April 3, 2018 ~ Locks and Miltenburg

April 3, 2018 ~ Locks and Miltenburg 

This morning was a late wake up day -- we slept until close to ten!  We did not have a shore excursion until mid afternoon, so we had breakfast - delicious - and then set ourselves up on the outdoor terrace.  The sun was shining, and it even got too warm for me to sit there, so I went inside for a while.  

Toasted Brioche, scrambled eggs, and mushrooms!  Yum!

We are now on the Main (pronounced "mine") River and it is a glorious morning.  Floating along, we passed several quaint towns and picturesque hillsides.  It has been relaxing to sip some coffee and just take in the sites.

Contrails in the bright blue sky

I loved this farmhouse set beside the river and the contrast of the contrails through the cloudless blue sky and the reflection of the river beside.  We were both fascinated by the many contrails in the sky.

A cormorant catches his breakfast

This morning we have experienced several locks.  Quite a marvel of ancient engineering, and great fun to experience as the ship maneuvers into a narrow space (with no more than three to six inches on either side).  The gates close, and suddenly water comes bubbling up from the bottom.  This morning the ship chased a duck up into the lock.  We worried that the ship would overtake the poor thing, but he knew what he was doing, and he rode the river as it rose in the lock and then paddled away when the gates on the other side opened up.

Approaching the lock.  Will we fit?

Here we entering the lock

We are in the lock waiting for the gates behind us to close so the water can come in

Here we are in the lock and the water is flowing in

You can see the level of water in the lock is rising

And now we are at the level of the river above and we begin our exit from the lock

And so we continue our journey down the Main to the town of Miltenburg.  When one thinks of Germany, one pictures towns like Miltenburg.  With a population of about 9,000 people, Miltenburg lies on the left bank of the Main River.  The historic town center is often flooded, and there is a building in the town with markers showing the heights of the river during different floods.  In fact, Jeff took a picture of me in front of the flood markers (when he sends it to me I will update this post). 

Our tour guide, Jim

Jim had a million stories -- all told in a delightful Scottish accent

Dating from 1333, this house has shops below and living quarters above

I loved this building, but have no idea what is houses -- maybe just people?  If so, I want to be them!

The "keep" for Miltenburg

Everywhere we go, we find flowers

I love the religious sculptures that decorate every house along the way

One of the oldest buildings in town -- just love the architecture

Hotel Zum Riesen

There is nothing like German window boxes!

It doesn't get more German/Bavarian than this!

What looks like a star of David was once a sign of a pretzel maker in Germany - according to our guide

Couldn't resist this photo of a side alley along the town

And, a fish house -- How wonderful to be able to walk into town for some freshly caught fish

This building (see below too) dates from 1333!

The Town Hall -- you can get married here!

This statue was sold by a gentleman in the 1500s because he did not like it.  Little did he know, but it was eventually purchased by his across the street neighbor!  So he had to look at it every day!

I love this shot of the town church with the blue skies above and the well trimmed sycamore trees in front!

The fountain in the town square

There is a great story about this town square fountain (which is decorated for Easter, as you can see).  It seems that the sculptor came to town and began his work.  He ran into some difficulty with the price of stone, so he went to the person who commissioned the fountain and asked for a bit more money to finish the work.  This town father refused, but the sculptor finished the fountain anyway.  If you look closely, you will see that all of the cherubs except for one are facing inward.  But one cherub shows his backside to the house of the burger who commissioned the fountain!