Today, the Ramblers experienced a brief stop in Freudenberg, a bus ride to Miltenberg, a delightful walk around the town and finally, a visit to one of the many nearby vinyards. All this before 12:30! Then our group returned to the Princess, now docked briefly in Miltenberg. That afternoon, we enjoyed a leisurely cruise along the beautiful Main. This was a totally different experience for the Ramblers than we had experienced the previous day in Wurzberg.

Unlike many of the towns we had visited on this cruise, Miltenberg was little damaged during WWII, except…on the day before the Germans surrendered,. The German troops destroyed its historic bridge across the Main to slow the advance of Allied troops! Of course, the Miltenbergers rebuilt the bridge in all its historic glory as soon as they were able.

As usual, the Princess arrived at our first stop in Freudenberg around breakfast time. Although most of the cruisers left the ship at 8:30 for the short bus ride to Miltenberg, the Princess would stay in Freudenberg until 11:30. Those who remained onboard, including the senior Rambler, had an opportunity to walk around yet another small village with beautiful half-timbered houses, on their own. He enjoyed his time in Freudenberg as well as the short sail to Miltenberg while the Rambler embarked on the day’s tour.

Why could we not just go directly to Miltenberg? It was simply the availablity of dock space. Of all the companies whose ships cruise European rivers, Viking is the best known in the United states. Viking advertises heavily, has dozens of ships sailing in Europe and has cleverly bought up dock space at many popular stops. Amazingly they own three docks even in the small town of Miltenberg, thus their ships always have priority at their docks. This isn’t an issue most of the year, but can be a problem in the most popular cruising season, the month of July in particular. The Ramblers preferred to cruise mid August but the previous year, water levels had been so low by then that we chose to cruise in July. Thus we experienced the busiest time both on the river and on land as well, and decided we much preferred the less crowded times. Incidentally, most of the small towns along the Main have flooded many times in the last 300 years. Fortunately construction of canals, locks and dams has controlled the flooding to some extent.

Today, the Princess offered four tours in the Miltenberg area. After a short stroll around the delightful historic area, our large group would separate into four smaller groups. One to visit a brewery. Another to a farm. The third on a hike to a local vinyard (there was a bus for the gentle walkers) while the artistic members of our group went to a paint and wine experience. But first our guides took us for a tour along the single main street, the Hauptstrasse, which is lined with half timbered houses dating from the 15th throughthe 17th century. The street level of many buildings contain intriguing shops, pubs and restaurants.

One of the main stops for those who enjoy drinking beer in a place steeped with history is Zum Reisen, which calls itself the oldest pub in Germany. Although the date on the building is 1411, this is somewhat misleading as Zum Reisen was rebuilt in 1590, but it is still quite an ancient place.

Miltenburg still has its city walls and even a small castle at the top of the hill at the back of the town. It also has a church, St. Jacobus, which dates to the 1300’s although it was rebuilt many times.

Unlike most of the churches we visited on this trip, the interior of St. Jacobus was very plain. It did however have a striking and colorful modern altarpiece that was installed in 2004. During our visit, we got to watch a group of kindergarten children practising for a saint’s day procession with their teachers. It was a charming scene.

The shops were open as it was a week-day and some of our group were tempted by the sale signs in shop windows. The street is pedestrian only for part of the day to accomodate the many tourists who come here.

Along the way, we passed the Rathaus or Town Hall built of the red sandstone which is used in many buildings in Franconia as it is quarried in the area. A look to the left provides a view of the Mildenburg castle, small by castle standards, but picturesque and in good shape. Built in the 1400’s, it had many owners until it was bought by the town of Miltenberg.. Today it houses two museums and is an easy stroll up at the top of the hill. However, we did not visit the castle as we had to locate Miltenberg’s famous fountain built in 1583, of what else but red sandstone. There we joined our groups and prepared for part two of today’s adventure.

The Rambler had chosen the vinyard option which sounded like fun, and joined the rest of the gentle walkers on the bus. It was a chance to see the Bavarian countryside away from the river. We got to wave at the rest of our group as they trudged uphill to the vinyard. It really wasn’t a very long way and they seemed to enjoy their stroll through vinyards and farmland.

It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid-seventies. The owners of the winery had set up picknic snacks of sausage, bread and cheese on a covered patio to accompany our wine tasting. The vinyard was in a beautiful spot, surrounded by fields of vines, and othe crops, a charming spot in rural Bavaria. We enjoyed the food, the wine, the company and the enthusiastic presentation of our hosts. it was a very pleasant way to spend the morning sipping and munching until it was time to head back to our ship – just in time for lunch. LOL

After lunch the Princess set sail for our next stop, Rudesheim, unusually early, at 3:00 PM. This gave us an opportunity to enjoy the scenery along the Main river from the sundeck. The Main is considered the most rural of the major German rivers even tho it has been tamed by canals and locks. It certainly lived up to its name that afternoon.

But the day wasn’t over yet, as it was the senior Rambler’s birthday. Our waitstaff and the restaurant manager coordinated their efforts to serve a lovely meal and provide a birthday cake as we sat at our favorite table for two. They even sang Happy Birthday! All in all, it had been a totally satisfying day.