The river Main infos and river cruising experiences

[steamboats]

I lived sort of next town to Lohr for 10 years as a child and back then nobody new about Schneewittchen´s origins. Lohr was not even of any interest for us. Except for the nearby monastery Mariabuchen where we went a couple of times.

 

Maybe I should go there and have a closer look.

 

steamboats

[rcaruso]

I"ve been to Lohr and the Schneewittchen Castle/House.  Quite an interesting museum, and of course the famous mirror.  Nice town.

[notamermaid]

Deutsche Welle have been to Würzburg. Lukas Stege explores the old town, the Residenz, the Marienburg and has a glass of wine on the Alte Mainbrücke: https://m.dw.com/en/baroque-and-wine-on-the-road-in-würzburg/av-54974233

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A land trip to Franconia part 1

 

In August, a short trip took my travel companion and me to Bavaria, the Main river and the countryside around Würzburg. Of, course the town of Würzburg needed exploring, too, but a reluctance to stay much indoors and the heat cut the town centre visit considerably short. Time to flee and get to the river and cooler countryside. But first things first. Coming from the Rhine area, the landscape is not that much different to home. A little higher in topography with a few more fir trees, added to that a higher percentage of red roofs and onion-shaped church domes is all that told us we were heading to Bavaria. Well, it is the state but not the region. The region is Franconia and the dialect is still closer to what I speak than "deep Bavarian". Still, the difference is there and it makes you feel you are on holiday rather than "away from home just down the road to another town". We choose a countryside hotel making our way towards Würzburg via the Frankfurt A3 autobahn. Country roads meant we had a quick stop in Tauberbischofsheim, which is pleasant but does not merit a detour in my opinion. It is on the Tauber river, which I thoroughly enjoyed seeing, i.e. the river landscape. But that is for later. The vines along the Main river are a pleasant sight and made me think that this is so similar to the Rhine valley around Rüdesheim one would not be able to tell the difference when trying to guess where a photo might have been taken. Markt Neubrunn is a pleasant village with a massive old town gate plus tower. Nice to see if you are in the area, but I would not go out of my way to see it.

 

So, Würzburg! If you want to make use of the panorama photo setting on your smart phone, do it at Würzburg residence. This is my effort on a normal setting:

 

 

The town was reasonably full without being crowded due to the absence of tourists from afar. It was nice to wander around the streets and have a quick lunch at the bakery: https://www.koehlers-vollkornbaeckerei.de/filialen/alte-mainbruecke

 

The groceries market at the church was interesting. Again, pleasantly spacious due to the absence of international tourists:

 

The heat drove us out of town and we headed to Randersacker. A friend had given us the tip of going to that village just outside of Würzburg.

 

But that is for part 2.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

A land trip to Franconia part 2

 

Randersacker is a village a few kilometres upstream from Würzburg. A friend suggested cycling along the river bank to get to it. That is a lovely idea, but it was just to hot for us on that day. So, a short drive took us to a car park near the river bank. It is so close to Würzburg that you can have short journey by local bus or take a taxi, which should not be too expensive. Along the main road past the village we found a fashion shop-cum-cafè and had a cooling iced coffee on the (first floor) terrace. We explored the lovely wine village with its tiny streets. The somewhat triangular square behind the church has a plantation of fruit trees and you are allowed to sample:

 

It says "Probierbaum":

 

The short stroll along the river bank was nice and we watched the locals paddling and swimming in the river. The view upstream with the lock:

 

The view downstream with the vineyards:

 

Here is an official photo gallery of the village: https://www.randersacker.de/de/unser-ort/fotoalbum

 

The heat had taken its toll and we headed back to our hotel via country roads to have a relaxing evening with some Franconian food and beer - and wine!

