24 June - Miltenberg, Germany

After breakfast we had a walking tour of Miltenberg, a lovely little town on the Main River dating back to the Middle Ages. We saw many quaint buildings, churches and the town square where “witches” were burnt. Our guide told us tales of the history of the area and the features on some of the buildings that date back to those times. For example, a wealthy couple lived in a fine house and the lady across the street was a gossip so they put a gargoyle on their building depicting their neighbour with very large ears. She had her revenge when the Inquisition came to town and she had them condemned as “witches”. Mainly only wealthy couples were so condemned and “essential” people like butchers and bakers were safe from condemnation. There was a lot of superstition surrounding the water quality which deteriorated in summer so a few “witches” were burned and as the weather cooled the water quality improved, proving their point that the burnings worked. Awful story!! The town was lovely to see and we had a couple of rain showers but still enjoyed our walk around.

We returned to the boat, relaxed for a while before lunch then I watched a glass blowing demonstration on board by Karl Ittig, a sixth generation glass blower living at Wertheim. He was great to watch and gave away his sample demonstrations to ladies that helped him. I bought a couple of pieces.

We continued to cruise along the Main River through various locks and beautiful scenery. This river is not as wide nor as busy as the Rhine, so more tranquil. We had dinner then enjoyed the Franconian Brass Band in the lounge, playing folk songs, polkas and waltzes. Another lovely day.