Kitzingen/Rothenburg/Wurzburg

Today was Ascension Day in Bavaria, a public holiday and all was very quiet indeed as we started the day with a walking tour of Kitzingen founded 1,300 years ago when a women's monastery was built there.

In more recent times the USA maintained a base in the area from 1945 to 2006. Their withdrawal was a huge blow to the town's economy which otherwise relied on it's vineyards. Our visit concluded with a late morning wine tasting in what we were told is Germany's oldest wine cellar by which time locals were rousing from their homes and/or church attendance to enliven the town.

In the afternoon we visited Rothenburg, a visit that already looks likely to be a highlight of the trip. The village is completely surrounded by it's city wall and all of it's buildings and squares maintain the style of it's Middle Ages hey day (aside from the motor cars and motor cycles squeezing through the the narrow cobbled stone lanes).

As it was a religious holiday, and by now very hot, the village was absolutely packed with German visitors in addition to all the overseas touring groups. Here are several snaps from our visit...

One end of the village viewed from the other end

Market square

A hotel

Outdoor dining

A side street

Market square

Oh yes and the local guide made a fine sight too

We were then driven an hour through countryside and on the autobahn to Wurzburg to link up with our boat which had sailed there in the meantime and with those passengers who chose a Wurzburg tour rather than the Rothenburg option.

Tonight we sailed for tomorrow's destinations, Wertheim and Miltenberg.