Our trip off the boat today was to visit Wurzburg.
Our first stop was and the Palace of Wurzburg. Just when you thought you had seen it all, you come another palace that takes your breath away. The palace is built around a central court and in the past this was only used by important visitors. I guess everyone is important these days as it is the main entrance.
This is a German Baroque style building as is not unlike other we have seen but, oh my goodness, when you walk through the door it's like entering another world. As you enter the large wooden doors you arrive at a huge reception hall that has beautiful columns and statues. This is where guests would arrive at the palace in their carriages. It was designed to accommodate a carriage with six horses but the story goes that Napoleon had to be bigger and better than everyone else (small man's syndrome, as pointed out by our guide) so, decided that eight horses would be more impressive. Unfortunately the area could not accommodate this and the carriage got stuck and the horses had to be unharnessed to get it out. Serves him right for showing off. As the carriages pull up they arrive at a magnificent staircase (more steps) that is decorated with beautiful stucco and amazing frescos. Unfortunately you are allowed to take photos inside so I have cheated and used shots from postcards I bought.
Our guide Toby told us all about the frescos on the ceiling and then lead us into the White Hall. This is one of the most stunning rooms I've seen. It is decorated with the most incredibly ornate white stucco on a beautiful grey/blue background. The ceiling towers above you and there is no photo that can capture how beautiful and intricate the work is.
We were lead through a number of equally stunning rooms but the smaller one almost felt a bit claustrophobic because they were so ornate even through they were still big rooms. As we walked through these rooms I kept getting glimpses of the gardens outside and could wait to get out there.
Outsiden the gardens didn't disappoint. The were simple and elegant and smelt beautiful. When we first walked into the garden I thought I was smelling someone's perfume and then realised is was coming from the garden. No other garden had such a beautiful scent and it was all throughout the boxed hedge gardens. We walked through an impessive arbour to the top of the garden where you looked back on the palace.
Back on the boat with had another lovely meal and after dinner they had another onboard entertainer. This time is was a guitar that was supposedly playing a rock and roll history for us. He was an excellent player but I wan't a fan of what he played. I will be happy to get home and hear some contemporary music.
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