Daisy called Wednesday, July 26, “The Day of the Swans.” After our ship docked in Wertheim, Germany, we took an optional all-day bus tour that was titled “Modern Aristocracy.” It was described as a special privileged access experience to get an inside glimpse of some aspects of two locations that are not generally open to the public.
While we were having breakfast that morning,Daisy took this photo of a swan swimming just outside the dining room window. It was the first swan we had seen on the cruise, and it seemed to be a good omen for the day.
We had a bus ride through the lovely countryside and Spessart Forest on a cool, cloudy, and often rainy day.
Our first destination was the Schloss Mespelbrunn, a romantic castle beside a lake that was used to form a moat. The round tower dates to the 15th century, and the remainder of the current structure was built between 1551 and 1569. Yes, in front of the building on the left that is a swan, our second good luck sign.
The castle is a private residence of the family “Von Ingelheim Genannt Echter von und zu Mespelbrunn,” and due to its hidden location in a quiet valley, it has never suffered any war damage.
Only the north wing of the Schloss Mespelbrunn can be seen on guided tours. The family shields above the door leading from the courtyard to the north wing provided the proof that the family was of noble blood.
Family Crest
The castle has a lovely, small chapel that is used for special family occasions.
The Knights’ Hall features hunting trophies, suits of armor, a beautiful wood ceiling, and a long dining table.
We were taken to an informal sitting room where the family gathers for various activities. As we learned more about the history of the castle and family, we were served smoked trout on rye bread with a dill cream sauce. The trout was from their own lake and had been smoked the previous night, so it was very fresh and tasty.
Naturally we also enjoyed some of their own wine vintage, which was another special treat. As you can tell, my glass was empty!
As we were leaving, we saw trout swimming in the moat (relatives of those we had just tasted), and of course the swan!
We drove to the town of Miltenberg, where we had a walking tour. Miltenberg is on the Main River between the Spessart and Odenwald ranges in the Lower Franconia section of Bavaria.
Old Market Square and the black quarter of Miltenberg, which so named because the sun never shines there.
Along the river we saw the bronze statues of three young men taking a leak into a rectangular pool. This is actually a historical comment on Miltenberg’s long-standing struggles with flooding. In the old days when they had severe flooding, the water would often flood the entire historic town center, making it virtually impossible for many of Miltenberg’s residents to leave their houses. The problem was that houses back then of course didn’t have modern toilets, but most of the time there was simply a hole dug in the ground at the back of the house, with a wooden box as a seat if one was lucky. During the floods these could not be reached, which is why the male residents would simply relieve themselves off the main entrance of the house straight into the river
Scattered throughout the town we discovered these small brass plaques. Germany has a painful and shameful history of the persecution of Jews and the Holocaust during which the Nazis murdered around 6 million Jews. To commemorate the Jewish victims, artist Gunter Demnig created cobblestones made of brass.
These serve as memory plaques installed in front of the houses where Jews lived before they were seized and murdered by the Nazis. We found these these in other towns on our journey as well.
Because of its strategic location, Miltenberg’s history dates back to the days of the Roman occupation. We had lunch at the Hotel Zum Riesen, which is one of Germany’s oldest inns, if not the oldest. Our beverage was the local Faust beer.
Miltenberg town square fountain
We each posed one more time to add photographic memories. Daisy chose the market square fountain with the cherubs on top, and my favorite fountain was more functional in context.
Before we left the Square, we discovered a statue of Joseph Martin Krauss, a composer who was born in Miltenberg. He is known for his early compositions and is sometimes referred to as one of the greatest composers of symphonies. Krauss moved to Sweden in his early twenties and is often called the Swedish Mozart.
The castle on the hillside above the town has the slightly different name of Mildenburg. Obviously half-timbered buildings were the predominant style for the shops and the homes above them.
After some time to walk around Miltenberg, we were back on the bus for a short journey to the Schloss Lowenstein, the estate of the Prince of Lowenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg. The multiple name is a result of what were described as strategic marriages to acquire more land—make love not war! This is the only French-style palace in Lower Franconia. My Virginia Tech friends will notice that the colors are very similar to our beloved maroon and orange! Part of the palace is now used as a hotel.
We were fortunate to be able to see the beautiful chapel, which features elaborate statuary and frescoes.
One of the family’s enterprises is the Weingut Furst Lowenstein, with an old stable having been converted to the winery. The grapes are grown on their own property in a microclimate that is similar to parts of the Mediterranean wine-growing regions.
Our group was given a private wine-tasting of several of the popular vintages. And instead of crackers, we had samples of their venison sausage with a dark bread to accompany the white wines, and chocolate for the red wines.
When we arrived back at the river, our ship was just docking after sailing from Wertheim.
They had to lower a portable platform from the ship for us to board.
This pair of swans greeted us as the ship’s crew was having some difficulty finding a proper spot for placement. As I said earlier, swans had been our companions throughout our interesting day of touring. They started our day in one location, and it seemed fitting they should also end it in another.
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