Hotel
Blucheral aka Hotel sur Post
Blucherstrasse
162
Bacharach,
Germany
Friday, July 5, 2024
77F, sunny
Jim and Ann on the train this morning!
Derek, who has energy that creates energy, took Kim and Kylie to the Frankfort airport (from Bacharach) at 5:15 a.m. this morning because they were leaving the trip today. He bounced back to our hotel, and we all went to the bakery for coffee and whatever at 9 a.m.
TK already brought me my coffee and croissant—those 106 steps down and back up. I doubt I will ever stay again in a hotel with no elevator, especially when our room is on the 3rd floor--six flights of stairs.
Our adventure today was
only one train ride away, about an hour, to Mainz. Mainz is another city on the Rhine River, known for its old
town, with half-timbered ho Mainz is a German city on the Rhine River. It’s known for its
old town, with half-timbered houses and medieval market squares.
Our first stop, just off the
train was the ruins of a Roman amphitheater.
From there we had a long walk uphill to St. Stephan zu Mainz, a Roman Catholic church. The church is significant because from 1978 and his death in 1985, Belarusian Jewish artist Marc Chagall created nine stained-glass windows of scriptural figures in luminous blue. The figures depict scenes from the Old Testament, demonstrating the commonalities across Christian and Jewish traditions. Chagall intended his work to be a contribution to Jewish-German reconciliation, made all the more poignant by the fact that Chagall himself fled France under Nazi occupation. He chose St. Stephan due to his friendship with Monsignor Klaus Mayer, who was then the presiding priest of St. Stephan. Chagall's work has been continued after his death by his pupil Charles Marq and by others.
Enjoy the stained glass windows by Marc Chagall---------
As I have probably said many times before in this blog, Friend Judy and I met Marc Chagall at Fondation Maeght art museum (in Saint Paul de Vence) in 1967-1968 when I was studying art history in Aix-en-Provence, France. He was intrigued by two American girls who spoke French and signed a print for us. I have treasured this memory ever since and still have the print—now framed archivally. Chagall also created stained glass windows for the Reims Cathedral, probably for similar reasons-its destruction in WWII. TK and I visited Reims in 2015 – those windows are exquisite too—worth seeing!
After enjoying lunch at
Jamy’s Burger Grill (tasty burger), we walked to the Cathedral of Mainz, mostly Romanesque
in style, built of deep red sandstone.
Other sights along the way--------------
The bottom line for me is that the Gutenberg printing press made the Bible accessible to people, and really begins the age of enlightenment—READING! The display of printing presses is a marvel and I was thinking of my brother, a printer by trade. He had several types of presses, including a linotype when he started. I know he will correct me about this if I am wrong.
This museum was a super highlight!
After the museum visit we sauntered to a bus stop to catch a bus to the train station. Back to Bacharach and packing for our departure tomorrow! That means a 4 p.m. wake up, catch a train with all of our luggage out of Bacharach and on to Frankfort airport. Home Sweet Home on Saturday!
This was a great trip and we had a lot of fun. Germany has been a delight and we certainly felt part of the culture for a short time.
TK’s Takes: He hasn’t seen any cats. Jim and Ann saw one.
Janie: 14,200 steps
TK: 13,190 steps
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