On Day 5, we continued up the Main towards our next stop at Miltenberg.
Cruising the Main was very different to the Rhine. In this tributary of the Rhine there was no issue with the depth as the river is managed by a series of 34 locks and 33 hydroelectric power stations. However, there are many relatively low bridges to pass under, so all the top deck superstructure had to be dismantled, even the handrails around the sides. The sunbeds and chairs were collapsed into low piles and the bridge sank down into a void beneath, surrounded by the public areas of deck 3, and navigation was achieved by camera. This is one of the things I loved about this trip – how much you learned about river navigation for larger vessels. It is not nearly as simple as you might think.
There was a lovely moment that morning, as we cruised under one of these very low bridges while a freight train passed over it above us. The driver waved and tooted the horn at those of us on deck, we waved back and our Captain provided the return ship’s greeting!
Later in the morning were treated to a demonstration by a glass blower from one of the local villages. He was very impressive and blows all his glass from Pyrex rather than standard glass, making it much more durable.
Quite the entertainer, he got one passenger to volunteer to blow a small piece, which he then made into a bauble to take away. He also showed what happened if you blow it badly – basically it shatters into a million tiny pieces which don’t actually cut you! His artistic style was not for us, but we did decide to buy one of those temperature columns with the coloured baubles inside which rise and fall to measure the temperature. We both always fancied one and the quality of his work gave us confidence that it would be accurate.
We arrived in the Franconian town of Miltenberg just after an early lunch. A beautiful town full of half-timbered buildings, stretching along a kilometre or so of the riverbank. So, you can see most of the town from its main street running parallel to the Main River (sounds like a pun, except the River Main is pronounced “mine”!). However, there are many small side streets, and one area is called Schwarzviertel – “black quarter” due to the tall buildings with cantilevered upper levels (for tax avoidance reasons!) which line the small streets such that the sun never reaches the ground.
The town nestles amongst vines and is also the home of Faust beer – which you can drink nowhere else as they refuse to export it. There is a castle high above it dating from the 13th century and allegedly Germany’s oldest inn – the Gasthaus zum Riesen. It is a huge 425 year old guesthouse, with a beautiful half timbered façade renovated in 1590 using 100 logs donated by the town council. It is currently owned by the Faust brewing company and is the place to go to drink their beer.
In the last photo here, which is of the Rathaus or Town Hall, take a look at the little boy! He might have been inspired by the statues below, which are located right next to the public loos…
The locals apparently call the statues Small, Large and Boastful!
Our guide also introduced us to Barbara, who still lives alone in one of the houses hear the old town wall, and looks after the garden in the photo above. As you can see, the tiny old dwelling/shed behind is built into the wall.
When this visit was over we found we had a surprise – the Viking Tir had not been able to remain at Miltenberg as another Viking ship had already taken our mooring! Apparently there was some mix up with the reservation and the dock had missed that there were 2 Viking ships. Our crew found another mooring further upstream at Wertheim. We were bussed there to sightsee while we waited for the ship to catch up with us.
Wertheim is another pretty town. We wandered round and had a coffee in the square.
Finally our ship came in 😉 Then we were off again, cruising through the night – and multiple locks! – to Würzburg, nearly another 100km up the Main. The Viking ships are so stable that its hard to get any impression of covering much distance. The main clue on the Main (!) was the engine notes changing as each lock is entered and exited. Some of them were very tight and we constantly marvelled that most of this was done “blind” from inside the lowered bridge.
Another nautical moment – we got to watch while the Captain (left photo, white shirt) used his remote controlled hoist to lower what I liked to call “the gangplank” when they arrived at Wertheim. You can also see the bridge to the left of that photo, in its normal position as it pops up again between low bridges.