Memorial Day 2014

The minor medical procedures I am needing were delayed two weeks because of a mix up with one of the prescriptions I am having to take, which threw off our plans for Memorial Day.  We had a trip booked to Salzburg, Austria but had to cancel because I can't be that far from home right now as we prepare for the procedures and then a week of bed rest.  We were SO disappointed!  Salzburg is on our bucket-list and is an absolute must see for us, having to cancel was heartbreaking.  But the weather is amazing and Germany is so gorgeous right now, we couldn't just sit at home!  We needed to go somewhere.

Würzburg has been on our travel list too because it's on Rick Steves' Best of Germany 2013 and it's my mission to see every place in that book, but the last two times we wanted to go something got in our way.  We were hoping that the "third time is a charm...."  

Thankfully, it was!  The drive was easy, we found parking (a big sigh of relief), and with Rick Steves' we were set!  We went straight to Würzburg's main attraction:  Residenz Palace.

The Front of the Residenz Palace

The Residenz reminded me of Versailles, it's very French; definitely different that any other castle we've seen in Germany!  Eric and I toured the palace on our own.  One of the rooms reminded me of a lace wedding dress; the walls were white and the chandeliers and tapestries looked like lace- I told Eric that I felt like we're standing underneath the skirt of a wedding dress.... he just gave me a funny look.  No photography allowed inside- per usual- but it was stunning!

Then we toured the gardens.  It wasn't as impressive as Versailles but still beautiful.  The weather was gorgeous and it felt so good to be outside!

The back of the Residenz Palace.

There's Eric!

We then made our way to the Market Square where they were having a Mozart festival with a symphony!  As a former flute player (yes, I played flute for 8 years) I completely enjoyed the music!  There were a lot of people everywhere so it was hard to get pictures of the symphony, but with the weather and music, the vibe of Würzburg was incredible!

Along with the Residenz, Würzburg has the Marienberg Fortress, so we headed in that direction and walked across the Alte Mainbrücke (Germany's second oldest bridge) over the Main River (pronounced mine).

The Marienberg Fortress in the distance.

Love locks! 

The Alte Mainbrücke from the Marienberg Fortress.

They don't build Fortresses for accessibility, so the walk was a little bit of a long one.  I probably pushed myself a little too much but it was important to us to see the fortress and trying to figure out which bus to take seemed like more work than it was worth.  I'm glad we walked because we saw this tree....

...and it made our walk just a little bit more romantic.  The Marienberg Fortress was the original residence of Würzburg's prince-bishop's and gives amazing views of the city!

Eric and I wondered if this is where Rapunzel lived. 

I thought the cloud looked like an angel. 

I really loved this scene- there were a group of guys playing soccer, a toddler running from her daddy, people laying in the grass, a doggy who really wanted to play soccer too.... a perfect Memorial Day picture (except they don't celebrate Memorial Day, but you know what I mean, this was the ideal summer spot!)!

This is Eric, he's a little annoyed with my constantly stopping to take pictures, so naturally, I took a picture of him.

Even though I was able to cross Würzburg off my Rick Steves' Best of Germany 2013 list, It didn't completely make up for Salzburg.  But, it was nice to go somewhere and see something we hadn't before.  For me, Würzburg was a mixture of Versailles and Heidelberg (you can read about both and tell me what you think).

We're getting ready to go to Melissa's house for a Memorial Day BBQ.  We are taking German schwenk steaks, a churro cheesecake, tortellini salad, and salami-pickle wraps (all made by my husband because he's super amazing that way!), but I'm worried that none of it will compare to what Melissa and her husband have made because they're great that way too!  

The Schnell's are wishing y'all a blessed Memorial Day weekend!  "The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree." ~Thomas Campbell