.  She then taught at a Catholic school in Speyer for several years, but because of the Nazi rule that only “Aryans” could be civil servants, she was forced to quit.   She then entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Cologne where she became a nun in 1934, taking the religious name of Teresa Benedicta of the Cross..  She remained at the Cologne monastery until they relocated her to a monastery in the Netherlands for her own safety.  It was there that she was arrested by the Nazis on 2 August 1942 and sent to Auschwitz where she died in the gas chamber on 9 August 1942.  Stein was beatified as a martyr on 1 May 1987 in Cologne, Germany by Pope John Paul II and then canonized by him 11 years later on 11 October 1998 in Vatican City. The miracle that was the basis for her canonization was the cure of Benedicta McCarthy, a little girl who had swallowed a large amount of acetaminophen, which causes hepatic necrosis. The young girl's father, Rev. Emmanuel Charles McCarthy, a priest of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, immediately called together relatives and prayed for St. Teresa's intercession.  Shortly thereafter the nurses in the intensive care unit saw her sit up completely healthy.  Dr. Ronald Kleinman, a pediatric specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who treated the girl, testified about her recovery to Church tribunals, stating: "I was willing to say that it was miraculous."


 During our walk through the town, Britta told us about an old woman (94) named Gertrude who lives here by herself.  Britta calls her “my adopted Grandmother,” and visits her every time she is in Speyer.  She had bought her some flowers so we all went with her to meet Gertrude.  Gertrude’s husband died in 1946 and she has been on her own ever since.  She does have one son, who visits her weekly to take her shopping.  She is such a sweet lady and was so excited to see everyone.  She also has great neighbors who look after her. According to Britta, she is the oldest person in town.

In the afternoon we had our home-hosted visit with a family in Speyer.  This is part of Grand Circle/Overseas Adventure Travels Discovery and Learning Program.  We were divided in small groups (we had 7 in ours) and dropped off at designated houses.  Our host was a fairly young woman with two daughters (Sophie aged 15 and Isabella aged 12).  They live in a beautiful 3-story home that she and her former husband renovated.  Her ex-husband works in printing and did the etching work (done with a printer) for their front door and also did the printing of special designs for the girls’ bedrooms.  Angelica works in Human Resources for a local company.  Both she and her daughters speak very good English (although Isabella is very shy and did not say more than about 3 words).  Sophia was very talkative and told us, that because she has diabetes, she would one day like to become a doctor to help fight this disease.  Our visit started out with mimosas (a very great beginning) and ended with a delicious apple cake/pie from apples from her apple tree.  During our 2-hour visit we talked about the girls schooling (they ride their bikes to school although they would prefer their mother drive them) and Angelica’s volunteer work with refugees and immigrants.  She helps them with the paperwork necessary for their status and also helps them to find jobs.  She said that 99% of the middle eastern immigrants would like to return to their homes.

In the German education system, a child attends what would be our elementary schools where they are evaluated and then placed on a course that prepares them for the university (high school called a Gymnasium) or sent to a trade school for training and an apprenticeship with a local business to learn their selected vocation.  Once such a determination has been made, it is very difficult to change schools, especially going from the vocational school to the gymnasium.  It is much easier if the child decides after a year or two that they do not want to go on to the university to switch back to a vocational school.  All too quickly our two hours were up and we had to go back to the ship.  This was one of the best home-hosted visits we have been on.

Statue of 8 kings buried in Cathedral

Cathedral of Speyer

Britta telling us the story of the Bretzel

Can you find the bretzel?

Half-timbered homes in Speyer
Convent

Plaque to Dr. Edith Stein

One of the pretty little alleyways

Britta with her adoptive grandmother Gretrude

Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral

Beergarten by the boat


















































Our next stop was at Boppard, again another Roman town where there still remains remnants of the 4th century wall and the old Roman fort.  We were docked about as far away from the city center as possible, so we all got our exercise this morning.  The pedestrian walkway along the waterfront is called the Rhine Promenade with its backdrop of the twin white towers of the Church of St. Severus (Stevens).  The church, dating from the 13th century, is in the Romanesque style.  Inside the church is a hanging cross from 1225 and spider web-like vaulted ceilings.  The main part of town is very small, but filled with quaint stores for shopping, especially the Christmas Shop.  Of interest are the small bronze plaques located in front of some of the homes, identifying the former Jewish citizens that were forcibly removed by the Nazis in WWII.  Another interesting place is a grave that appears to show a woman with her hands crossed as in a Christian burial.  The grave, believed to be from the 3th century, indicates that Christianity had already spread to this part of Germany.  After walking through the town in morning, we had a tour of the Marksburg Castle, one of the most beautiful hill-top castles on the Rhine and the only 13th century castle unchanged by war or reconstruction.  I gave a more detailed description of the castle in the blog “Sailing the Rhine and Mosel Rivers.”