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[rcaruso]

I have just discovered, courtesy of Karlstadt's StadtMarketing, a lovely write up of Karlstadt am Main, our favorite place.  We have stayed and eaten at zum Fehmelbauer and it is lovely, the food is great.  Here is the  link (in german but can translate to english) https://www.delicioustravel.de/karlstadt-main/?fbclid=IwAR3-2IZ2j83zamgJ16xs_etio-9qfWa-QvXS6JhrFhxuepNiOIwGD1gfTuo

 

Good reading!

[steamboats]

23 hours ago, rcaruso said:

I have just discovered, courtesy of Karlstadt's StadtMarketing, a lovely write up of Karlstadt am Main, our favorite place.  We have stayed and eaten at zum Fehmelbauer and it is lovely, the food is great.  Here is the  link (in german but can translate to english) https://www.delicioustravel.de/karlstadt-main/?fbclid=IwAR3-2IZ2j83zamgJ16xs_etio-9qfWa-QvXS6JhrFhxuepNiOIwGD1gfTuo

 

Good reading!

 

Nice read... But the ruin of the castle is called "Karlsburg". And "Schäufele" is not a typical dish for Lower Franconia (more in Middle and Upper Franconia).

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

Thanks for the link, rcaruso. I enjoyed reading it. Out of curiosity I translated parts of it through a machine. As I suspected, the machine had a problem with Schoppen. It is not a bottle but a glass - in imperial old measures it could contain different quantities. I saw pint as an equivalent mentioned. In metric system this is a bit hither and thither but today they say the real Schoppen is half a litre - although that may be only in the Palatine. Confusing. However much it may be, the important thing is the stuff in it is good. 😉 

 

During my trip to the Würzburg area I did not get to Karlstadt. Must really do next time, looks lovely.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

Schoppen in Franconia is usually a glass of 0.25 l - three Schoppen in one bottle of Franconian wine 😉!

 

By the way my collegue from Würzburg confirmed that Schäufele is not a traditional dish in Lower Franconia and Karlstadt. So my childhood memories are correct.

 

Bamberg is the "Schäufele" city...

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

1 minute ago, steamboats said:

Schoppen in Franconia is usually a glass of 0.25 l - three Schoppen in one bottle of Franconian wine 😉! 

...

Thanks. As I said it does vary. While trying to figure out the measures in the glass, I came across the shapes as well. There are straight glasses, but in the Palatine they appear to use mainly a "dubbeglas". Love the word.  It has got "Tupfen" which in this case means indentations into the glass. This is what it looks like: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubbeglas

But Franconia uses mostly glasses without. I did not see the dubbeglas in Würzburg. @steamboats when you talk to your colleague could you ask him about it please?

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

No need to ask my collegue - in Franconia we use the Römerglas (here´s one but only 0.1 l) with a green stem and the upper part is similar to a regular wine glas.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

Ah, yes, thanks, we were served wine in those as well.

 

Third, concluding, part of my land trip to Franconia coming soon.

 

notamermaid

 

[ural guy]

I clicked through this at work today (while on break!), and then had to wait to get home so I could look for these guys.  In the Wurzburg region, these were pretty popular as Volksmarch awards.

 

I

 

I knew that Franconia wine had the distinctive bottles, I didn't realize the glass was region specific as well.  The wine was too dry for the wife and I, so Hefeweizen beer it was. 

 

Hefeweizen had it's special glass, just as Pils does.

 

And apparently, when you are attending Rock am Ring (3 day music festival held at Nürburgring), Rot wine mit cola, is best served in plastic gas can (new ones preferred).  You can't bring glass or can into the festival grounds, so people premixed Red wine and coke, and would pass those around once inside.  Weird at first, very easy to get use to.  

 

Amazing experience, although I don't think it will ever be added as an optional excursion.  David Bowie closed out the show Sunday night, we pulled into our unit parking lot at 4am, and slept 2 hours in the car before PT training.

 

Stay Safe!  Thanks for giving me the chance to dust the glasses off.

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

A land trip to Franconia part 3

 

The area along the Main needed further exploring, so rather than concentrating on one place, we had a tour of several towns before it was time to head home.

