Friday, August 23, 2019

Day 54 ~ Friday August 23, 2019 Wurzburg Germany onboard the Viking Grand European Cruise

Our morning visit of Wurzburg started rather early at 8:15 a.m. Yes, some people did ask if it was necessary to make such an early morning start - weren't we suppose to be on holidays?

After a night of rumbling through seven locks, I wasn't too thrilled with the early start and did some grumbling myself.  But its hard to stay grumpy for long when your visiting such a beautiful town like Wurzburg, and especially when our call was to the climb the Celtic Hills and visit the Old Biships Residents. 





magnificent views for sure. next out tour in the afternoon took us to the  Residence of the Prince-Bishops is one of the most beautiful baroque palaces in Germany and that it is a UNESCO World Heritage site says it all.  The main entrance hall is large enough for a stagecoach with 6 horse team to turn around in and the hall leads to the famous grand Baroque staircase.  Unfortunately  no photos are allowed inside the building so here's a photo from the Deutsches Bundesarchiv to give you an idea.
Our local guide was very entertaining.  He gave us a demo on how the ladies and their escorts used to walk up the staircases in the past.  Well us in our shorts and sandles, failed big time in trying to execute on the elegant walk.  The Residenz has the world's biggest unsupported ceiling fresco, painted by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.

  The explanation of Tiepolo's representatives of the four continents was very interesting.  We lingered for as long as we could to try and appreciate Tiepolo's interesting portrayal of the continents as ladies:  Lady Asia, Lady Africa, Lady America, and Lady Europe.  The guided tour through the castle wings was excellent. We enjoyed the gardens.

 
  We could of easily had a full day here, but we had to dash off to see the sights in the town center as well.  For the number of things to see in this town we had very little time.  We had to rush back to our boat by 6:00pm as we didn't want to be left behind when our ship sailed for Bamberg. 
 
 
Nautical Term
---of the day---
 
Dressing Down
Thin and worn out sails were often treated with oil or wax to renew their effectiveness.
This was called "dressing down" An Officer or sailor who was reprimanded or scolded was also said to have received a "dressing down"
 
It was a very long day.  Thanks everyone for all your comments.
Bob & Leslee

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