After breakfast at the hotel where they have delicious pretzels, we set out towards Wurzburg. The ride is through woods and rolling farmland. We stop in Stuppach to see the Stuppacher Madonna, a famous painting by Matthias Grünewald (1475-1528). It is in a little chapel of its own set off to one side of the church. The Madonna is the central panel of an altarpiece. It is strangely luminescent and brightly painted. Angels are descending from heaven with a crown for the Virgin while God the father is cartoonishly outlined in a pink and yellow cloud.
From Stuppach we travel on to Wurzburg to see the fabulous Residenz in Wurzburg. The architect is Balthasar Neumann and it was built in the Baroque style for the Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg in the mid-18th century. The Residenz is reminiscent of Versailles and comes complete with its own chapel and gardens. We listen to an audio tour with much oohing over the Tiepolo ceiling.
Our last stop is in Creglingen to see the Tillman Riemenschneider altarpiece at the Herrottskirche. It is beautifully carved in wood and depicts the life and ascension of the Virgin Mary.
This is our last night in Rothenburg and in wandering around we find the Zum Breiterle near one of the city gates and stop for dinner. There are dedicated tables to groups of men and the eye us suspiciously. We are served nonetheless. We have pork schnitzel. You rarely see pork cutlets made this way in the U.S. unless you go to a German restaurant.
