Rolling to Rothenberg

Thursday, July 26, 2012 We boarded our buses to Wurzberg, a city that began with construction of a Celtic fortification on top of the Marienberg around 1000 BC. In the early 700's A.D. Germany's first church was built on that spot, which is also the site of the present Wurzburg Cathedral, constructed from 1040 to 1225. We visited this Cathedral. Wurzburg was a center of the Peasants' Revolt in the 16th century. The exploited underclass tried to besiege the prince-bishop's castle but their attempt failed. Theought the peasants' wars were ultimately lost, prince-bishop Julius Echter van Mespelbrunn introduced a number of reforms that benefited them. The next century saw more violence against another undervaued segment of the population..women. The Wurzburg witch trials lasted for four yers, from 1626 to 1631, but executions of women who had allegedly made a pact with the devil continued for 200 years throughout France and Germany. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about today's Wurzburg is its determination. In 1945, 90% of the city was destroyed by British bombers in 17 minutes. For the next 20 years, structures of historical significance were rebuilt in incredible detail, mostly by women (the Trummerfrauen or "rubble women") because their men had perished or gone missing in the war. Wurzberg is also the capital of the Germany's Franconia wine region, which is famous for its dry white wines especially from the Sylvaner grape. I had a chance to taste this wine and it is very good. I do not like sweet white wines and this one is not sweet. For some of our group they spent the rest of the day shopping in Wurzburg. Mark and I took an extra excursion to the city of Rothenburg. This is a university town and we had the chance to witness a demonstration on the town square. It seems that the town wants to build a horse stable and school on land that is currently being used for growing vegetables. The protestors came to town with a big cart full of fresh vegetables!! I spotted a Joseph Seibel shoe store and went in. The shoes were all half of what they cost in the US so of course I had to buy two pair!! There is a woman on our trip who has recently been diagnosed with ALS. She also has some difficulty in walking so the two of us have been hanging out together. I really hope they find a cure for this awful disease before it is too late for her.