Janice Cruises Europe 2017

Cruising To And Visiting Aschaffenbueg & Miltenberg  4/27/2017 

Day #5 - Miltenberg, Germany (Page Ten)

We traveled during the night to Afchaffenburg where we dropped some people off for an excursion and then we traveled a few short miles to Wurtzburg, Germany and then Freudenberg.

We are now on the Main River in Germany. The Main is a river in Germany. With a length of 527 kilometers (327 mi), it is the longest right tributary of the Rhine. It is also the longest river lying entirely in Germany (if the Weser and the Werra are considered as two separate rivers; together they are longer). The largest cities along the Main are Frankfurt am Main and Würzburg.

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Todays sailing was about 44 miles but in two steps... First stop (and fast drop-off stop) was Afchaffenberg

Did You Know? - The town is located on both sides of the Main in the southwest part of Germany, 41 kilometers (25 mi) southeast of Frankfurt am Main. In the western part of the municipal territory, the smaller Aschaff flows into the Main. The region is also known as Bayerischer Untermain ("Bavarian Lower Main"). Aschaffenburg lies in the far northwest of the state of Bavaria, close to the border to the state of Hesse.

In World War II, Aschaffenburg was heavily damaged by Allied area bombing, including Schloss Johannisburg which was completely restored several years later. The Germans chose to defend Aschaffenburg with particular steadfastness, which resulted in the "Battle of Aschaffenburg" fought 28 March - 3 April 1945. The U.S. 45th Infantry Division was forced to take the fortified town against stiff German resistance in a series of frontal assaults that involved house-to-house fighting and vicious close combat. The resulting widespread urban destruction was quite severe, as cannon fire was used point-blank to blast through structures.

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Hard to believe such a beautiful area was so damaged

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Out for a morning stroll

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
We glide along having a great meal with a view

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
It's a tight squeeze in some places going through the locks

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Up we go about 15 feet higher so we can continue the voyage

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017 Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Breath in!

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
The locks are quite busy day and night

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Many hydro-electric generation plants along the Main river

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
We move out of the lock

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
The boats are long and flat due to the many bridges across the canals

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
We are inching into Miltenberg

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Ship repair facilities are located in all the larger towns

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Lunch is served about noon... We have three hours until Milkenberg

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
We could not be closer!

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Welcome

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
As seen from the air

Did You Know? - The old town lies on the Main’s left bank on the "left knee" of the Mainviereck ("Main Square") between the Spessart and Odenwald ranges. Since the Main riverbed in the Miltenberg area is relatively near the foot of the Odenwald, only a narrow strip of usable land is left, little over 150 meters in width,[2]:79 which in past centuries was time and again flooded by the Main. The historic centre, which stands on this land, often sustained considerable damage in these floods. Only in the 21st century efficient flood control measures, most of all a wall, have significantly reduced the adverse effects of these floods. Since about the beginning of the 20th century, after buying land from the neighbouring community of Großheubach, Miltenberg has been expanding on the right bank.

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
We docked adjacent to the bridge

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Hop, Skip and a Jump into town

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Flat boats... Low bridges

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Swans a swimming

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
The come right up to the ships

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
We could not be any closer

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Not a lot of traffic, safe to walk!

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
It's Germany, always flowers

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Inn's are in every city

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
The Würzburg Gate east of the town center

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
An interesting look

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Churches are ll over town... Some big and some small

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Anyone for shopping?

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Down the street is market square

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Our guide (in red) was very helpful

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Tourists visit all the little stores

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
The hotels were quaint but comfortable

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Might be fun to stay at Hotel Zum Riesen (Click for large image)

Did You Know? - Records show that a building existed on the site for some time previous, though the earliest known mention of the hotel is the registration of Trestam zum Riesen as landlord in 1411, making it one of the oldest continuously operating hotels in the world.

The hotel was rebuilt in the half-timbered, Renaissance style in 1590 by architect Jacob Stoer, using 100 logs donated by the city council.

The building has been renovated a number of times since; first in 1948 for DM 250,000; and again in 1970 after being purchased for DM 194,000.

In 2001 it was purchased by local chain Faust Brauhaus.

A number of famous guests have stayed at Zum Riesen; including two Holy Roman Emperors, Frederick Barbarossa and Charles IV; the leaders from both sides of the Thirty Years' War, Johann Tserclaes and Gustavus Adolphus; Napoléon Bonaparte; and Elvis Presley.

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
The local "shopping mall"

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Click for a full sized image of Main Street

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
It all becomes clear

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
The stone streets last forever and a day!

Did You Know? - Cobblestones are typically either set in sand or similar material, or are bound together with mortar. Paving with cobblestones allows a road to be heavily used all year long. It prevents the build-up of ruts often found in dirt roads. It has the additional advantage of not getting muddy in wet weather or dusty in dry weather. Shod horses are also able to get better traction on stone cobbles, pitches or setts than tarmac/asphalt.

The fact that carriage wheels, horse hooves and even modern automobiles make a lot of noise when rolling over cobblestone paving might be thought a disadvantage, but it has the advantage of warning pedestrians of their approach. In England, the custom was to strew the cobbles outside the house of a sick or dying person with straw to dampen the sound.
Cobblestones set in sand have the environmental advantage of being permeable paving, and of moving rather than cracking with movements in the ground.

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
The hotel was established in 1889!

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Stadtkirche/Church St. Jakobus

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Located close to the canal

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Everything is close by

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
The Shopping Square (Click for full sized image)

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017 Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Finally, we get to shop!

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Always Christmas in Germany

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
So much stuff... So little room!

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Back to the ship!

Cruise Day #5 - Visit to Miltenberg Germany 4/27/2017
Up the river to Wurtzburg (Page Eleven)