Sunday, May 5
Today we we were on an excursion to Heidelberg, which is about 45 minutes from the Rhein by bus. I had three goals in mind — drink a Maibock beer; find some of the city’s marzipan; get a picture of the gate with the portcullis. At lunch I had a mug of Maibock, and it tasted much as I remembered: smooth, creamy, a little sweet. Later we found a high-end chocolatier that filled some of its chocolates with marzipan — a lot more sophisticated than the marzipan potatoes I had 38 years ago. And I will try to add a sketch of the portcullis gate in my next post.
Saturday, May 4
Saturday was much busier. We cruised what they call the “Middle Rhein,” the stretch from Koblenz to Rüdesheim which has one castle after the other on both sides of the river.
Then, in the evening we stopped in Wiesbaden for a big, German-style banquet at Schloss Bieberg. Everyone describes this palace as Baroque, as it was built in the first half of the 18th Century. If so, it’s not at all the Baroque of J.S. Bach; perhaps of one of his sons. I’d call it Rococo.
