WURZBURG

Our European Christmas Cruise is one week old today.  But first, tomorrow will be Thanksgiving, a tradition that began in the U.S. in 1619 with the English settlers on the ship Margaret in Virginia.

• Of course, this continued with the Pilgrims at Plymouth in 1621.
• Our first President, George Washington, proclaimed 26November1789 as a day of thanks.

• 
  President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 as the final Thursday in November.
• But in 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt changed this holiday to the next to last Thursday in November to boost the economy, adding an extra week for Christmas shopping.

• 
  This was not popular, so in 1942, Congress changed the official national Thanksgiving Day to the fourth Thursday in November, a compromise, for this day sometimes is not the final Thursday of the month.
• In 1963, President John F. Kennedy acknowledged that both Virginia and Massachusetts were the first.

• 
  We are in Germany, and they do celebrate Thanksgiving, but it's called Erntedankfest, with inexact dates, most on the first Sunday in October.
• President Joe Biden pardoned two turkeys from Minnesota, Peach and Blossom.

Würzburg is a real city, with almost 130,000 inhabitants.  However, the population has been declining over the past few years.  Way back in 1965 there were 122,000 people.

• Three of the 15 largest German wineries are located here.
• By train, four hours to Berlin.

A lot of Wurzburg photos, especially of the Wurzburg Bishop's Residence.  Some history.

• Is the former seat of the prince-bishops in the Bavarian city of Würzburg.
• Built between 1720 and 1780.
• It is itself in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
• Was damaged on bombing raids in WWII.
• 
  John David Skilton, the American momunent man, with his team (see the film, The Monuments Men--then again, maybe not, because Rotten Tomatoes gave it 30/44 scores), provided a temporary covering over surviving vaults, saving some frescoes and other works of art.
• Restoration took until 2006.
• Today, a museum with 40 rooms and gardens.
• There is an annual Mozart Festival here.

The tour of the city, beginning with the Wurzburg Bishop Residence.  Many of these artworks on on the room ceilings.  Each tells part of a larger story.

The rest of Wurzburg. 

Queen Mary.

Beginnings of a Christmas Market.

I promise you, the Christmas Markets will get better.  Tomorrow Bamberg.  I was there on another European river cruise.  Read about what I did then.  I noticed in my Tauck river cruise of 2015 that I stopped by Wurzburg, and did not mention anything about this city.  But there were some Christmas stuff on November 3, greeted by my Blue-Bar Pigeon.

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