Mainz

After a gentle start to the day and a late breakfast, we had a quiet morning cruising up the Rhine towards Mainz. 

The weather was bright but it was too breezy to spend long on deck. We settled in the lounge with our Kindles. Mid-morning they showed a video documentary on the Rhine River. It seemed quite interesting (if a little dated) but I was only glancing up from my book occasionally. 

After the video, there was a trivia quiz. The Saganauts gathered and we worked through the questions. Clearly, our knowledge of Germany, German landmarks, and Saga desserts and pastries, was not as good as our general knowledge. We only managed a 2nd or 3rd place… but I did subsequently check one answer to find that we were correct and Katie (the question setter) was wrong but one point wouldn’t have made up the difference.

As the quiz finished, we arrived and docked in Mainz (where we had started last week). We had a light lunch and then prepared for the afternoon’s excursion. Whilst it was still bright and the sun burst through the clouds on and off throughout the afternoon, there was a very cool wind. Diane was wrapped up in a hoodie, and I was glad of my leather jacket.

Our guide, Thomas, was very enthusiastic and spoke excellent English. He led us along the riverbank, explaining a lot about the history of the city and its Roman origins. He showed where the Romans (XIV Legion) had built a bridge across the river, and explained that the east side of the river had been populated by “barbarians”, specifically the Vandals. It was the Vandals that finally crossed the frozen river and drove the Romans out of Mainz in about 510 AD.

We moved on towards the market square and cathedral. The cathedral had been used as a visual marker by the Allies during the war, and so it remained undamaged (along with the Medieval quarter) while much of the rest of the city was flattened. The reconstruction was not done sympathetically - there is a vast amount of concrete and a total lack of architectural imagination. 

From the market square, we made our way into the Cathedral of St Martin. Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral is located near the historical centre and pedestrianised market square of the city. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of the Bishop of Mainz and is a Holy See (the only other example being the Vatican) and was for many years the largest church in Europe. It was built in the Romanesque style and lacked some of the elegance of the Gothic architecture that came later. It was, however, massive. The Cathedral was very dark inside, but once my eyes adjusted to the gloom it was really rather charming. Conservation efforts began in the 1900s to save the cathedral from further damage. After a lowering of the groundwater (when. the Rhine was tamed), the wooden substructures became rotten and the foundations started to fail and needed to be replaced. Beginning in 1909 the old foundations were underpinned. Works stopped in 1916 due to World War I. Between 1924 and 1928 the foundations were completely reinforced by a new waterproof concrete. Concrete and steel were used to anchor the towers and main vault. Our guide told us about the organ. I would love to have heard it being played. The organ has 95 stops and is played across 4 manuals and pedals. There are in excess of 4000 organ pipes and they are distributed around the cathedral to provide the optimum sound.

We left the main church via the cloisters (I love cloisters) and walked on towards the Medieval Quarter. 

This provided some wonderful half-timbered buildings, including the building where Gutenberg became famous for his invention of the movable metal type printing press.

The official tour finished soon after we left that area. Jane and Trevor headed off to see a church with some Chagall stained glass windows. We made our way to the tourist office and then back to the boat where we grabbed a tea and a cake before heading for our cabin and starting to pack for tomorrow’s journey home.

The Saganauts met up in the library to enjoy the farewell from the Captain and crew and then went down for dinner. (I had some fabulous halibut and Di had salmon). 

After dinner, we all retired to the lounge for the farewell evening. Andy Foster was playing a mixture of requested hits from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. We sat chatting and ensured we got a team photo.

It had been another lovely day among friends.