Wandering Wonderful Wurzburg.

Wurzburg - Würzburg

I really cannot say we did justice to Wurzburg on our first visit in July 2013. We travelled from Munich to Nurnberg on the train from hell to visit a friend in Nurnberg and have lunch with her. I call it the train from hell as it was late and when it finally came in, there was a rugby style scrum to get on. I ended up in the bicycle racks. The only available space. I was even thrown off my bicycle rack when some more bikes came on. There were people sitting all over the floor and it was difficult to move anywhere. Not a lot of fun.

Well, we overran lunch with our friend as we got talking. Then we caught the train to Wurzburg which was hot and overcrowded, though at least we managed to get a seat. When we arrived in Wurzburg, we were hot, tired and grumpy. We set off in the total wrong direction for our hotel, turning what should have been a peaceful 15 minute walk into an hour long trek through crowds with luggage. By the time we had checked into the hotel and were ready to explore Wurzburg, we had only about 3 hours of daylight remaining and were not in the best of moods. We headed off in the direction of the river to see the cathedral, town hall, the old bridge, fortress and kappelle. We did not climb up to the fortress or kappelle due to limited time. I would have liked to do both. We found Wurzburg to be a beautiful place filled with churches and interesting sculptures and decided there and then we would have to come back. We stayed in the Novotel, which was really comfortable, plus it had a pool. We were intending to set off early next day and spend a few hours in Stuttgart before flying from there to London, but the hotel had a pool and we both love swimming, plus there was so much still to see in Wurzburg, so we ended up visiting the residence with its spectacular gardens instead. A wise decision. Stuttgart just annoyed us (though to be fair we have visited before and loved it) as our train to the airport got stuck behind a broken down train; then we all got thrown off; then our next train got stuck behind the broken down train. Amazingly somehow we made our flight, but we were not impressed by German rail on this trip. It used to be so efficient, what happened?

Our second visit took place in July 2016. We spent two nights here and had more time to see the place properly. We visited the market place and the old crane, revisited the residence and its spectacular gardens, climbed up to the kappelle and the fortress. We also went off to Nurmberg on our second evening to have dinner with our friend. Wurzburg is a beautiful and relaxing place. It was a pleasure to be back. This visit we stayed in the Hotel Regina which is just across the road from the station and very easy to find. Würzburg is a city in Franconia, northern Bavaria. It is located on the Main River. It has a population of around 124,000 people. Würzburg's name comes from the German word Würze meaning herb or spice. It has a beautiful fortress looming over it, vineyards, churches, a lovely old bridge and beautiful gardens.

Below are reviews of the two hotels we have stayed in in Wurzburg.

Novotel Wuerzburg: Very Comfortable Stay.

We made a mess of finding this hotel. We should have exited the train station, walked to the first main road, crossed it, gone left, walked past a sort of roundabout called Berliner Platz and turned right onto Ludwigstrasse. It is around 10 minutes walk from the station. The reception was quite busy both when we checked in and out. Staff were pleasant and friendly. Our room was very clean and comfortable. It had a safe, a minibar that you could use as a fridge and tea/coffee making facilities. The bed was very comfortable. The air ­con in the room worked well. The room was very quiet at night. The hotel had an indoor swimming pool, which although small was really lovely for a quick, relaxing dip. It also had a sauna, which I did not use. This hotel is conveniently located for sights and for the main train station. I would love to stay here again for longer.

Regina Hotel: Very Convenient Location.

We stayed in the Regina Hotel for three nights in July 2016. First of all, this hotel is extremely easy to find if you arrive in Wurzburg by train. It is on the main road directly opposite the station. My husband spoke German when he checked us in. Check in was relatively quick and efficient. We went upstairs and found our room was still being done, but we only had to wait around 5 minutes, so that was fine. The room was clean and comfortable. There was quite a lot of traffic noise from the busy road during the day. It was not too bad at night. The maid or previous occupant must have reported some broken things in the room as someone came to repair things twice during our stay. As well as being convenient for the station, the hotel was very convenient for sights and food. All the main sights of Wurzburg are an easy walk away. The room did not have a safe, fridge or tea, coffee making facilities. Coffee could be purchased downstairs. We did not eat breakfast here. I was very happy with the location and would stay here again.

