Speyer - Part 1

I opted for the tour of Speyer on Good Friday. It was described as one of Germany's oldest cities.  It's known for its Romanesque cathedral, the largest of its kind in Europe and its 13th century gate tower.

It was a bus trip from our ship and because traffic was light for the holiday it took less time to get there than planned for.  The guide on board pointed out the asparagus fields as we passed them by,

 

First sighting of the huge cathedral, Domschatz.

You can tell from all the varieties of towers and spires that it was built in many stages and styles.

This wall below is the oldest.

Look at this flying buttress.

I have no photos of the inside of this church because the sexton wouldn't let me enter.  The church was closed to tours because of a 3 o'clock service but our guide said we could attend the service if we chose to.  At 3 I left the group to return to the church, but was turned away.  No one in the group was allowed in.  I even had a German speak to the sexton, who spoke no English and they received the answer that the service was only for members.  I didn't know how he was distinguishing between members and non members.  I've never heard of any church doing this.  I returned to the group tracking them down because I could hear the guide's narration as I got closer.  The guide was very upset to learn we had been prevented from entering.

More on Speyer in another post.

On the Rhine River

One of the many things I like about river boating (this was my second trip) is watching the world pass by.  On Friday March 30th the morning was spent enroute to our next stop.  I decided to use the time to walk the track on the deck and watch the scenery.  I think I walked for more than an hour.

Take a look at the sights with me.  You can click on them to see them enlarged.

Here's the deck with the walking path.

Lots of different ships going the opposite direction.

I could see people on the shore enjoying the holiday (Good Friday).

Even campers in the cold Spring weather.

Dan used the time to do some journaling.

Mistletoe, I think.  There were other trees with even more on other days.

Distance markers along the shore line.  Not sure if they were in miles or kilometers.  I think the other sign shows a water skier.

An industrial area ahead.

Ever heard of BASF?  Its a huge chemical manufacturer.  The plant we sailed by is the biggest one in the world.

It's a city in itself.

This is where we docked.  Buses then took us to Heidelberg or Speyer. There was no traffic since it was a holiday and everything was closed as I soon discovered in Speyer. 

Future Posts

As you know we went on a Rhine Cruise at the end of March returning home April 5th.  I've posted on several of the events of that trip.  

Last night we returned from a week of travels north to New Hampshire to visit daughter Emily and her husband and our two granddaughters.  The pull was the oldest was dancing in her first ballet recital at age 4 as a mouse.

On our way we stopped over in Auburn, NY and on the way home in Stockbridge, MA.

Here are some future posts to look for:

From the cruise: Visit to Speyer, Germany; Strasbourg, France; Riquewihr, France.

After the cruise our visit in Basel and Lucerne, Switzerland.

From the trip to New England: Willard Chapel, Seward House, Norman Rockwell Museum.

Right now its a gorgeous spring day here, and I must get out and enjoy it.

But here's a tidbit to share - a shop window I spotted in Rudesheim.  Don't you love those lamps?