Viking's Grand European River Cruise: Miltenberg, Germany

Viking River Cruise, Day 5:  Miltenberg, Germany (Facebook collage)

(click any collage to enlarge)

As you see, we're moving right along!  With 8 of our 15 days in Germany, you'll be getting a great feel for the country we call our neighbor to the east here in the Netherlands.

 Today's excursion wasn't until after lunch, so we had a lovely morning inside...

often looking out, in freezing-cold, rainy weather, while others were more sensible.

This was our first day to witness one of the 60+ locks we passed through on our cruise.

In this case, we had to wait for 2 barges to take their turn first.

When it was finally our turn, we were amazed by how tight the fit was!

In fact, these longships were built specifically with these locks in mind...to exact specification.

And because the bridges along this stretch of the Main River are so low, the sun deck was off-limits.

Astrid peeked over the top while I stuck my neck out.  HA!

And then we meandered along the Main River towards Miltenberg, our next stop,

with sights all along the way, of course...which is the point of a river cruise!

 And why Miltenberg, you ask?

Because it's considered one of Germany's most picturesque half-timbered towns!

And lucky for us, it was the Wednesday before Palm Sunday,

with Easter decorations in the town square.

Nearby is the hotel Zum Riesen ("Inn at the Giant)",

believed to be Germany's oldest inn, from 1158.

The town even has its own Mildenburg Castle, built around 1200 and seen over the rooftops.

The castle interior is now a museum of art collections.

The most visible landmark from the river is the 13th century St. Jakobus (St. James) Church.

Its twin towers are seen from everywhere throughout the town.
[top image above is Astrid's!]

The church we entered, however, was not St. Jakobus.

In fact, we have no clue which one this is...unless it's the Franciscan Monastery Church?

Whichever, it was small and charming.

Speaking of churches, as we traveled farther south into Germany,

the more Roman Catholic it became, as evidenced by its religious niches all over town.

 Statues, emblems, artwork...stories for every one of them....

...including the weathervanes and hanging signs.

Impressions, impressions, impressions....

...enough to warrant more hours to explore....

...and more stories to tell.

But alas, we had to hop on the buses to catch our boat in Wertheim, 29 km to the east of Miltenberg.

 In fact, Astrid had climbed the hill behind St. Jakobus to watch the boat leave earlier in the day.

(all Astrid's images, above)

And because we beat the boat to Wertheim, we had fun watching it come in and dock...from the outside.
See how low that bridge is?  If necessary, the wheel station can be lowered just enough for the captain's peek.

Looking in, we saw the few who had stayed behind...and the crew eating supper.

It was 6 p.m. and soon it would be our turn to eat, at 7 p.m.

What a day!