Speyer and Vinegar Tasting

By John Morn, Cruise Specialist   |  November 21, 2016      ( Comments)

Speyer is one of Germany’s oldest cities dating back to the early Roman Empire. It is also the location of the stunning Speyer Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is considered one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture anywhere. It has 4 towers and two domes. Originally built beginning in 1033, it features many Art Deco reliefs and sculptures inside and out which somehow blend beautifully with the simple Romanesque arches and red sandstone walls.

Above, Donna stands next to Judy and Bob, our new friends from Catskill, New York. The sculpture is titled Jakobs Pilger which means Jacob Pilgrim. The barefoot man is on his way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

The small city of Speyer is famous for its Christmas and New Year Market which takes place on this main street in front of the old Mint (below) not far from the Old Gate.

While riding into town we passed by the Technik Museum Speyer which featured tours of a Boeing 747 and dozens of other planes and vehicles. It looked very cool! The downside of cruising is that sometimes there just isn’t enough time.

That morning we visited Doktorenhof in Venningen. It was like a wine tasting only with vinegar. I know what you are thinking, but did you know that until the age of refrigeration drinking vinegar was very common? Doktorenhof is carrying on that tradition and the tour was really interesting…everyone agreed. They featured dozens of different low acid vinegars with fruit and herb flavors. They are produced from Trockenbeerenauslese vinegar. Look it up! We bought a small bottle of fig and small bottle of herb. Very tasty!