Our room. - Würzburg

Some more details of the places we visited in Wurzburg are listed below.

Not too far from the Novotel was the Residenz.

The Residenz.

The Residenz is located on Residenzplatz. It was the palace of the Prince ­Bishops. They moved here from the Marienberg Fortress. It was built between 1719 and 1744, under the direction of Bathasar Neumann. We only explored the gardens, but apparently the palace has a beautiful staircase hall, the White Hall, the lavish Imperial Hall, the Hall of Mirrors and the beautiful Court Church. We explored the wonderful hofgarten behind the residenz. The gardens are filled with flowers, trees and many beautiful statues. I especially loved the statue of two children trying to catch a butterfly in their hat. A really peaceful and beautiful place for a relaxing visit.

The Residenz

The Residenz

The Residenz

The Residenz

The Residenz

Sights in the centre of town on the same side of the river as the residenz, include the ones below.

St. Kilian Cathedral.

This is an impressive building with an interesting chapel built onto one side. The chapel has some gruesome looking skeletons over its outer door. The Cathedral dates from the 11th century. It was destroyed in the Second World War and its reconstruction was completed in 1967. The chapel with the skeletons over the doorway is the Schönborn Chapel which was designed by Bathasar Neumann between 1721 and 1736.

Wurzburg Cathedral - Dom St Kilian

Wurzburg Cathedral - Dom St Kilian

Wurzburg Cathedral - Dom St Kilian

Wurzburg Cathedral - Dom St Kilian

Wurzburg Cathedral - Dom St Kilian

The Market Place.

I don't know how we managed to miss the Market Place on our first visit. It is very central, quite close to the cathedral. In the market place you can visit the beautiful Marienkapelle Church which dates from 1400 and the Falkenhaus which dates from around 1751. It is called the Falkenhaus due to the falcon statues on its roof and was once the home of a wealthy citizen of Wurzburg. Today it is home to theTourist Information Office which is open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 18:00 and from 10:00 to 14:00 at the weekends. This square hosts a lively and colourful market selling all sorts of stuff.

Peter at the market. - Würzburg

The Falkenhaus - Würzburg

The Old Crane - Alter Kranen. ­

The old crane is located on the edge of the Main River near the departure point of the river cruises. It was built In 1772 by the son of the famous architect Baltasar Neumann. Next to the crane there is a cafe and beer garden with lovely river views.

The old crane. - Würzburg

Peter at the old crane. - Würzburg

Juliusspital.

Juliusspital or Julius Hospital is a beautiful old building in Wurzburg. The hospital together with a winery make up the Stiftung Juliusspital Foundation. The hospital was founded in 1576 by the Prince ­Bishop of Würzburg, Julius Echter. As well as admitting the sick it originally also accepted pilgrims, epileptics and orphans. It has lovely old courtyards, gardens, a fountain and a church. The gardens were filled with sculptures to make you think, such as its rather unusual blue sheep. Nowadays Juliusspital is still a functioning hospital and retirement home. The Stiftung Juliusspital Foundation has the second largest winery in Germany.

Peter at the Juliusspital. - Würzburg

Juliusspital fountain - Würzburg

Juliusspital courtyard - Würzburg

Juliusspital entrance - Würzburg

To cross the river to the fortress and chapel you will probably use the old bridge.

Alte Marienbrucke - Old Bridge. ­

Alte Marienbrucke means Old Main Bridge. It is a lovely statue lined bridge rather reminiscent of Prague. From the bridge there are good views towards the cathedral and looking the other way towards the Marienberg Fortress.

