Day 7: Speyer and Rüdesheim

We left the ship at 8:00 am for Speyer. The ship would be casting off for Rüdesheim, with a brief stop in Worms to pick us up after our walking tour.

Breakfast on the ship

Our morning was devoted to a walking tour of Speyer. Most shops in Germany are closed on Sundays, so even though shopping opportunities would be limited (or non-existent), there would also be much less foot traffic.

Our walk to Speyer

Our guide was Sabine. In the winter, she lives in Majorca to avoid the cold weather. She is also a certified helicopter pilot. Her family has lived in Speyer for more than 500 years, so she knows all the town secrets.

According to Sabine, no one in Germany drinks water. You can drink beer, which is simply water with minerals, and schnapps, which is just medicine that keeps you healthy. She recommended one of each daily for good health.

First view of the Cathedral

Statues of the Salian Emperors located in the Cathedral Garden

There are lots of cars in Germany, perhaps not surprising in a country where many highways, including parts of the autobahn, have no speed limits.

Many of the Pennsylvania Dutch who settled in the United States came from Speyer and the surrounding region. The term "Dutch" comes from Deutsch, not from the Netherlands.

During World War II, the Allies used tall buildings for navigation, so the Speyer Cathedral may have helped save the town. It was such an important landmark that they did not want to destroy it.

A statue of Emperor Conrad II stands in Speyer. He ordered the cathedral to be built of sandstone, which unfortunately requires frequent cleaning and maintenance.

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl died on June 16, 2017, and is buried adjacent to the historic Speyer Cathedral. The location was chosen because of his deep, lifelong connection to both Speyer and its cathedral.

The cathedral is the largest Romanesque building in the world. Romanesque architecture is characterized by rounded arches in windows, doors, and interiors. These buildings often resemble fortresses, with thick walls and relatively small windows. After touring Speyer Cathedral, I can see the resemblance. It lacks the giant stained-glass windows and gold ornamentation we have seen in other cathedrals, but it is beautiful in its own way.

Gorgeous view of the Cathedral with the fountain in front

The rounded arches characteristic of Romanesque architecture. 
The windows are beautiful even without stained glass

The altar at the end of the aisle, lined with arches formed by sandstone pillars.
The natural light makes it brighter than many of the cathedrals we've seen

Despite its relative simplicity, this was probably my favorite cathedral. 

Traditional selfie in front of the Cathedral

A local tradition says that when a new bishop is appointed, he fills the fountain in front of the cathedral with wine, and everyone drinks for free. The local joke is that it is the only time anyone ever got something for free from the Catholic Church.

Bishop's house (or Bishop's Palace) was built in 1704.
Mostly destroyed during WWII, it was rebuilt to the original design.

Sabine tells us about the statue of the Saint James Pilgrim (Jakobspilger). He is barefoot, carrying a walking stick, and headed toward Santiago de Compostela in Spain to see the remains of Saint James in the Cathedral.

Sabine explained the connection between the Edict of Worms, Martin Luther, and Speyer. Martin Luther was a monk who objected to the Catholic Church's practice of selling indulgences to raise money (he had a few other thoughts as well, but this was a big one). In 1521, he was excommunicated, and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Edict of Worms (the city, not the invertebrates), making it illegal to shelter or feed Luther. In 1526, the Diet, or assembly, of Speyer ruled that local princes could decide how religious reforms would be handled within their territories. In 1529, the Protest of Speyer occurred when efforts were made to enforce the Edict of Worms, and several local princes protested to preserve their right to support religious reform.

We also toured Trinity Church, a Baroque Lutheran church built in the early 1700s. It is gorgeous and incredibly elaborate, with paintings covering nearly every wall and the ceiling.

The Dreifaltigkeitskirche (Trinity Church) was originally built in 1701 

Trinity Church, a beautiful Lutheran church, is gorgeous with elaborate paintings throughout.

Sabine noted the contrast between the simple cathedral and the elaborate Lutheran church. Both are beautiful, just in very different ways.

Another local tradition we learned about is that if a woman does not marry before her 31st birthday, then on the eve of the last day of her 30th year, her friends bake her a large loaf of bread shaped like a man and carry it through town to her house.

Sabine herself was married in Trinity Church, as were her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.

We also saw an example of a guild pole, a traditional decorated wooden pole featuring the symbols, coats of arms, and figures of local craft and trade guilds. Apparently, guild poles are occasionally stolen in the middle of the night and held for ransom. The owner pays the ransom in beer.