 

The somewhat curious feature of the Main near Würzburg is that it has a huge loop, meaning from Würzburg it flows more or less North and when you drive West in the car you meet the river again, flowing more or less South and that is what we did - driving West to reach Marktheidenfeld and Wertheim. To see more of the countryside we decided to approach the towns through the lovely Tauber valley. This may sound familiar and it is indeed the river in the name Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Part of the "Romantic Road" tour route takes you along the Tauber and I must say that it was very nice indeed. We first reached the Gamburg (castle) and I was quite intrigued by the fact that this small castle up a small road and hidden from world view has in fact murals that are important to European, especially German, history. Here is a website on it: https://www.tourismus-wertheim.de/sights-culture/castles-palaces/gamburg-castle-park/?L=1

 

It is only open at the weekends, so we drove on. Our next destination was to be Wertheim, but a place called Bronnbach stopped us in our tracks. In the Tauber valley is this old Cistercian abbey, this year exactly 350 years old. Here are two photos:

 

 

After a brief stroll we moved on, as we did not want to pay entrance fees into the precincts.

 

Next, Wertheim we drove through, thinking that it warranted further exploring another time. Marktheidenfeld did not reveal to us enough from the car park to suggest we should stop for lunch.

 

Then it was up to Lohr to provide us with some food and a cold drink. It was already hot again by then. Lohr turned out to be a pleasant surprise, with a nice array of inns, restaurants and cafés. Not all brilliant but one can tell that they have put some effort into "updating" the town in recent years. The Castle has a fairy tale appeal to it, how fitting that it was the home of the young lady whowas supposedly the inspiration for Snow White! This is the Lohrer Schloss which houses a museum that includes as a star exhibit the famous mirror of the fairy tale.

The roof was being redone when we were there. Opposite the castle is the tourist information. On the outside wall hangs a mirror in which you can see yourself and the castle in the background. A popular spot with tourists. Lohr provided food and drink, but we did not go into the castle museum or see the infamous modern statue of Snow White.

 

It was time to head home along a few country roads and then the motorway.

 

The trip was full of small pleasant surprises, Würzburg was fabulous and Randersacker a very good tip by my friend. Ochsenfurt we had driven through on the previous day, which was also nice enough for a closer look another time.

 

On a seven day trip that takes you along the Main Danube Canal, the Main and onto the Rhine I think you cannot give this area the attention it deserves. I am happy to read that some German companies have decided to do Main river only trips but they are only four or five nights. Perhaps next year more itineraries will give the Main greater attention, I have not looked at the details yet.

 

Lohr for example has been a first as regards stops for Viva Cruises. It all depends of course on infrastructure, logistics and what companies think customers want to see. Aschaffenburg is another town - which I know from a previous visit - that would appeal to many people I think.

 

I would be happy to explore the Main in-depth on a seven night cruise. No doubt about it.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

Unfortunately the river cruise companies only focus on the bigger cities along the Main river or basically Würzburg (as Bamberg is already located at the Canal entrance). The Main river is mainly seen as necessary transit route to get to the Danube river.

 

But the region has really much more to offer.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

The Main river is currently carrying a high volume of water due to fast snow melt and rain occurring at the same time. The situation has improved in the Upper reaches, but closer to the Rhine, mainly the Frankfurt area, they are still waiting for the level to peak and Frankfurt has been warned to expect mild flooding. The levels this year are not dramatic, statistics point to this happening every two to five years. More rain is forecast for the weekend so a real improvement is not likely.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

No more rain in significant amounts is forecast and the river level reached a plateau yesterday, today it has started falling again around Frankfurt. This should continue for the rest of the week. It will leave the river with quiet a bit of room for rainfall and a bit of snow melt when the area goes back to temperatures above zero next week.

 

On 11/6/2020 at 9:09 AM, steamboats said:

Unfortunately the river cruise companies only focus on the bigger cities along the Main river or basically Würzburg (as Bamberg is already located at the Canal entrance). The Main river is mainly seen as necessary transit route to get to the Danube river.