Alte Marienbrucke

Alte Marienbrucke

Alte Marienbrucke

Alte Marienbrucke

Alte Marienbrucke

Marienberg Fortress.

This beautiful fortress dominates the town from its perch on the 266m Marien Mountain. On our first visit we just viewed this from the town. On our second visit we climbed up to it on a road that wound its way through wonderful vineyards. We did not pay to go in the fortress museum. Instead we just wandered its courtyards and enjoyed the views from it. The Marianberg Fortress is built on the site of the first church in Germany. The Prince Bishops began building the fortress around 1200 and lived here till they moved to the Residence in 1719.

The fortress. - Würzburg

Peter at the fortress. - Würzburg

The fortress from the vinyards. - Würzburg

Overlooking the town. - Würzburg

Marienberg Fortress.

Marienberg Fortress.

Marienberg Fortress.

Marienberg Fortress.

Kappele Pilgrimage Church.

Also on the hill is the Kappele, a picturesque chapel built by Bathasar Neumann between 1747 and 1750. The chapel contains frescoes by Matthias Günther. There are beautiful views over the town from here. To get to the Kappele you must climb a steep and shady lane lined with Stations of the Cross from the banks of the Main River. We, sadly, did not have time to go on our first visit, though we did on our second. On our second visit we climbed up to it via its stations of the cross. The Käppele is really called the Wallfahrtskirche Mariä Heimsuchung. It is beautiful inside and there are stunning views from the terrace outside it.

The Marienkapelle - Würzburg

Kappele

The Käppele. - Würzburg

One of the stations of the cross. - Würzburg

View of the Käppele from the town. - Würzburg

View over town from the Käppele - Würzburg

Below I have listed a few other things we liked about Wurzburg.

Sculptures.

The gardens of the Residence had a huge number of statues mainly of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, but there were also lots of modern sculptures dotted around town.

Sculpture, Wurzburg. - Würzburg

Sculpture, Wurzburg. - Würzburg

Sculptures

Sculptures

Sculptures

Sculptures

Sculptures

More Sculptures.

More Sculptures.

More Sculptures.

More Sculptures.

More Sculptures.

Historic Doner Kebab Shop.

I did not sample the kebab but this must be the fanciest doner kebab shop I have ever seen. Next to the Alte Marienbrucke on the fortress side. I like to see old buildings still being used rather than being empty or worse still knocked down.

Historic Doner Kebab Shop.

The Röntgen Memorial Site.

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was a German physicist. He was born in 1845. In 1888, he obtained the physics chair at the University of Würzburg. On the 8th of November 1895, while working in his laboratory in Würzburg, Röntgen produced electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range known as X­rays. This earned him the first ever Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. The Röntgen Memorial Site occupies the foyer, corridors and two laboratory rooms of the former Physics Institute of the University of Würzburg. It is dedicated to the work of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen. It displays an exhibition of historical instruments, machines and documents. Near The Röntgen Memorial Site there is a sculpture dedicated to the discovery of x-­rays.

The Röntgen Memorial Site - Würzburg

The sculpture - Würzburg

The Röntgen Memorial Site - Würzburg

On one of our visits we ate in the restaurant below.

China Restaurant Neue Welt:

We ate here because it was right next to our hotel and we were tired and jetlagged having more or less just flown all the way to Germany from Hong Kong. We were quite hungry and were attracted by the fact this restaurant had a buffet. However, although it was advertised, the buffet was not on. My husband wanted to leave and go elsewhere, but I persuaded him to stay as we were so tired. We ordered three dishes and some rice from the menu. All the food was very good and very tasty. We drank bottled beer which was not actually very cold.The warm beer and lack of buffet put me off this place to an extent but the service was pleasant and the food was good. Address: Haugerring 1, Wurzburg, Bavaria.

A pleasant enough meal. - Würzburg

Inside the restaurant. - Würzburg

Beer should have been colder - Würzburg