St. Stevens Church

Old red house in Boppard

Villa Belgrano, once a summer home

Plaques identifying Jewish residents forced from their homes

3rd century grave of Christian woman

Old Roman ruins in Boppard

Inside St. Stevens Church

Marksburg Castle



































After an overnight and morning sail we arrived in Bernkastel, our first stop on the Mosel River.  Prior to our arrival, we had to go under a very low bridge.  They had to lower the ship’s bridge and then the covered section of our sun deck.  It was very interesting to watch.  The panels of the covered sun deck bend inward in the middle and then the top is lowered.  We were able to stay on the uncovered portion of the sun deck but we had to remain seated.  We cleared the bridge with about 3” to spare.  Bernkastel is one of the prettiest towns on the Mosel, with its castle perched on a hill overlooking the Mosel and the city. It is actually two towns – its sister town, Kues, is located on the opposite bank of the Mosel.  Our first activity was a wine tasting at one of the local vineyards in the area.  The wine tasting was held in a cave built into the side of a vineyard.  There we were greeted by the Wine Queen.  Most of the towns in this wine region have a Queen.  You must apply for the position and must demonstrate a very good knowledge of wine to be selected.  For two years then you represent the town and its wine at festivals or by talking to guests at wine-tastings.  Our queen, whose father owns a small vineyard, did an excellent job of talking us through the 4 types of wine that we tasted.  Almost all the wine in this region is white, although we did taste one Pinot Noir which has a limited growth in this area.  Even Bill liked one of the Riesling’s so we bought a bottle to enjoy later.  The vineyard was called Dr. H. Thanisch.  It got the name Doctor many, many years ago when a prince in the area became very ill and nothing the doctors did was able to help him.  The wine grower brought him a bottle of his wine and said to drink it for the next several days.  Whatever had ailed the Prince was cured and the name “Doctor” stuck with the vintner.

Following our wine tasting, Britta took us on a walking tour of the town.  The main part of town is pedestrian only and there were many picturesque alleyways with half-timbered homes.  These colorful homes date back to 1608 and also surround the Marktplatz.  In the Marktplatz is St. Michael’s Fountain (which I neglected to get a picture of) that during the September Wine Festival flows with wine instead of water.  The main town square had wonderful little shops, especially this one pastry shop that had the most delicious cherry crème cake.  We just could not resist!  After our treat we walked back to the ship for what else – more food! It was of course dinnertime.
Bermlastel Castel

Bernkastel

Our Wine-tasting Cave

With the Wine Queen

Bernkstel

Half-timbered homes.  Do you see the Wine Queen?


Bernkastel

Smallest home in Bernkastel

Bernkastel Town Tower



























Germany’s oldest city, Trier, was our next stop.  In 2000 B.C., according to legend, the Assyrians established a colony here, and archaeological findings indicate a pre-Roman Celtic civilization. The buildings and monuments still standing today, however, date from Roman and later periods.

The city known to the Romans as Augusta Treverorum possesses some of the best-preserved remnants from the era north of the Alps.  Founded under Augustus in 16 B.C., its former grandeur earned it the title Roma Secunda -- the second Rome. For nearly five centuries, well into the Christian era, Trier remained one of Europe's power centers.  When Emperor Diocletian (who ruled the Roman Empire from AD 285-305) divided his overextended Roman Empire into four sectors, he made Trier the capital of the west (roughly modern-day Germany, France, Spain, and England).  For most of the 4th century, this city of 80,000, with a four-mile wall, four great gates, and 47 round towers was a favorite of Roman emperors.  Emperor Constantine used the town as the capital of his fading Western Roman Empire.  Many of the Roman buildings were constructed under Constantine before he left for Constantinople.  In 480, Trier fell to the Franks.   Today all that remains of the Roman fort are the Porta Nigra, basilica, baths, and amphitheater.

