Hi All,
We arrived in Wurzburg and located our hostel about 200m from the train station.It was a brand new hostel called babelfish which was filled with Ikea furniture ,a big dopey black pet dog,helpful staff and a book exchange so what more could we ask for I hear you asking. We rocked into our room and for a while it seemed that we would have a 4 bed room to ourselves,nice, but this wasn´t to be because whilst we were out sourcing some food big Bertha came to town and her size 15 masseur sandals and her night mask clearly marked her territory and we knew that we were not only not alone we had BIG company .We didn´t actually speak to Bertha but we heard her tip toe into the room at some stage like a baby elephant during the night and heard her bed frame strain under her bulky frame. In the morning we saw her shrek like silhouette as we left to go exploring just as the sun came up but by the time we returned she was gone.Had we dreamt of her presence I think not.
Anyway let the Wurzburg story begin .During World War II, on March 16, 1945, about 90% of the city was destroyed by some 225 Lancaster bombers in 17 minutes by a British air raid Most of the city's churches, cathedrals, and other monuments did not survive, while the city center, dating from medieval times, was totally destroyed in a firestorm in which some 5,000 people perished. During the next 20 years, the buildings of historical importance were painstakingly and accurately replicated.Interestingly enough I have now read that the buildings that survived intact during World War II were the churches.Why spare the churches? This city is nice but it has been a little too well reconstructed and is so clean and flawless that it virtually squeaks.It does however have a rather delightful Fortress which served as a home of the prince- bishops for nearly five centuries and which was only partially destroyed during the war. Fortress Marienberg sits high on a steep hill amongst rows and rows of grape vines overlooking Wurzburg so we dragged ourselves up to the top of the hill and admired not only the impressive and sturdy fortress but the city with its 100s of churches and spires which punctuated the skyline.As I previous mentioned it was and is a nice city just a little ho hum for us so we decided that it was time to collect our backpacks and board yet another train to our next destination.
Bye,
David and vanessa
