ASPECTS OF THE SCENIC RUBY CRUISE - MILTENBERG, ROTHENBURG AND BAMBERG

Miltenberg

The next stop on Scenic Ruby's journey along the Main River is picturesque Miltenberg with its many half-timbered buildings. Miltenberg is one of three medieval architectural and cultural gems to be viewed along this stretch of the Main River. The other two are Rothenburg and Bamburg. There are so many lovely old buildings in Miltenberg that it is necessary to offer only a small sample below.

The Marktplatz (Market Place) at Miltenberg (above) is famous for its half-timbered buildings. In the middle is the coat of arms of the city. The Zum Riesen inn (right), behind the walking couple, is reputed to be the oldest inn in Germany.

The Altstadt (Old Town) in Miltenberg is mostly located on one street so we ignored the offer of a guided tour and decided to explore and photograph the town at our own pace, relying on my rusty German language skills whenever necessary. We only had part of one afternoon in Miltenberg and it was not enough to explore all of the treasures of this fascinating town. We had time to walk through the Old Town, but we missed visiting the Mildenburg (the local castle), the town museum, the Hotel Zum Riesen (one of Germany’s oldest inns), the Old Town Hall, the Mainz Gate (Mainzer Tor), the Würzburg Gate (Würzburger Tor) and the historical places in the surrounding woods. Right near the Mainz Gate is the Laurentiuskapelle (“Saint Lawrence’s Chapel”) with its abutting graveyard from about the 14th century. We saw but did not have time to explore the beautiful half-timbered buildings around the the Schnatterloch (historical marketplace). Although we found MIltenberg delightful, the failure of Scenic Tours to give us time to see more of the historic treasures of this town requires a rating of:

Romantic Road excursion to Rothenburg

The Scenic Ruby docks at Würzburg, and passengers are offered a choice of a guided tour of this town and the bishop's palace or an excursion along the Romantic Road to the city of Rothenburg. Anyone fascinated by Germany's colourful half-timbered medieval buildings would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to visit and explore Rothenburg's well-preserved Christmas postcard Old Town which survived World War II with its medieval buildings and city walls intact. Rothenburg has become a destination for tourists from around the world, and one of the major attractions for female visitors is the presence in the Old Town of one of Käthe Wohlfahrt's famous Christmas decoration stores.

Rothenburg is a scenic gem. On the left is one of Rothenburg's four gated entrance towers. On the right, a Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas decoration shop will draw many female travellers. Between is the coat of arms of the ancient city. The quaint yellow half-timbered house to the the right of the city gate is called Plönlein (Little House) and is one of Germany's most photographed Spitzhäuschen (crooked, narrow, pointed-roof houses).

These magnificent half-timbered buildings frame one corner of the Rothenburg Rathausplatz (Town Hall Square). At the right, is the famous Rothenburg Town Hall and clock.

Our guide gave us ample time to explore the attractions of this lovely town and I rated our visit to Rothenburg at:

Bamberg

The third medieval architectural and cultural gem to be viewed by travellers cruising the Main River is the medieval city of Bamberg. During its period of greatest prosperity, from the 12th century onwards, the architecture of Bamberg strongly influenced northern Germany and Hungary. In the late 18th century, Bamberg became the centre of the Enlightenment in southern Germany, with eminent philosophers and writers such as Hegel and Hoffmann living there. Again, there are so many architectural gems in Bamberg that it is only possible to provide a small sample. Bamberg is an UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

On the left is the magnificent Altes Rathaus (City Hall) of Bamberg. In the centre is the coat of arms of the medieval city. On the right, is the decorated wall of the Altes Rathaus.

Bamberg was one of the highlights of our European holiday, and our enjoyment of this magnificent medieval city was greatly enhanced by the Scenic Tours guide who was also a local boutique brewer of fine beer. This guide was not only very knowledgable in regard to the history and architecture of Bamberg but he also moved at a pace that allowed us to take photographs and ask questions.

This building decorated in Wedgewood Blue (left) is a fine example of Bamberg's magnificent architectural treasures. An equally important Bamberg treasure for some Scenic
Tours travellers is the Rauchbier brewery and tavern (right) managed by one of our Scenic Tours guides. Our tour of Bamberg finished with Rauchbier tasting at his tavern.

Bamberg is known for Rauchbier (or smoked beer in English). Bamberg is currently (2009) home to eight traditional breweries - an unusually high number for a city of 70,000.

I rated our visit to Bamberg at:

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