Before we started our walking tour of Trier we had a guest speaker who spoke to us on the European Union.  He has a doctorate in history and works as a professor at the both the Trier University and the University of Luxembourg.  The main point of his talk was that the European Union is very complicated.  Headquarters for its various divisions are scattered over several cities and countries and trying to keep all its unique and diverse countries happy and content is a very demanding task, made especially more difficult because the EU cannot collect taxes, but must rely on each country providing its fair share of the budget.  At the end he did comment a little on Brexit, but about the only thing that I came away with was that regardless of what type of break the EU and Britain negotiate, it will be bad for England.  At times it was difficult to follow our speaker’s train of thought.  I think it must be very hard to take these complicated issues (that he certainly understood in German) and translate them to English that we could comprehend.

We then left for our walking tour and our tour guide was non-other than our speaker.  Now he was easy to understand as history is his strong point.  We started our walk at the Porta Nigra (Black Gate), the only remaining city gate (out of four) which was built by the Romans in AD 200.  The impressive thing about this gate is that it was built without mortar.  Holes were drilled into the sandstone rocks (one on the right side of the rock and one on the left side of the neighboring rock and then  iron pegs with a metal bar across their top (like a staple) were place in the hole that was then filled with molten metal.  For several years in the early 1000’s, Saint Simon (a Greek recluse) lived inside the gate.  After his death in 1035, the gate was made into a church – a lay church on the bottom and the Saint Simeon monastery on the top.  The tower on one side of the church was turned into the apse.  As a result, the gate (now considered a church) was spared destruction by invading troops from France.

Trier was heavily damaged during WWII and most of the buildings that you see now have been constructed after the war.  Although an attempt was made to rebuild them in their original style, the town has a more modern look than many of the towns we visited.  Even when he talked about some of the historical buildings, they all housed modern stores or restaurant.  One in particular, House of the Three Magi, is a colorful Venetian-style building (built as a keep – a fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility).  The entrance to the home was through a door on the second floor.  A wooden ladder was used to enter the home.  If the town was in danger, the ladder could be pulled up, in order to fend off enemies and protect inhabitants. 

We then walked to the Market Square, filled with people, fruit stands, flowers, painted facades, and fountains.  In the center of the square is the market cross.  It is located only a block away from the cathedral, which was the seat of the archbishop.  In medieval times, the cathedral was its own walled city, and the archbishop of Trier was one of the seven German electors who chose the Holy Roman Emperor (giving the archbishop tremendous political, as well as spiritual, power).  The stone market cross celebrates the trading rights given to the archbishop By King Otto the Great.  This was a slap in the face to Trier’s townspeople, since trading rights were usually reserved for free cities – which they wanted to become.

Across the square from the lane to the cathedral is the 15th-century Town Hall (Steipe).  The townspeople wanted a town hall, but the archbishop would not allow it, so they built an “assembly hall” instead, with a knight on each second-story corner.  The knight on the left, facing the Market Square has his mask up, watching over his people.  The older knight, facing the cathedral and the bishop, has his mask down and his hand on his sword, ready for battle. Tensions mounted over the next 30 years.  The Gothic tower of the Church of St. Gangolf, the medieval townspeople’s church and fire watchman’s post has a tall white steeple with yellow trim.  From medieval times to now, a bell has rung nightly at 22:00 reminding the local drunks to go home.  In 1507, Trier’s mayor built the new Gothic tower to make the people’s church higher than the cathedral.  A Latin Bible verse adorns the top in gold letters:  “Stay awake and pray.”  In retaliation, the bishop raised one tower of his cathedral (all he could afford), continuing the Town Hall’s verse:  “For you never know the hour when the Lord will come.”  As a final sign of rebellion, the townspeople erected a statue to Mary on the hill on the other side of the river that stood higher than the Cathedral’s tower.  Sounds like a medieval soap opera.