 

But the region has really much more to offer.

 

steamboats

 

One could of course start in Bamberg to make the journey a bit longer or even in Nuremberg which is possibly a port with better logistics and then end in Frankfurt or Mainz. The trip I mentioned with Viva Cruises and a stop in Lohr last year, are not happening this year. A pity. But A-Rosa has a short round trip Frankfurt. Unfortunately these again focus on the large towns.

 

However, several companies, mostly on the German market but also a few in part internationally focused ones,  this year offer more unusual ports. I read for example Aschaffenburg, Karlstadt and Ochsenfurt in the itineraries.

 

All three have been mentioned here in the thread before but we can have a look at them and others a bit more over the coming days and weeks. That is what I plan to do.

 

If you have been to unusual ports along the Main, perhaps on a land trip, do tell us of your experience. Or have you embarked in Frankfurt even? Tell us about your itinerary. It is still not a standard port on international river cruises and a city that is perhaps, especially as an interesting contrast to Bamberg and Würzburg, not getting enough attention and deserves a little bit more.

 

notamermaid

 

[rcaruso]

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

No more rain in significant amounts is forecast and the river level reached a plateau yesterday, today it has started falling again around Frankfurt. This should continue for the rest of the week. It will leave the river with quiet a bit of room for rainfall and a bit of snow melt when the area goes back to temperatures above zero next week.

 

 

One could of course start in Bamberg to make the journey a bit longer or even in Nuremberg which is possibly a port with better logistics and then end in Frankfurt or Mainz. The trip I mentioned with Viva Cruises and a stop in Lohr last year, are not happening this year. A pity. But A-Rosa has a short round trip Frankfurt. Unfortunately these again focus on the large towns.

 

However, several companies, mostly on the German market but also a few in part internationally focused ones,  this year offer more unusual ports. I read for example Aschaffenburg, Karlstadt and Ochsenfurt in the itineraries.

 

All three have been mentioned here in the thread before but we can have a look at them and others a bit more over the coming days and weeks. That is what I plan to do.

 

If you have been to unusual ports along the Main, perhaps on a land trip, do tell us of your experience. Or have you embarked in Frankfurt even? Tell us about your itinerary. It is still not a standard port on international river cruises and a city that is perhaps, especially as an interesting contrast to Bamberg and Würzburg, not getting enough attention and deserves a little bit more.

 

notamermaid

 

For land trip we usually fly to Frankfurt and then go to Wurzburg for a few days.  A short train ride from Wurzburg are the Baroque Gardens and house from the Prince Bishop in Veithocheim.  You can also get there by boat and a lovely short cruise on a nice day.  Beautiful gardens all free to tour, the house you can tour but in German (we haven't done that yet).  Also at the Residenz in Wurzburg, the chapel is free admission and will give you an idea of the grandure you will experience in the main building.  Also the gardens there are also free of charge.  Nice restaurant B Neumann there and you can sit outside with a glass of wine maybe, soup etc.  Very beautiful atmosphere and we have found the food there very fresh. We stay at a hotel right on the water with views of the Fortress (nice and not expensive). Also the Stadttheater in Wurzburg is very interesting.  We saw As you Like it (12th night) by Shakespeare which I just found out had one of the actors in one of my favorite German soap operas, Rote Rosen.  The price is right and helps if you understand some German.

 

We then go to Karlstadt to see our friends, short train ride. We stay at a small Guest House  (6 rooms) over a restaurant operated by the owners.  Right on the main St..  Every two hours starting around 10 am to 6 or 8pm  the little man in the top of the Rathaus plays a song.  This is the last Swedish man that was left behind when the Swedes had to get out of Germany, gruesome tale, The church is worth a look, and a small Spittal on the main Street worth a look too.  If you have time, hike to the ruin of the castle on the other side of the river.  Also walk to the biergarten, you will pass an old in ruins Jewish temple.  Just wandering the streets and looking at all the doors etc are worth a visit.  Venezia Eis is great for a gelato or coffee (they make a mean Irish coffee) or a Hugo and people watching.  I could go on and on.  From Karlstadt you could go to Lohr, etc or on the Bayern pass go to Nueremberg (2 hour train ride) Bamberg, 4.5 hours to Munich.  Also Rothenburg an easy train ride too. And you can always fly home from Munich.

