Miltenburg

Day 5 (cont.) - Our ship didn't dock today until 2:30 p.m., so we had a lot of time onboard to relax and enjoy life on the river. At 10:00, there was a glass-blowing demonstration, which Joe attended. The guy who did the demonstration was very entertaining. He gave the history of glass-blowing in Germany. He said he uses Pyrex, which is a very pure glass, and so is not brittle. In fact, at one point, he threw a glass bottle on the floor to show that it wouldn't break - and it didn't. One of the things he makes is a bottle within a bottle, with two separate spouts. While Joe was at the glass-blowing demonstration, I was watching another passage through a lock, this time from the bow of the ship, where I had a great view of the whole procedure from the front of the ship, rather than from the side, as was the case previously from our stateroom - watching again as we sailed into the narrow passageway, waited for the water level to rise, and then sailed out the other side. Still fascinating! At 2:30, we disembarked, and began a walking tour of the city of Miltenburg. The city of Miltenburg is beautiful, and looks like a typical Bavarian town. The buildings are half-timbered Tudor style. Our tour began near the butcher shop, where we learned that in order to be a butcher in Germany, 4 years of schooling is required, followed by 9 or 10 years of apprenticeship. A pound of ground beef here costs $9. We continued our tour and along the way we sampled cherry and apple crumb cakes, chocolate, beer, and schnapps. We also toured a wine cellar. After the guided tour, we had some free time. We went inside the town church - St. Jacob's - and walked around viewing the beautiful statues, altar, and paintings. One of the things we learned on our tour is that on Sundays in Germany, all businesses are closed so people can spend time with family and/or go to church.