At 1am, less than 2 hours after we left Strasbourg, we were docked at Speyer (pronounced Spire). It was just a 10 minute walk into the town which has a large and prominent twin spired roofline.
I had a great deal of trouble with my audio guide which detracted from our morning walking tour. Our tour included a visit to the cathedral which was among the most plain inside that we've ever seen, a stop in the ancient Jewish quarter with a trip underground to see where the ladies took monthly ritual baths to remove their uncleanliness following menstruation. At the city hall we were warmly greeted by the mayor and also met his mother. We visited the Protestant Church which had much more interior decor including many ceiling and wall paintings depicting major bible events. On the main avenue in front of the Protestant Church was a bronze statue of Jakob Spilger doing a pilgrimage walk to the Santiago de Compostelo.
The main shopping avenue was like a miniature version of the one found in Heidelberg which is about 10 miles away. We found a post office to purchase some stamps and then made our way back to our ship for some lunch and replacement of our defective audio gear.
After a quick lunch, we boarded buses to go to a vinegar tasting event at a nearby farm located 20 minutes away. This was by far the most unusual shore excursion tour we've ever done. We donned monk like brown robes and descended into the dark cellar lit only by over 300 candles (for atmosphere for the tourists) where the vinegar is created in oaken barrels. The vinegar smell was initially quite strong. The owner proceeded to explain the process of making vinegar and its history and medicinal qualities. The process he uses is entirely done by hand with no machines. He sells only to those who come to him and a few local chefs. I was very impressed by how seriously he takes his craft. At the end of the tour we sampled 5 different types of vinegars, and they were excellent. We plan to come back next summer when we are in the area. I should mention here that there was an optional extra fee tour to go to Heidelberg for a tour of the famous castle.
Back at the ship, we dropped off our purchases and shed a few clothes before walking about 10 minutes to the huge Technik museum which has a trademark Lufthansa 747 on display outside on tall pillars above the building's roofline. There are many other airplanes similarly displayed including a Concord, F84, F4, anearly Blue Angels plane, a submarine, and much more. There are two principal buildings. The larger main museum displays steam engines, a giant merry go round, a caliope, lots of fire engines, two small submarines, aircraft hanging from the ceiling, cars & trucks & tractors, motorcycles and motorcycles and much more!
In the second building which was a tad smaller, the major attraction was a huge Soviet space shuttle which looked astonishingly similar to a US space shuttle except that it was powered and could take off like an airplane. There were lots of additional space related displays, a racing truck display, and a HUGE collection of racing motorcycles, a smaller display of more cars.
We only had a couple hours to spend in the museum, but it was worth it. I may have to return for another more leisurely visit next summer. It was a very brisk walk back to the ship in the dark. It's certainly been chilly on this trip.
Back on board we enjoyed a leisurely dinner with Bill and Charlene followed by a tour of her suite. It has quite a bit more room than our stateroom and comes with a butler who's quite charming. My body hit the proverbial wall and I was in bed and asleep by 9:45 while my wife stayed up and watched Monument Men.
We're looking forward to another great day tomorrow.
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