This morning was a nice relaxing morning as we continued along the Main River towards Miltenberg. During the morning Mum and I went up to the forward sun deck. The sun deck at the back of the boat was closed due to the low bridges further along the Main River. When we arrived on the deck we were passing through Aschaffenburg and had lovely views of the Schloss Johannisburg. We also watched the ship’s bridge get raised and lowered so that it would pass under the river bridges.
Picture 1 - Schloss Johannisburg, Aschaffenburg
In the morning, as we were travelling, a glass blower came aboard to give a demonstration. It was a very interesting demonstration with a lot of history being explained and even a surprise performance by yours truly!! Rather than full scale glass blowing, like in the Netflix program “Blown Away”, this was using pre-made glass tubes and a fire lamp for heating. They would heat the glass tubes and then use another piece of glass to form a point at each end. Then they could cut the end off the point to leave a little “straw” that could be blown into to create different items from thermometers to chemical apparatus! It was really fascinating!
Picture 2 - Glass Blowing On Board
As we proceeded down the river we had to pass through many locks. Each lock had its own hydropower station that powered the lock mechanism. The Main River has 34 large locks to ensure a consistent water level all year round and to allow vessels such as ours to sail.
Picture 3 - Going through a Lock
After lunch we arrived in Miltenberg. This medieval town was built in the 13th century around a Mainz toll station. It suffered greatly from economic decline after the 30 years war of the 17th century. Bygone residents could not afford to change or replace the old buildings so the old town of Miltenberg remains a time capsule of half-timbered houses and narrow streets. Above the town, protecting the toll station is the castle of Mildenberg which dates back to the 12th century. This difference in spelling is correct as the castle and the town have different names. We didn’t get a chance to walk around Miltenberg as we were going on a home hosting. This was when we visited local families for a coffee, cake and a chat. It was interesting and the cake was nice.
From Miltenberg we got the coaches back to the ship that had moved on to Freudenberg. We did have a bit of kerscuffle in Freudenberg – a Viking ship had moored in our place!! So we had to go up and over the Viking ship to get to ours!
Overnight we travelled onwards to Würzberg.
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