Wertheim

After our quick trip through Miltenberg, we took a bus trip to Wertheim, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. By the time we got there, we were a bit hot and tired, so we stopped for a drink at a sidewalk cafe. The huge Kwanzan cherry tree in the center of the patio was beautiful, and kept dropping “pink snow” everywhere.

An interesting thing in Germany is that the beer glasses have a “fill mark” on them. The glass should be, by law, filled to that level with beer – the remainder of the glass is for the head. Each beer is served in its own specific biergarten glass. The breweries supply restaurants and biergartens with glasses for their beers, in a shape that is appropriate for the style of beer, and generally imprinted with their logo. The shape of the glass, just as with a wine glass, is designed to enhance the specific characteristics of the beer.

We were told that not only is the beer head important for enjoying the aroma of the beer, but it also serves to help preserve the flavor of the beer by protecting it from oxygen.

The glass below is for Distelhäuser Pils, showing the 0.3 liter fill line.

Flowerboxes were in abundance everywhere in the towns in Germany. If you look closely at the first photo, you’ll see flower boxes on the windowsills of the building behind the biergarten. It was very cheerful.

Wertheim has a lot of trouble with flooding. Here our guide points out the high water marks on a building right along the river. The top three dates are 1784, 1682, and 1732. but check out that wider section of the markings below the window – 1995, 1970, and 2003.

As you got a little farther up the road from the river, the flood levels weren’t quite as high, but you definitely need to expect that the main floor of the buildings will be flooded regularly. Grain must be kept in the attic.

This is the skinniest house in Wertheim – front and back views:

This photo shows the castle on the hill above the town.

I loved this view of the river we had while we waited for our boat to catch up to us. Even the ducks thought it was a great place to sit for a while.

Next stop: Wurtzburg.