[notamermaid]

rcaruso, thank you for all the great information.

On 2/10/2021 at 12:48 AM, rcaruso said:

From Karlstadt you could go to Lohr, etc or on the Bayern pass go to Nueremberg (2 hour train ride) Bamberg, 4.5 hours to Munich.  Also Rothenburg an easy train ride too. And you can always fly home from Munich.

Train travel is indeed easy and straightforward along nice landscape in that area. If one embarked in Nuremberg and did not want to fly into Prague or even Munich, Frankfurt is a possibility that perhaps not quickly comes to mind. One thing to note about train lines. While short distances and many stops can be taken along the line that follows the meandering Main, longer journeys are taken on the fast route that cuts out much valley landscape. Something one needs to check before booking. The fast run Frankfurt to Würzburg for example cuts out most of the valley.

 

On a side note: I have noticed that while the Amsterdam Basel itineraries sometimes divert into the Moselle to give a longer itinerary I have never seen this done with the Main. Perhaps I have not looked for it in detail, if it exists it is rare. Why not actually? I could imagine this being interesting, how about "sophisticated Wiesbaden* and cosmopolitan Frankfurt" in the advertising? And forgetting Heidelberg for a change. I would do it, I like both cities with their individual characters. *Wiesbaden is not on the Main river as such, but is the capital of Hesse and with its administrative district straddles the river.

 

But back to the smaller Main towns.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[rcaruso]

7 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

rcaruso, thank you for all the great information.

Train travel is indeed easy and straightforward along nice landscape in that area. If one embarked in Nuremberg and did not want to fly into Prague or even Munich, Frankfurt is a possibility that perhaps not quickly comes to mind. One thing to note about train lines. While short distances and many stops can be taken along the line that follows the meandering Main, longer journeys are taken on the fast route that cuts out much valley landscape. Something one needs to check before booking. The fast run Frankfurt to Würzburg for example cuts out most of the valley.

 

On a side note: I have noticed that while the Amsterdam Basel itineraries sometimes divert into the Moselle to give a longer itinerary I have never seen this done with the Main. Perhaps I have not looked for it in detail, if it exists it is rare. Why not actually? I could imagine this being interesting, how about "sophisticated Wiesbaden* and cosmopolitan Frankfurt" in the advertising? And forgetting Heidelberg for a change. I would do it, I like both cities with their individual characters. *Wiesbaden is not on the Main river as such, but is the capital of Hesse and with its administrative district straddles the river.

 

But back to the smaller Main towns.

 

notamermaid

 

 

We generally use the Bayern Pass and only travel on Regional Trains.  It takes longer but we enjoy the atmosphere and with the Bayern Pass you can get off and get on all day long in Baveria after 9 and before I believe 3 the next morning.  So Frankfurt to Wurzburg takes about 2-2/12 hours on Regional Trains.  That's through another type ticket that passes through different districts at a fixed price. I usually get the ticket once the door on the plane closes--or get it when I get into the airport using the DBbahn App, easy to use.  Thanks Notamermaid!

[notamermaid]

Let us have a look at the small town of Eltmann. Near Bamberg, it is used as a convenient stop for river cruise ships that cannot or do not want to dock in Bamberg itself. When river cruising became more popular Eltmann found itself being frequented by more ships but lacking a very good and accessible docking spot, i.e. what modern large ships and luxury coach travel require these days. So Eltmann had its facilities updated in 2017. The company River Dock built the landing stage and runs it: http://www.river-dock.com/index.php?id=79

 

In 2017 Eltmann saw also potential for the town itself. Occasionally North American visitors who did not join the groups to Bamberg were "shown around the church and taken to the Wallburg" as one tourist guide reported in a newspaper article. Indeed, Eltmann is not an uninteresting place and the Wallburg on the hill looks a beautiful little spot. Here is a 360 degree virtual visit: https://www.eltmann.info/

 

Another newspaper article from the end of 2018 shows that the officials in Eltmann were pleased with the development so far.

