Nuremberg to Würzburg

Before leaving Nuremberg this afternoon for the short (50 minute) journey to Würzburg, there were a few more things I wanted to see.

First was the Germanische Nationalmuseum, the country's largest museum of cultural history. The bad news appeared to be that the collection I most wanted to see -- the medieval and baroque works -- was closed for renovations. The good news: they plucked out the most important pieces and arranged them in a temporary exhibition. My favorite paintings were Cranach's Venus with Cupid as a Honey Thief and Law and Grace, and Albrecht Dürer's Portrait of the Painter Michael Wolgemut (pictured above) and Lamentation of Christ. But to be fair, there were many magnificent works on display. I was particularly struck by the bold use of certain colors (especially greens and reds) in Dürer's paintings.

There was one more museum I wanted to visit: The Bahn (Railroad) Museum. Although the pre-1945 historical sections are being redone and are closed until 2005, I enjoyed what I did see: examples of ornate old ticket machines, replicas of luxurious old waiting rooms and train compartments assembled from original pieces, an intriguing section of the use of railroads for (what else) political purposes by the DDR, some incredible model railroad sets and an amusing exhibit featuring cheesy advertisements from the 1970s encouraging young people to "Go easy ... Go Bahn."

The weather had improved a lot from yesterday, so I walked around the Altstadt one more time to savor it against the backdrop of a warm blue sky. Then it was off to Würzburg, from where I am writing this.

I was in Würzburg four years ago, and continue to find the area's wine orientation appealing. Look down most side streets here and you will see vineyards on the green hills rising in the distance. The city center was almost completely destroyed in 1945, and although it was not as comprehensively rebuilt as Nuremberg, I still find this place cozy and attractive. And luckily, one of its most important gems survived and is now a UNESCO world heritage site: the beautiful 17th century baroque Residenz palace (pictured).

I am writing this from an Internet cafe on the Juliuspromenade, directly across the street from the entrance to the massive Juliusspital, part of a seemingly odd tradition here. Founded in 1576 as a hospital by Würzburg Prince-Bishop Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, it (along with another famous example, the Bürgerspital) was, and continues to be, a charitable hospital/nursing home that earns money to provide services from its vineyards and wine-making. The Juliusspital alone has 160 hectares of vineyards here in Franconia.

This evening I had dinner in the restaurant of my very atmospheric hotel, the Zur Stadt Mainz. The highly rustic dining room is lit with dozens of candles, many flickering through the windows of little painted china houses on all the tables, and I sat under the stuffed, mounted head of a "Wapiti" (which I later found out is a North American Elk). At the next table were two jolly Russian ladies with whom I chatted briefly.

I started with Franconian "wine-soup", which was strangely delicious. It seemed to be a soup-like zabaglione, with a little broth, no sugar and local half-dry white wine standing in for the Marsala. It was hot, frothy and wonderful, and it came with tiny brown-bread croutons and a very small sprinkling of cinnamon (!). For my main dish I had Wildragout, which I think had wild boar in it, along with whole wild mushrooms and a ruddy, expertly-seasoned sauce. It came with homemade spätzle and blaukraut; the former are little strandlike noodles made by pushing a flour-nutmeg-egg-and-milk dough through a colander into simmering water, and the latter (literally "blue cabbage") is aromatic braised red cabbage. I also had some excellent white, half-dry "Bacchus" wine, which is made from crossing a Silvaner/Riesling hybrid grape with Müller-Thurgaus -- and the result is fruity with a muscat bouquet. All of this was excellent; I continue to be amazed by the skill and quality of the cooking here.

I am coming down with a cold and hope to sleep it off tonight. I'm very thankful that I made it through this month without being waylaid by any ailments, so that fact that the sniffles have finally struck is actually an example of good timing.