Wurzburg: Day 2

This post was added to the blog by my sister Suzy, while in Germany with my mom!

We woke up this morning excited to spend our first full day in the city. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling very well. Perhaps it was the change in weather, something I ate or just exhaustion from traveling and not sleeping much. Anyways, we ate a little breakfast at our hotel-Hotel Alter Kranan and I tried to pull myself together for our first adventure.

KH picked us up and we headed to visit a school called The Mozart-Schonborn-Gymnasium. We went to this school in particular because one of KH friends is a language teacher there. It used to be two separate schools but has been  combined into one. KH friend, Wolfgang Hugo gave us a wonderful tour of the school which is both a middle school and a high school. The school year is ending for the students at the end of July and many of them were out of the building on school trips. We got to look into a few classrooms and mom and I even sat in on one 7th grade English class. The teacher let them ask us questions and they were too funny! We helped them find Rochester and NYC on a U.S. map. Although we were trying to talk up Rochester and the exchange program, all they really wanted to know about was NYC and how many gangs there are and how much crime there is. The students impressed us with their English and their teacher Ms. Clemens was wonderful. We really enjoyed our time at the school.

I decided to head back to the hotel and rest while mom went on to the next place. KH took her by car to the church on the hill near the fortress called the Kappele. It was built in the 1700s and was a beautiful Baroque style church. Afterward they went to a small nearby pub for a light lunch. Mom even ate a traditional potato soup... with mushrooms!

When they were done they came back to the hotel to get me. After a nap and some juice and crackers I was feeling so much better! It was time to visit the "Residence Palace". This is known as one of the most important castles in Europe. It was built from 1720-1744 as a place for the Prince Bishop of Wurzburg to live. Hundreds of years ago the bishops of Wurzburg were given the secular power to rule the city thus making them princes and bishops. Each time a new bishop was chosen he also became the secular ruler, or the prince. I could write for hours about what we saw inside The Residence. One room was made all of mirrors, another was made all of white ornate stucco and sculptures that were hanging off the walls and down from the ceiling. Gold covered almost every room and tapestries hung on the largest of walls throughout the castle. But the most fantastic artwork was a 360 degree domed ceiling painting that hung over the grand staircase. The painting was done in only 10 months by the famed Venetian artist Tiepolo. The ceiling was a self-supporting vault that was unharmed when the rest of the building was mostly destroyed in 1945. On each side he represented a different continent of the known world at the time. America had wild beasts roaming and was being represented by a woman on an alligator. At the end we visited the back gardens, they were spectacular!

We went back to the hotel for a short rest before heading to the Kiliani Festival for dinner. We took the street car to the festival with KH and his wife. Its a 3 week festival that happens every year at this time. Basically a mini Octoberfest. There were rides and activities for the kids and a huge tent set up for the beer festival part, where we went. We had so much fun! The traditional food to eat at the festival is roasted chicken which is not a usual food around here. We were so impressed, it was so good!! We drank beer out of a HUGE mug too. There were groups of people standing on the long picnic tables singing and dancing to the live band that was playing. My favorite moment was when they started singing "Sweet Caroline" and the YMCA. People were dressed in traditional German clothes to help celebrate as well.

What a fun way to end a great day in Wurzburg!
Suzy

Suzy in Wurzburg!