 

So what is Eltmann like? The town's website is not in English but the wikipedia page gives a good overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eltmann

 

Mentioned in there is the pilgrimage church in Limbach that apparently is quite popular with North-American river cruisers for a visit. And if you are into German Baroque art you do need to see this. The interior was painted by Balthasar Neumann.

 

Who stops there? I found AmaWaterways for this year with the Rivers & Castles itinerary, that specifically mentions Eltmann although it is not clear how long the stop will be: https://www.amawaterways.com/destination/europe-river-cruises/2021/europe-rivers-castles

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

We travel just a little downstream from Eltmann and get to Zeil. On the Main we count down when we sail downstream that means zero kilometres is at the confluence with the Rhine. At 384.07 ships leave the Main Danube Canal and enter the Main. Eltmann is at (about) 369.3 and Zeil at about 362.5, so the latter still in good proximity to Bamberg. And that, like in Eltmann, is a blessing and a curse. While visitors do appreciate the small town and there is turnover from the docking charges, not enough money is made by the town's coaches as they tend to be from Bamberg and there is not enough time for visitors to sample food and drink, spending most of their time in Bamberg. The overall increase of dockings is remarkable, 106 in 2017, 184 in 2018 and 234 bookings received for 2019 (all info from an article in 2018 in "Mainpost").

 

If you stopped in Zeil and did not want to go to Bamberg, would Zeil warrant a stay? The short aerial footage video is promising: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzD6eP4vjM0

 

 

Zeil has viticulture and its own brewery called Göller, which has a restaurant (Gaststätte) attached to it. That is called "Zur Alten Freyung". Nice setting close to the river, some half-timbered houses, wine, a brewery, local food. Enough to be pleasant for a half-day trip I should think.

 

If you wanted a bit more culture and (gruesome) history you could always have a look at the "witches documentation centre": https://en.bamberg.info/poi/documentation_centre_on_witche-9126/

 

Which river cruise company stops in Zeil? A couple that do not promote the "out of Bamberg town" stop I reckon, Viking relatively often according to the newspaper article mentioned above and Amadeus river cruises on a lovely itinerary from Trier to Nuremberg - again just to drop off the passengers for Bamberg where the ship will pick them up in the evening.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Before we have another look at small ports, let us first look at the greater picture - or map. Much of the Main river that you sail is in the state of Bavaria. But the region that you sail in within the state is mostly Franconia yet the region has no definite boundary, the outlines of it are a little "blurred". Basically it looks like this according to English Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franconia#/media/File:Map_of_Franconia.PNG

see the abbreviation WÜ in the aqua blue? That is of course Würzburg. The thick black lines are the state boundaries.

 

I like this Bavarian website for an overview of Franconia, both along the Main and the areas further afield: https://www.bavaria.by/country-people/regions/franconia/

 

notamermaid

 

[sbjornda]

Thanks - that brought back memories for me. Years ago I was working with some young people from Bamberg. They were quite proud to let us know that they were Franconian, not really Bavarian, and moreover, they were Upper Franconian. 🙂

 

Sterling

 

[notamermaid]

Franconia has been part of Bavaria for many, many years now but the people still retain their geographical independence in mind and spirit from what I have seen and read. I kind of understand it, when you are in Würzburg, Munich seems far away and quite different. My ancestor was born near Würzburg, when he moved away that town was part of the Kingdom of Bavaria and he moved to Rhenish Prussia and was made a citizen. I have seen the certificate. I do not think of him as Bavarian and I try to ignore the fact that the Prussians ruled in Koblenz and the area. For me in my mind, Berlin is a million miles away.

 

notamermaid