From the Market Square we walked to the Basilica or Imperial Throne Room which is the largest intact Roman structure outside of Rome.  .  Although best known as a Basilica, it started out as a throne room.  Looking up at the ceiling inside the building and you will see squares measuring 10’ by 10’.  During its time as a throne room, it was decorated with golden mosaics, rich marble, colorful stucco, and busts of Constantine and his family filling the seven niches.  Constantine’s throne sat under a canopy.  The windows in the apse around him were smaller than the ones along the side walls, making his throne seem bigger.  The last emperor moved out in AD 395, and petty kings moved into the building throughout the Middle Ages.  By the 12th century, the bishops had taken it over and converted it to a five-story palace.  The building became a Lutheran church in 1856, and remains the only Lutheran church in Trier.  When we first went to the Basilica, there was a church service in progress so we could not enter.  We later went back and into the building, but there is really nothing to see.  It is a large room with very little in the way of decorations.  With the exception of one small cross and several racks of religious pamphlets, you would not know it was a church.

The main feature of this town (after the Porta Nigra) is the Cathedral, the oldest church in Germany.  St Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine (who legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire in AD 312) allowed part of her palace to be used as the first church in this spot.  In AD 326, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of his reign, Emperor Constantine began the construction of St. Peter’s in Rome and this huge cathedral in Trier (also called St. Peter’s).  Looking at the church from the outside, it looks more like a fortress.  The current cathedral is actually now the third church to stand on this spot.  It was begun in 1035 in the Romanesque style, but later Gothic and baroque additions were added.

Immediately to the right of the Cathedral is the small Liebfrau (parish church), separated only by a very narrow passageway.  This church was begun in 1235 and was among the first German examples of Gothic architecture.  The ground plan is in the shape of a Greek cross, creating a circular effect with all points equidistant from the central high altar.  The structure is supported by 12 circular columns, which represent the 12 apostles (or the 12 tribes of Israel). On each column is written the name of an apostle and one of the 12 articles of the Apostles Creed  Unlike the Cathedral, the interior is bathed in sunlight and filled with stained glass windows.  You can see the contrast between the two churches in the pictures below.

Our walking tour was finished and we headed to a restaurant just across the square from the Cathedral.  There we had another typical German lunch – soup, salad, pork dish and spaetzli (actually looked more like egg noodles).  What I wouldn’t give for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

After lunch Bill and I headed off to see some of the Roman ruins.  Roman ruins are numerous in this area – it is said you cannot put a rec room in your basement without discovering a ruin.  In fact, the restaurant Zum Domstein where we had lunch is a good example.  The owner discovered a Roman column in her cellar.  Upstairs she sells German food, while downstairs in the cellar is a mini-museum with the column and Roman crockery.

We walked to the ruins of the old Roman Imperial Baths.  It was built by Constantine and is the biggest of Trier’s three Roman baths and the most intricate bath of the Roman world.  Because of Trier’s cold climate and the Constantine’s huge ego, these Imperial baths required a two-story subterranean complex of pipes, furnaces, and slave galleys to keep the water at a perfect 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  Unfortunately the baths never worked quite right and were left unfinished after Constantine left.  However it is an impressive archeological site.  And there is about a mile of tunnels where the pipes ran through the bottom layer and the slaves walked on a floor just above the pipes.  One could get lost in the maize if you are not careful.  It is still an active site with a lot of reconstruction going on.

After viewing the ruins, we decided to walk to the river and see the old Roman bridge.  It is the oldest standing bridge in the country, with the nine bridge pillars dating from the 2nd century AD. The bottom of the pillars are the only original part of the bridge.  The upper part has been renewed twice, in the early 12th and in the early 18th century.  We then walked along the riverfront back to our ship. We did not realize how long a walk it was from the Roman baths back to the ship.  All total, we walked almost 4 miles.  Needless to say, it was an early night for us.
Porta Nigra

Lego Snowman

House of the 3 Magi - do you see the floating door?

Market Square

Market Square - Market Cross

Town Hall with the 2 knights

St. Peter's Fountain

Basilica

Former Palace - now a museum

Liebfrau Church


Trier Cathedral

Cathedral with Liebfrau Church to its right

Inside the Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral

Inside the Liebfrau Church

Inside the Liebfrau Church - notice the Apostles on the pillars

Inside the Liebfrau Church

Inside the Basilica

What the Roman Baths originally look like

What he Roman Baths look like today

Maize of tunnels



Statue of Mary across the river from Cathedral










































Overnight we sailed from the Mosel back to the Rhine on our way to Cochem (both c’s are a hard “c” and the German’s use a very guttural “c” when pronouncing this name).  Its claim to fame is the Reichsburg Castle which sits on a hill overlooking the Rhine and the city.  It was believed to have been constructed in the 1027, but it was burned to the ground by Louis XIV (he definitely was not a nice king!) during the War of the Palatine Succession in 1689.  It remained in ruins until 1868 when a Berlin entrepreneur, Louis Ravene bought the castle and renovated it (in the original form and style) as the summer home for his family.  He died two years after the renovations were completed and in 1878, the town of Cochem bought the castle.

