Germany: Castles, Churches and Consulates

Besides some great time on the Rhine, Michael also got his green card and we made a quick trip to Bavaria.

This seems forever ago now that I was walking the streets of Mainz (and trying to order brunch without my German translator who was in Frankfurt convincing the doctors that his lungs were fine).

Even though we spent a good deal of time in doctors' offices and getting CT scans, we got the chance to spend some time seeing more of the Frankfurt/Mainz/Montebaur area as well as a quick trip to Bavaria!

One of my favorite trips was to the monastery Kloister Eberbach (chapel window pictured to left). This is the monastery where they filmed part of the Umberto Eco's "In the Name of the Rose".

Like all good German monks, these monks were involved in alcohol production, but instead of the traditional beer, these monks were winemakers. According to our tape recorded tour, it wasn't actually the monks anyway, it was the lay brothers who grew and pressed the wine.

The winepresses in the cellars were amazing. The day was gorgeous and the grounds were beautiful and expansive.

I particularly enjoyed the community room - where all the monks gathered for important meetings and the dormitory, both of which were locations for the film. See pictures below.

While Michael was in Frankfurt I wandered Mainz with his camera and determined that he is the better photographer. But I did get to see the "blue" church, of which I forget the name at this moment. The windows were destroyed in the war and so an artist was asked to come and do all the windows in blue glass. It has an amazing effect when you walk inside on a sunny day. Here's one window so you can get a feel for what I'm talking about.

Mainz, Michael's sister, Stephanie's home town, is known for it's celebration of fasching, a winter carnival that lasts about a month in February. This fountain commemorates this with characters all dressed up and in festive mood.

Bestides spending time in Mainz, we explored the Rhine. It's an amazing river. With a lot of boat traffic, both tourist and cargo. Castles dot the cliffs on either side. We saw several. The largest one, Castle Rheinfels, was the most powerful castle on the Rhine for half a millenium. From the keep we could see several other castles and a ways down the river.