Beginning With the "Wurz"
After near-missed connections made, lost luggage found, and a good night sleep, we were off and running. We took the hour-long train ride from Frankfurt to Wurzburg through lush green countryside that was dotted with small quaint-looking villages--the classic German landscape, exactly how I pictured it to be.
Wurzburg is a pretty university town situated at the north end of the so-called Romantic Road. It was 90% destroyed during World War 2. Most of its historical buildings were painstakingly rebuilt by female survivors, or "Rubble Women" as the men were either dead or war prisonenrs. The Old Town, with its many pedestrain-only cobblestoned streets, and where we were staying, contains all the major sights.
We began our exploration by touring the Unesco World Heritage called the "Residenz". This impressive building was commissioned by two prince-bishops in the mid-18th century but was largely destroyed in the war. Fortunately its most striking feature--a magnificant staricase and ceiling fresco above-- survived intact. As we walked up the stairs, we were rewarded by an amazing allegorical scene of the four continents of Asia, Africa, Europe and Americas painted by the Italian artist Tiepolo.
The highlight for me however, was watching the look on Talia's face as she took it all in. As someone who has travelled extensively, I 've seen many jaw-dropping sights. This fresco was indeed amazing but so are the hundreds of others I've seen. Yet witnessng the look of astonishment on Talia's face made me look at it with fresh eyes. It's as if I'm seeing everything for the first time...how lucky am I!
Wurzberg was our kind of town. We happened to arrive on the weekend of the annual wine festival (oh my!) and the town square was filled with booths selling glasses of wine, regional foods and hundreds of people. How could we not participate?! From the first stand I spied without a line-up, I bought bratwurst "dogs" while Tal picked up two glasses of local white.
As we were chowing it all down, a young family sat beside us and we watched as the kids devoured a strange looking dish that looked like little deep-fried popcorn balls wrapped with little curly green tendrils. We had to finally ask what it was. Hollerkuchle, we were told, made by deep-frying the flowers of the elderberry plant. We wasted no time in buying and devouring this yummy dish, washing it down with the sweet smoothness of the white wine---heaven!
Satiated from our first German meal, we continued to wander the Old Town. Approaching the Old Bridge, we noticed it was full of people, not cars, who were standing around and...drinking wine! Why of course...there was a wine festival happening! We purchased a wine spritzer each from the little kiosk right on the bridge and enjoyed it and the view overlooking the Main River. We watched the locals around us socializing and couldn't help but think how civilized it all was. Later we found a recommended restaurant serving regional food and gorged some more. Food, wine, beer combined with amazing historical sights...we know we're going to love this country!