After touring the castle, Britta took us on a short walk in the town.  After 10 AM, no cars are allowed in the main part of town so it was a very nice walk.  Our first stop was to the local cemetery.  As yesterday was the All Saints Day holiday where families remember and honor their dead relatives, all the graves had been cleaned-up with freshly planted flowers.  She told us in Germany, you rent the grave plot for 20 years.  You have the option of re-renting after that time, but most people cannot afford to do that.  After 20 years, the bones are removed to a common burial site, the tombstones are removed and the plot is rented again to another family.  In the Market Square the homes all look old and quaint with the half-timbered style, but Britta said that the style is fake and most of the homes are relatively new, having been reconstructed after WWII.  In the church were some beautiful stained glass windows.  Each window had one significant color to its design and the design did not depict religious scenes from the Bible.  There is only one gate and a small section of the original Roman wall that used to circle the town.


Reichsburg Castle

Pruning grape vines on the castle grounds

Reichsburg Castle

Dining Room in Castle

Ceiling in one of castle rooms

Man-Cave in Castle

Looking down on the Rhine

Can you guess what animal this is?

WWI section of town cemetery

Cemetery nice and clean for All Saints Day

Old house in Cochem

Green planter is bucket carried on backs of grape pickers to hold the grapes

Dress made of pages in local book store

Homes in Cochem

Homes in Cockem

Stained glass window in church

Only remaining city gate from Roman times

Witch flying over the castle

























































































Bonn – our last stop in Germany.  Bonn is the former capital of Germany, and is still home to six of Germany’s ministries (defense, foreign affairs, finance to name a few).  Today it is home to one of Germany’s largest universities.  The building that houses the university was once the summer residence of Prince-Elector Joseph Clemens of Bavaria who was also the Archbishop of Cologne.  If you look at the windows closely you will see a cross in each of the windows.  Bonn has a small Old Town dominated by a large Munster (Cathedral).It has a small Old Town dominated by a large Munster (Cathedral).  The rest of the center of the city is a vibrant shopping area with many upscale shops and businesses.  Bonn is also home to the Haribo Gummy Bears so of course we had to take a look inside.  Its other claim to fame is that it was home to Beethoven.  We walked through the university area where a group of students were getting ready for a global climate conference being held this weekend by the UN.  They were making huge pinwheels to be displayed in the park by the university.  We then walked to the Old Town where Britta showed us a little food shop that sold the most delicious falafel.  She bought some deep fried chick pea fritters that were so tasty that Bill and I decided to stop there later and have a falafel.  It was really good.  We then walked through a farmer’s market with all sorts of fruits, nuts, spices, and vegetables to the Marktplatz.  Along the way we stopped to admire the artistic work of a young man who had made a dog and her puppy out of sand on the sidewalk.  Britta pointed out the Town Hall (built in 1737-38) where President Kennedy made one of his speeches while on a visit to Germany in 1963.  The middle of three bridges over the Rhine in Bonn was renamed the Kennedy Bridge in his honor.

Seminary in Bonn

University of Bonn - can you see the crosses in the windows?

Cathedral of Bonn

Home of the Gummy Bears


Animated Bear Display in Window
Lego Santa

Town Hall

Fruit stand at local farmer's market

Local artist and his sand creation of dog and her puppy

Making pinwheels for climate conference


After dinner, on our last night in Germany, they invited a local mandolin orchestra to come and play for us.  They were so good.  They not only played a few German songs, but they also played American ragtime and When the Saints Come Marching In.  They ended by playing Brahm’s Lullaby.  What a wonderful treat and a perfect end to our time in Germany.  And as if that were not enough, about 2 hours after we began our cruise to the Netherlands, we sailed past the Cologne Cathedral that was all lit up in the night sky.  A marvelous sight as we bid farewell to Germany. 

Mandolin Orchestra

Cologne Cathedral lit up at night


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