A guild pole (maibaum or maypole)

Saint George's fountain shows him slaying the dragon. The fountain is a war memorial dedicated to soldiers in WWI

The history of Jewish people in Speyer stretches back nearly a thousand years. Jewish settlements existed along the Rhine River as early as 321 in Köln, and it is likely Jewish people lived in Speyer at that time as well. During the decline of the Western Roman Empire between 300 and 600, many of these settlers dispersed elsewhere. When construction of the cathedral began in the early 11th century, and the area developed into a city, the bishop invited Jewish settlers and refugees to come to Speyer to assist with financial matters, as Christians were not permitted to be moneylenders.

Over the following centuries, relations between the Christian and Jewish communities alternated between periods of peace and periods of violence. By the 1930s, many Jews left Speyer because of increasing antisemitism, and by 1933 only 269 remained.

By Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938, only 81 Jews were still living in Speyer. That night, the synagogue was looted and burned, and the Jewish school and cemetery were vandalized. On October 22, 1940, 51 of the remaining 60 Jews in Speyer were arrested and deported to concentration camps. Only one person is believed to have survived by remaining hidden in Speyer.

The Nazis came through homes, took Jewish families away, loaded them onto trains, and they were never seen again.

Today, most of Germany's Jewish population lives near Frankfurt, largely because of employment opportunities in the financial sector.

The Wise Men of Speyer statue was built to honor Jewish scholars in Speyer

Speyer is home to the oldest preserved mikveh in Europe. A mikveh is a ritual bath used for spiritual cleansing according to Mosaic Law. It must contain at least 150 gallons of "living water," meaning water supplied by a stream, river, or rainwater source.

The practice of ritual bathing may have helped Jewish communities remain healthier during outbreaks of plague. Tragically, this led to accusations that Jewish people were somehow responsible for the diseases, and increased antisemitism.

The Speyer mikveh was built around 1120 in the city’s Jewish quarter. Because it was underground, it escaped destruction when the Nazis destroyed the synagogue and Jewish schools.

Today, the mikveh is accessed through the SchPIRA Museum, named for the Hebrew initials of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. The museum stands on the site of the former synagogue and contains artifacts from the area's Jewish history, including gravestones, coins, and floor tiles. Normally there is an admission fee, but because we were visiting during a UNESCO holiday, admission was free, although we did make a donation.

Stairs leading down to the mikveh

Looking back up at the walls of the Speyer mikveh

The Speyer mikveh

To reach the mikveh, you descend 32 stone steps to a chamber approximately 30 feet underground. It was eerily silent, and standing at the water's edge, we could feel that we were in a holy place. 

At the top of the stairs are the remains of the synagogue and the women's shul.

The Speyer synagogue is on the left, the women's shul on the right. 

Gravestones dating back to the 13th century

While in Speyer, we also learned about the Stolpersteine, or stumbling stones. These are four-inch cubes topped with brass plaques bearing the names and dates of people or families who were victims of the Nazis. They are embedded in the sidewalks near the last homes where the victims lived before they were taken away. There are websites where you can find the locations of the stones and learn more about the families they commemorate.

The first stumbling stone we saw honored the Goldschmidt family. The purpose of the stones is simple and powerful: to ensure that these people and families are remembered.

The Stolpersteine of the Goldschmidt family

With our visit nearly over, we stopped at a coffee house where Bill bought a tiny Americano and an apple pastry, which we saved for later.

We did not eat at the cafe Hindenburg.

The Stadthaus, essentially city hall, was built in 1902

We met up with Sabine one last time and headed to the buses which would take us to Worms (pronounced Verms) to meet our ship. 

Nibelungen Tower in Worms as seen from our bus. It was built between 1897 and 1900.
It is the only remaining tower from the Nibelungen Bridge.

The Hagendenkmal (Hagen Monument) in Worms, Germany, commemorates the legendary sinking of the Nibelung treasure into the Rhine River.

The bus ride was around 40 minutes, and we arrived about 5-10 minutes before our ship did. It was interesting to see the process the crew goes through to dock the ship. 

Our ship prepares to dock in Worms

We boarded around 11:30 am, and by lunchtime the ship left for Rüdesheim.  

Bill relaxes on our balcony

We arrived around 5:15 pm. Our self-assigned task was to find Käthe Wohlfahrt, a year-round German Christmas store which closed at 6 pm. We walked purposefully along the river until we got to the chairlift, turned down a side street, and found the store! 

We found the Christmas Store!

I alternated between looking at hundreds of Christmas Ornaments and standing under the air conditioner. We found a few treasures, then wandered past Rüdesheim’s stores and biergartens. 

The streets of Rüdesheim

We didn't see any car traffic

Bill found a local beer to try, and we learned that in Germany it is legal and common to drink while walking outside. 

Schlappe Seppel die Specialität is a regional beer from Brauhaus Schlappeseppel in Aschaffenburg, Germany. The name roughly translates to "Limping Little Joe," named after a limping soldier and brewer from the 17th century.

We returned to the ship for dinner, then relaxed in our room, getting ready for the next day.