Day 5: Miltenburg

Yesterday, we stopped at the teeny-tiny village of Miltenburg. I don't remember when it was founded or why, as we are information overload, but I do remember the prettiness of the old town. The ancient cobble stone streets, lined with half-timbered homes that date to the 1400s, are stunning. The streets are tidy and the homes are well restored. Our guide told the story of the old homes. She said "old homes are in a continuous state of restoration." Apparently the cost of the restoration is high. If as house started out with red timber, it has to remain with red timber. She said if someone decides to paint their house blue, it would be back to the original color in 3 days. We learned if a home has a statue of the Madonna in front, it's a Catholic house and because it is historical, the Madonna statue cannot be removed. If a house has a Rooster on it, the sign of a Protestant house, it cannot be removed either. As plumbing and electricity were added to the old homes, those amenities had to be added in a "historically correct style" no matter the cost. Our guide pointed out one home that was in need of restoration and she implied that it would not be done as the cost would be close to a million euros. The old town of Miltenburg has to remain looking like the old town of Miltenberg. 

We passed modern shops in old buildings. We learned about the origin of the pretzel, but it appears that every town in this part of Germany is the home of the pretzel. We saw the oldest hotel in Germany dating to the 1100s, and the meaning of a 6-sided star on hotel sign (it meant the hotel had fresh beer). We learned how precious glass was in the old days; how taxes maintained the city and that the tax collector was the most hated man in town; and the importance of "stumble stones" in remembering the Jewish families who perished in the Holocaust. 

As we are cruising down the Main River we are experiencing locks, lots of locks. The Rhine/Main/Danube canal joins the North Sea at Amsterdam to the the Black Sea at Constanta, Romania, as a continuous road-way. I've heard there are anywhere between 16 and 60 locks that raise and lower the water to allow for safe passage. If you want a true "lock experience" sail down this river and you will see how a lock works far better than if you sail through the 3 locks on the Panama Canal. These locks are "up close and personal" and the first few are very interesting to see; after that, all of us are saying "we're going through another lock" and it's no big deal. It's amazing how blasé we've become after a few locks. 

The meadows and fields beside the river are filled with birds, and wildlife, but fewer domestic animals than I expected. Beside the river, both passenger and freight trains race along the tracks that line the river. Barges of all varieties haul oil, containers, and grain at all hours of the day and night. The river and commerce have a symbiotic relationship. It's busy and alive. Think of the river as a major interstate highway in the United States, and you will have a good idea how important the river is to Europe. 

(Pictures will follow when I get to a reliable internet connect--please come back)