Trip Report - Our Big Trip - August 6th - Speyer and Heidelberg

The ship had docked at Germersheim before breakfast.  This was "a boondocks" docking location that hardly offered enough room on the bank for the buses to turn around. Our included morning tour was to the small German town of Speyer, one of the oldest towns in Germany. In Speyer a local guide took us around the massive Romanesque Cathedral, then to the old Trinity Church, and finally to the remains of the old Jewish Quarter.

Inside the Speyer Cathedral

Steps up from the ritual baths in the ruins
 of the Jewish Quarter.

Relatively modern statue of a pilgrim
 on the way to Santiago de Compostela

A large spider sculpture in the park

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In the afternoon we had the choice of staying on the boat, taking a tour of a vinegar manufacturer, or an "extra cost" tour of Heidelberg. I wanted to take the tour of Heidelberg, as I had visited there once before when I lived in Germany, and it had good memories.

First in Heidelberg was a tour of the ruins and restoration of the Heidelberg Palace. We were lucky in having a guide who was enthusiastic and imaginative, and who loved Heidelberg. The Palace has been damaged by war and destroyed by fire, and early travelers journeyed to experience the 'romantic' ruins. It is now being partially restored.

A street in Heidelberg

We stop for a beer in a tavern.

Cake at a Konditerei

The monkey statue on the old bridge. Although this
is relatively new, there was apparently a monkey statue
on the bridge in the past. The monkey is holding a
mirror, and a poem nearby says something like "you
are no better than anyone else. Look around, and you
will see more like yourself." Taking a photo with the monkey
face as mask is popular with tourists.

Detail of a shutter stop

View from the Palace