Road trip, Day 1, Wurzburg

We arrived back in Germany on Saturday morning, May 26. After resting for the weekend, we have now set off on a seven day road trip, since it is summer break at my university and I have NO classes for a week. Woo hoo! Today we made it to Wurzburg (Monday, May 28), about 200 km northeast of Karlsruhe. Wurzburg is the beginning of the Romantic Road, which links some of the most picturesque towns and villages in Bavaria.  Our plan is to travel from Wurzburg in the north of Bavaria to Fussen, near the Austrian border, then drive through Austria and Switzerland around the southern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee), and end up in the Black Forest by next weekend. That's the plan, anyway. Stay tuned. I will blog as often as I can, depending on Internet access.

Art with our rental car, a 5-speed manual Ford Focus, outside the  Residenz Palace in Wurzburg.

The Residenz was the home to Wurzburg bishops.  

The interior of the Residenz. This is the mirror room. Cameras were not allowed, but I snuck this picture anyway. I have not seen such an elaborate interior since Versailles. These rooms were opulent.

We ate lunch at this great little restaurant in the Marktplatz in Wurzburg. Here is Art enjoying the scenery. Today is a holiday in Germany, so the streets are full of families enjoying the wonderful weather and scenery.

The Marienberg Fortress, on the hill overlooking Wurzburg, has been rebuilt and expanded on for the last 600 years. We walked across the bridge over the Main River, and up a lot of steps to the fortress. The hill on which the fortress stands was first settled in the Bronze Age.

Here is the bridge over the Main River. Below the bridge, we watched a barge enter the lock with less than one foot clearance on either side. Art was fascinated...me too, but more with the people than with the boat traffic. :)

On our way to the fortress. Following a storming of the castle in 1631 by the Swedes, Prince -Bishop von Schonburg built massive bastions to protect the Marienburg. 

We climbed lots of stairs to the fortress, through walls that were at least 5 feet thick.

Walking along the bastions along the fortress. 

The final resting place of lots of the bishops, dating back at least 500 years. 

From the top of Marienburg, looking back towards the town of Wurzburg; a glorious vista.

We left Wurzburg and drove south to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where we witnessed the final celebration of the Historisches Festspeil. More on this in the next entry to my blog, but OMG, what hoot it it was!!