Where Two Rivers Meet

We have been sailing downstream on the Rhine River.  That is about to change.  Koblenz is at the intersection of the Rhine and the Moselle Rivers.  Tomorrow we will start going upstream on the Moselle.

At the intersection of the rivers stands a monument and park called German Corner.  It features the statue of William II astride his horse receiving the crown of victory for unifying Germany.  There are also flags of the original members of the European Union.  The British flag still flies, but who knows what will happen when Britain finally leaves the EU.  After 9/11 a United States flag was added to the display.  Nearby are 3 pieces of the wall which used to divide Germany into East Germany (the German Democratic Republic) and West Germany.  The theme of the whole corner is German Unity.




















Some say that the Germans have no sense of humor, but Koblenz seems to refute that.  On a building next to the former jail there is a clock and the face of a not-too-bright criminal.  He is constantly rolling his eyes.  Every few minutes he sticks out his tongue, supposedly a gesture he made just before he was beheaded.





















Another statue honors the Peppermint Lady.  She made strong peppermints to sell to men leaving the bars so that they could hide their alcohol breath from their wives.  With the profits she took care of stray cats, but actually spent most of the money on booze.  When she had an especially good night, she went into a church to thank the statue of Jesus for letting her sell so much peppermint that she could buy a lot of booze.  A priest, overhearing her, told her to give the money to the church instead of getting drunk.  In her inebriated state, she thought the statue was talking to her, and she told Jesus to mind His own business.  She never went into a church again.





During one of the many times when France occupied the town, many of the French had liaisons with the local women.  The resulting boys were bullied, so they retaliated playing tricks and by spitting on any unwary citizens.  There is even a statue commemorating this.  Don't get too close -- you never know when he will take his revenge.




On a more serious note, the townspeople designed a symbol to show understanding and cooperation between the 3 major religions.  It incorporated a cross, the star of David and a crescent moon, all at the edges of a circle.  When you look at it, you see an angel, even though that was not the intended image.  They named it "The Unity Angel."  Back to the theme of unity!




There is also a large modern art museum near where we docked.  This is one of the works outside the museum.  There is not supposed to be any "correct" interpretation of modern art, but I think this should be named "A Tribute to Hitchhikers."

You need to fill in the center of the cross.

This town was also the center of the German knights who fought in the crusades.  I was familiar with the Maltese knights who used a white cross as a symbol, but the German knights used a similar shape, but in black.  The remains of their symbol can be seen on the side of the building which was their headquarters.

A.R.C.

The section of the Rhine River from Strasbourg to Koblenz is called the Middle Rhine or the
Romantic Rhine.  This is an area where the river has been the main roadway for centuries.  There is nothing particularly romantic in its history.  Kings and princes blocked the river travel with ropes or chains to demand extravagant sums to allow passage.  Castles were built, attacked and destroyed over the centuries.  Most of the castles were in ruins by 1800.

Then came the "romantic" part.  It was fashionable to imagine a fairy tale life in these buildings instead of the miserable existence of most of the people.  Rich people bought these ruins and rebuilt them on a grand scale.  There are still hundreds of castles, ruins and such along this stretch of the river.

Our tour director spent 3 hours identifying each place we passed in the rain.  After a while, it just became A.R.C. (another ruined castle.)
















































Some of the stories are worth repeating.  The Mouse Tower got its name because of a particularly cruel ruler.  The people were starving and came to him for food.  He directed them into the tower, locked the doors and set the tower on fire.  As they screamed in agony, he said that they sounded like mice squeaking.  Immediately mice came pouring out of the tower and attacked the ruler, leaving only a skeleton.  That's the "Romantic Rhine" for you!

At one point the river makes a sharp bend around a high rock.  The river narrows and deepens, causing dangerous whirlpools.  Sailors who were either unskilled or not paying attention often died trying to pass this point.  Rather than admit ineptitude, they said that a beautiful maiden lived on the rock and spent her days singing sweetly and combing her long golden hair.  The men were so enchanted that they forgot how to sail, and they perished at the base of the rock. One prince met this fate, and it so incensed his father that the king sent an army to kill the maiden.  When she saw them coming, she called upon Father Rhine to protect her.  The river rose up in the form of two horses and carried her home to Father Rhine.  Her name was Lorelei, and that became the name of the rock.

Luther Was Here

Have you ever heard of the Diet of Worms?  No, this is not some new fad to loose weight.

Martin Luther had been writing some pretty scandalous pamphlets, getting them printed on Gutenberg's new movable type press and distributing them around the country.  He questioned the right of the Church to sell salvation and forgiveness for sins, past, present and future, to raise money to build "superchurches," and to require priests to remain celibate, among other things.  This did not sit too well with the Pope and other Church officials, especially since Martin Luther was a priest himself.  So, they summoned him to the town of Worms (pronounced Voorms) to appear before the officials to explain, defend or rescind his tracts.  He traveled across Germany for 2 weeks to appear at the trial (Diet).  When he arrived, his followers by the hundreds met him and followed him to the Bishop's Palace.  There he was asked if he was ready to take back all he had written.  Instead of an outright answer, he asked for more time to think about it.  The next day he gave a 3 part answer.  He could not take back his thoughts because they were in his head.  He could not take back what others read into his writings.  As far as the content on the writings, he stood by them until reason and scripture proved them false.  He said something to the effect of, "Here I stand.  I cannot do otherwise.  So help me God."  That ended the trial, so he headed home to Wittenberg.  The next day he was found guilty and excommunicated.  This meant that anyone was free to kill him and take all his possessions.  Prince Phillip sent men to "kidnap" Luther and take him to some place out of the way.  He was taken to Wartburg Castle where he continued to write and to translate the New Testament into German, but first he had to look at all the dialects and try to make a "Standard" German so everyone could read the Bible.  We visited the town, Worms, where the Diet was held.

Many of the buildings still exist, but the Bishop's palace is gone.  We know where it was, so I could stand "in the shoes of Luther."






Portions of the old wall, along which Luther walked to the trial are still there, but from the looks of them they may not last much longer.











The church is still there, but it just escaped destruction.  A fertilizer factory had a huge explosion which damaged many of the buildings in Worms.  Builders were inspecting the damage when a dog began chasing everyone in the church and barking.  When he would not stop, they chased him outside.  Just them, a major portion of the roof collapsed.  The men were safe because of the dog.  In gratitude, when one of the arches was rebuilt, the head of the dog was shown peaking out.











We saw a great deal more of the city on our walk.

This looked interesting.

I have no idea what this is supposed to represent..

This one I know.  It represents the cycle
of growing grapes and making wine.

There is a square with a group of statues in honor of the Reformation.  Our guide was able to identify each statue and tell us the significance.  However, you will just have to take my word that everyone and everything depicted has to do with the Reformation.
















Nearby, a small bronze copy of the grouping had Braille labels so the blind would know what the grouping looked like and who they were.

Next we went to the major city of Heidelberg which seemed to have 3 major attractions for our group:  1. Lunch
             2. Shopping
             3. Heidelberg Castle






Lunch was at the oldest hotel in Heidelberg, the Hotel Ritter.  This was a beautiful hotel, well restored and serving a delicious lunch.










After lunch we had time to visit the Holy Ghost Church (Protestant) and the Holy Ghost Church (Catholic.)  One of the most interesting things was the grave of a prominent couple, both shown standing on the backs of dogs.  At the time, this meant that they were trustworthy.  However, if the dog had been in the picture in any other way, it meant that the person was wicked.


One of the squares had a statue of the Virgin Mary, with gold trim and a starry gold crown.  The town fathers pondered what to do with the statue during the Reformation.  It was too beautiful to tear down, so they compromised by removing the crown.  After time passed and reformation fervor died down, it was replaced and remains in place today.

Behind the statue you can see part of the ruins of Heidelberg Castle.









We were told we could not get lost when we were shopping in Heidelberg because there was only one street.  That was not exactly true, but almost everything could be bought along the main pedestrian street.  One of the favorite shops was the Christmas Store with every imaginable item related to Christmas and a few things that were not related.

The ruins of Heidelberg Castle dominate the skyline.  It is visible from almost anywhere in town.  After the castle was abandoned and began falling down the townspeople helped themselves to the bricks and stone to build their own houses.  Fortunately a preservationist led the fight to protect what was left, so we were able to see the shells of many parts of the castle.

















The moat surrounding the castle was dry and did not contain alligators or even bears.  Instead, it held deer and other animals which were slated to be served at royal banquets.  The corner tower held prisoners.  I wondered how such tall structures could be built without the modern equipment  we use today.  The tower showed one way.  Each stone had two holes where a clamp grabbed them so they could be lifted up to the higher levels.  Now there are no prisoners, only tiny bats which keep the summer mosquitoes in check.

Notice the stonemason's marks
on some of the blocks.

Only the shell remains of most of the buildings, but the facade with its empty windows still are guarded by the ancient statues on the top of the walls and in between the windows.























The central tower has a sort of sundial and astronomical chart over the row of windows.

The lower floors of the building on the right hold a Pharmacy museum tracing the origins of medicine from ancient times.  I have no idea why this paper alligator was hanging from the ceiling in the Pharmacy Museum.




Of course, I had to get a picture of one of the gold gargoyles on the building to the left.









The view from the castle included the whole town and a stretch of the river below.

On our way back to the ship, we crossed the
Rhine on this modern bridge.

A Land Disputed

A bronze model of the Old Town of Strasbourg

Along the Rhine River, west of the Black Forest and northwest of Switzerland, lies a land whose inhabitants have been French, then German, then French, then German, and now French.

Strasbourg is the capital of Alsace, a region which has changed hands several times during the ages.  Today it is French, and has been since the end of WWII.  The old town lies on an island between the Ills River and a branch that splits off and rejoins the main river, giving the city some protection from ancient raiders.

Today the Cathedral towers over the city and is its main attraction.  Parts of the building are in the Romanesque style with rounded arches; the remainder and larger part is Gothic, with pointed arches, thinner walls, and flying buttresses to support the walls.


















In the square by the cathedral, a gargoyle leans back and stares in awe at the massive building.  He is surrounded by carvings of all the stonemasons's symbols which can be found in cathedrals across the western parts of Europe and England.  Stone masons were paid by the number of blocks they made, so each developed a special carving to identify his work.  Some were as simple as a cross, but others showed chisels, curves and intricate design.  The same designs can be found in cathedrals across the country, showing how these skilled craftsmen traveled to wherever a building was going on.

As in all the cathedrals we have seen, the interior as well as the exterior has detailed carvings.  Sometimes whimsical features have been added, like the preacher's dog sleeping under the pulpit. 





The most striking part of this cathedral is the Astronomical Clock which gives the local time, the astronomical time, the seasons, the position of the stars and lessons in life as seen at the time it was created.  There are several cog wheels or gears visible, as well as springs which control the movements.  In at least two places there are figures which move around a track as time passes, so you see different figures at different times.  The most striking of these is a skeleton with a hammer.  It represents the end state of all mankind.  To its left is a figure of a person.  When we saw it, it was an old man. As the astronomical hour approached, he moved over to the bell in front of the skeleton, struck it with his stick and moved on past the skeleton.  The skeleton then struck the bell for the number of the hour.  Meanwhile, a child appeared from the left and took the place of the old man.  This process repeats on the hour as youth is replace by middle age and old age before the process repeats itself.  All this was made several hundred years ago, still works and only has to be rewound twice a year.

Street of the 3 gates

 Local "nationalism" is strong in this part of the country.  Street signs are always in two languages, French naturally, but we were puzzled by the second language.  It did not seem quite like German, and it is not.  It is the local Alsatian, which is not strictly a written language but is passed on in families.







Unlike most of the river cruises we have taken, our ship was not docked in the downtown area.  There are only specific places on the Rhine where docking is allowed, and the city itself is not directly on the Rhine, so we had a long walk to get to the bus which took us closer to the city center.  However, no buses are allowed in the city center, so it was a long walk from the bus parking area to the cathedral in the city center.  By the time we got back to the ship, this statue by the river expresses how I felt.