Illuminations

Currently we seem to travel from one Christmas market to the next.

Feuerzangenbowle

On this occasion we were meeting friends in the Eifel region, a low mountain range in Western Germany, close to the Belgian border, and a region we will soon call our new home (yes, we are on the move... again!)

Happy Holidays and a wonderful year 2023!

Leaving 2022 with impressions from a random rare cold snap.

Christmas Market in Mainz

Recently we had the opportunity to join our friends Guido and Andrea in Mainz, who were on family visit in Germany. The Christmas market can be found in front of the Cathedral St. Martin, and the little huts around the church, selling handcrafted art, snacks and Feuerzangenbowle (a delicious variation on mulled wine), gave it an almost medieval touch. 

However, despite the lovely seasonal atmosphere we quickly made a beeline for a nearby café. The market turned out to be a bit too loud and too crowded plus it started to drizzle, and who would have thunk... conversation became so much easier once indoors. 😉

It only had been our second visit to Mainz, because cathedral aside, the city is just another cesspool with lots of traffic and people.

Fun fact: These days Mainz is rather known as headquarter location of BioNTech, one of the biotech companies which developed an mRNA vaccine against Covid.

Another interesting detail we missed during our previous visit was the archeological findings an another church. Mainz has in fact a second and much older cathedral, which was only discovered during restoration and renovation works. Although a mere construction site today due to ongoing scientific excavation the building was open and nicely illuminated. The artefacts and remnants go back 1500 years in history.

Würzburg, not your typical Bavarian city!

Since the Bronze Age (Urnfield culture 1300 to 750 BC) people chose to populate the Main river valley due to its mild climate. The Celts came, the Romans followed, later the Germanic tribes Alemanni and Franks settled down on the banks of Main.

Last weekend we carpooled with friends in order to meet another friend who offered to give us "the tour".

Würzburg had been heavily destroyed by an air raid in the last days of WWII. It took more than two decades to rebuild the city. Today the Bavarian city is home to approx. 130,000 inhabitants.

The residence, a Baroque palace and garden, built 1720 to 1781, and its court church, UNESCO World Heritage since 1981.

First city bridge over river Main, built in the 12th century with a view on Fortress Marienberg, which we already visited June 2021.

Cathedral St. Kilian, one of the largest Romanesque churches in Germany, built 1040 to 1075.

Between St. Mary's Chapel and the Cathedral lies Neumünster, yet another pompous ecclesiastic basilica, built in the 11th century it got a Baroque revamp in the 18th century. Its little secret is the Lusam garden, remnants of a former cloister.

The old town hall, around 1180.

Mary's Chapel, it took more than 100 years to build it: 1377 to 1480. Attached to the building are so called "Schwalbenlädle" or swallow's stores.

And of course we visited the famous Christmas market, and had a well deserved Glühwein and Bratwurst after this long guided tour.

Würzburg is well worth a visit!

Fulda, the Baroque city

Fulda, located on the river of the same name was founded 744 as a small benedictine monastery and since has grown to a city with approximately 70,000 inhabitants.

A walk through the old city core explained the epithet of the Baroque city: