After cruising through so many small towns in Germany, I was actually happy to see the sites of the much larger town of Cologne, Germany.  But first we needed to see the sites of  Regensburg, Wűrzburg, Bamberg and other small towns along the Rhine River.  Humm, what is a ‘burg’ vs a ‘berg’ town?  ‘Berg’ as in Bamberg indicates a town on or near a hill or mountain.  ‘Burg’ as in Wűrzburg describes past fortification, likely a town with a wall built around a medieval fortress.

The Würzburg Residence for Prince Bishops

Prince Bishops were churchmen who ruled the area.  Their residence, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, was built for show, not comfort.  The 60 year construction began in 1720.  The palace’s most striking feature is the monumental staircase and the world’s largest ceiling fresco.  I managed to capture both in the photo below.

This magnificent building and architecture mostly survived the WWII bombings.  Parts of this building were removed to other areas for safe keeping, but post war restoration was still necessary and took decades.  The ceiling is a blend of three dimensional figures and is the largest fresco ceiling in the world.

 

 

 

College Students

This scene did not look or seem out of place until our guide pointed out that the sign on the wall said the parking of bikes is forbidden.

Thanks to the internet, I’m able to get the above sign translated and confirm our guide’s story.

Holocaust Addressed

I was interested in how the Germans addressed their past history of the Holocaust.  Would they ignore it or address their past somewhat openly?  I was glad to see they seem to address some of their dark history openly.  We did not go to a museum, rather we saw these sites in towns and on walking tours.   Stumbling Stones

 

The German word for the small brass plaques embedded into the cobblestone walkways is stolpersteines, or stumble stones.  The so-called  ‘stumble’ is not physical, rather it is meant to be mental or moral.  One must pause, look down, read and reflect.  There are over 90,000 such stumble stones in more than 30 countries.  This project was started in 1992 by a German artist.

 

These stones do not only show those murdered, but also those who escaped and fled their homeland, showing lives uprooted.  These tiny monuments are generally funded by descendants, historical societies and Jewish communities, not the German Government.

Degrading Jewish Sculpture

This carving appears on a cathedral in Regensburg, Germany.

 

Modern Architecture – Kranhaus

These three buildings were already on my radar to search out and photograph.  What a pleasant surprise when our boat cruised past them, then docked within walking distance.  I was able to visit these buildings during the day and the night.  The two building closest to us in the above photo are commercial, while the most distant has balconies and is residential.

 

Most any photo will be improved if you are able to photograph it during what photographers call blue hour. The sky will turn a dark blue 30 to 45 minutes after the sun has set and is below the horizon.  It is not yet considered twilight, but you can see the lights have turned on.

The bright yellow light on one side of the above photo is a descending elevator.  It was captured as a blur due to the long shutter speed of the camera.  This was not a mistake or coincidence.  During some attempts the elevator would not come all the way down to ground level.  Other times it would shoot up and I would miss part of the travel blur.  And it kept kept getting darker and darker, but finally I succeeded.  It is very rewarding to set out on a photo mission and succeed, something all too rare in travel photography when rushing from place to place.