From Romans to Romanesque

Richard's department was moved to a new building on Friday. Everything was boxed up, and nothing was available to work with. So the department took the day off!

So we went to Speyer on Friday, and went straight to the cathedral. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Sight for its architecture and many (eight) tombs of German kings.

Afterward, we went to the bank of the Rhine river and had dessert at a beer garden. The Bavarian Cream was fantastic. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and one large group suddenly started singing. Really nice singing. I've often thought that Germans do a lot of singing, but not often so well.


There is a great museum across the street from the Cathedral. We saw exhibits on the prehistoric Kelts, the ancient Romans, the opening of the graves of the emperors, and a special exhibit on witches.

The last thing we did was stop at the Jewish Synagogue and the Jewish Bath. The bath was for the women's ritual bathing. It was amazingly deep underground, as deep as a well. And it still had water in it. It must have been an interesting and important ritual.

Wilkommenus

Wilkommenus! That's how I imagine the Germans said welcome back when Emperor Augustus came for a visit. A statue of the (not holy) roman emperor stands at the top of a fountain in the town square in front of the Rathaus. The city was founded in 15 b.c. as Augusta Vindelicorum, but the Germans shortened it to Augsburg. A good decision, I think.


The cathedral in Augsburg has the biggest painting of Mr. (formerly saint) Christopher that I have ever seen. It also has the oldest painted-glass windows in the world. But my favorite was a little fresco on the vaulted ceiling in the crypt. It was under another layer of fresco, and the only part showing was a piece that was missing from the newer fresco. It was a picture of Jesus with a dove over his head, and the dove had the almond-shaped eyes that I associate with Romanesque drawings.