A chill of history in Nuremberg and we set sail

Sunday, 18 May 2014

We arise early to quite a sumptuous breakfast (rivaled only by the business-oriented Ibis in Paris some years ago, which had every imaginable kind of food that people from any culture might east for breakfast, from cereal to raw fish. At 8:00am we left for Nuremberg, starting at the castle, built in the Middle Ages, as part of a large wall which enclosed the town. Spectacular views from the top of the hill greeted us, as well as an interesting roofscape, where the roofs slant toward the street to prevent the spread of fire from the typical gabled roofs. We walk down several twisting streets, ending at the large St. Siebald's church. Because large portions of Nuremberg were destroyed during WWII, much has been rebuilt over the ears, though the church was OK. They were finishing Sunday Mass as we entered, so we had a chance to hear the wonderful organ (a favorite thing for Barney). We went by the Nazi Parade Grounds, which were monumental, just like the film clips with a huge area enclosed by the stands and the tall stands from which Hitler spoke.  We also saw the Justice Building where the trials took place, which made me flash back to the film, a bit of a chill of the history that played out in this city.

Later we saw a lovely market was going in the main square, which included a wonderful band playing, and lots of tables filled with folks eating sausages, drinking beer and eating sweets. Drinking beer seems to be the national sport here, part of every day life. 

In the afternoon, we finally shove off and begin our journey through the many locks on the Main en route to the Danube. The locks are a real marvel of engineering, begun by Charlemagne in the 793CE but only finally completed in 1992. Charlemagne knew how important it was to open up the upper part of the Danube for trade, but they lacked the technical skill to make the locks work, good engineering takes a while. We go from Nuremberg at 1016 feet up to Hipolstein at 1322 feet and then back down to 1128 feet, where we wake up the next morning in Regensberg. Going through the locks was quite an experience, as you enter the lock (which looms many stories above), they fill the lock with water and you rise up, again many stories, with the sides of the lock a mere foot away from the window, until the other side opens, and we settle into a new level.

As we descend, the reverse happens, with a movement of many stories downward as the lock empties. It's a bit surprising how close they are to the edge. It feels as though we are going fast, 20mph or so, and then we see a bicyclist ride by on the side of the river, clearly just pedaling along at a rather leisurely pace and passing us. Barney estimates that we're going about 5mph.

We enjoy a nice dinner with the family .... with fewer than 200 people on board, we all eat on board, unlike the huge cruise ships with thousands of people. It's much friendlier, and I notice that Barney and I and my cousin Chris are among the very youngest people on board, and young Thomas (who is 19) is decades younger. When they have those Viking River Cruise ads with all the smiling gray-haired couples, they are not kidding.  Probably 80% are from the UK and USA, most of the rest from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and a few from China. We go to sleep to the sound of water, very peaceful.