Wertheim am Main, Baden-Württemberg, GermanyCamera:
Canon M5
Lenses:
EF-M 22mm f/2 STM
EF-M 11-22 f/4-5.
6 IS STM
EF-M 18-150 f/3.5-6.3 IS STM
EF-M 55-200 f/4.5-6.3 IS STM
Port: Wertheim
Arrival Time: 7:00
Port: Freudenberg – If you went on the Biking Excursion.
Departure Time: 15:30
This morning, we awoke to the sight of being docked in port.
It has been several days since we have seen this!! We slept in a little too
long and had to scramble to get breakfast and ready for our excursion. We
caught the train into town. Now, when I say train, I mean a train of cars
pulled by a cart that is made up to look like a train!!!
Our tour this morning was informative and full of history.
As we got into the main square, she said “Later if you want pretzels and bread,
that is the store you want to go.” Well, she was taking a long time to talk
about the building features for gossips, I slipped into the store and bought
Kim and I a pretzel! Mmmmm, it helped us get through the tour! Wertheim is a
beautiful town. I think that we were the only ship in town!
Viking Excursion: Wertheim Walking Tour with Optional Jewish
Tour Extension
Information: https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/grand-european-tour/2020-budapest-amsterdam/index.html#itineraryday/11
Reservations: Required
Cost: Free
Required Time: 2 ½ hours
Recommendation: Highly Recommend
At the end of the tour, we could stick around and do the
optional Jewish Tour extension. The guide started by tell us about how the WWII
and especially the Holocaust were not talked about in school or anywhere. When
she was asked to do the Jewish Tour, she resisted because she had no knowledge
to draw on.
At one point, she realized that she would have to do the tour, she
decided to do the background research and teach herself about the Holocaust. As
she got in deeper, she felt that she could not do it until she read a quote
“You do not inherit the guilt, but you inherit the responsibility.” That is
when she decided to do the tours.
She got the new Jewish Exhibit opened for us at the Old
Rathaus. We saw the old Jewish Cemetery and the surviving headstones. On the
way back, our guide talked about how her family moved to Hungary two hundred
years ago and after WWII, the Soviets made them move back to Germany. The
family lost everything!!! They settled in Wertheim and had to start over again
from nothing!!
Without a doubt, this was the best and most informative tour
that we have been on. Some of the other tours tried to deal with the Jewish
history, but added it as an add-on. It just sounded a little forced. This guide
put some passion into the topic.
Well, the glass blower made a great choice coming on board
last night and entertaining us. I saw a lot of our shipmates in the shop. We
didn’t get out before spending over $160!!!!
Kim had been talking about doing the bicycle ride. The
excursion was $104 per person. Kim said absolutely not to that amount!! She
looked for other companies that were renting bicycles, but could not find
anything. I would ask if she wanted the excursion. NO! We are not paying that
amount.
She really wanted to do the bike ride.
I finally told her
that I bought the excursion. She made a little noise, but seemed OK with it. I
had to hurry down and book it. Now that she accepted the purchase, she was
looking forward to it!!! I usually tell her that I bought something to gauge
her mood. If she is now happy, I have to hurry and buy!!!
In Budapest, we were walking almost ten miles a day. Since
we have been on the excursions, we have been managing four to five miles a day!
I really felt like we needed the seventeen mile bike ride to work off all of
the food we have been eating!!!!
Viking Excursion: Wertheim by Bicycle
Information: https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/grand-european-tour/2020-budapest-amsterdam/index.html#itineraryday/11
Reservations: Required
Cost: Free
Required Time: 4 hours
Recommendation: Highly Recommend
We hurried to eat! If you wanted to do the bike ride, you
had a little over a half hour to eat and be ready to ride!!! Our bikes have a
hand brake for the front and you use the backwards motion on the petal to stop
the rear wheel. Hmmm, I see a disaster if I need to stop in a hurry! I will hit
the front brake and fly over the handlebars!!
We had a bunch of stops trying to follow the bike path through
the busy town streets. I purposely tagged on to the end. I knew that I would be
taking a lot of pictures. However, the person tailing the group had to stop
each time I stopped, so I reluctantly decided on just peddling!!!
It wasn’t long before the Bragi passed us.
We had a lot of
town streets and detours to get on the path that follows the canal. After a
while, we passed them. We got to the first lock before they entered. We stopped
and when on the bridge above the lock. It was cool to watch the Bragi enter a
lock from above!!
The scenery along the River Main was awesome. The
vegetation, flowers, and the ragged rocky outcrops made for a great scene. The
view was definitely worth the cost of the excursion!!! We were well past the
Bragi when we made a stop (2/3 of the journey) – a beer garden!!!!! Mmmmm,
Beer!!! When I ordered, I saw the list and asked about a beer and she told me
that it was a dark beer. I said “SOLD!” It was a good choice!!! It turns out
that it was included in the cost of the excursion!!! I told Kim that this was
worth the $104 per person cost – she did not agree!!!!
In the end, we beat the Bragi by a half hour. I think that
it was the beer that helped!!!
Tonight was the German & Austrian Buffet. We get to try
a bunch of sausages, pork, sauerkraut, chicken, etc.!!!! Mmmmmm, it was good!!!
I wanted to eat more, but I knew I had my limit!!!! I was done, but then they
brought out a plum pancake dessert!!! Mmmmmm!! Luckily we had the bike ride to
burn through the calories that we hadn’t consumed yet!!!!
2025-05-22