Airplane "Pick-up" (early May):
Immediately after arriving by train in Worms I took a taxi to the airport to have a look at the plane.
To make a long story short: I did spend a few days in Worms -- until I had to leave to make my sister's 33 1/3rd Birthday Party. I already had missed the surprise welcome party my mom had arranged for my arrival on the weekend. When we took the first test flight, the plane FLEW very nicely, but when we turned on the landing lights all the electronics went out again (Thank god for cell phones). So I took the train to Graz and the plane was delivered there a few days later. This was actually a very good thing, because with the continuous overcast weather I would not have made it over the mountains without an instrument rating. From the train (which tends to follow along the convenient mountain passes) I often saw less than 500' clearance to the clouds, and they were going to more the 15,000'.
Anyway, while waiting for the plane to get finished, I had plenty of time to visit the town, and there was a great Middle Ages Festival going on on the weekend.
The city of Worms has a very rich history, it is more than 2000 years old, and much of the inner city core has grown over the centuries. Worms used to be famous for its leather production, which seems to be reflected in at least 2 pharmacies on each block.
Today tanneries are no longer profitable, but it is still a distribution center for leather goods.
At the place of and immediately around the Worms Cathedral was already a Roman holy temple district, the king's castle of the Nibelungen, and the Kaiserpfalz (~ Emperor's Seat) of Karl the Great. Worms was the main seat of the clergy in the area for centuries, and held many of the main meetings of court and church at that time.
Cathedral St. Peter was first built around 600 AD at the place of the Roman market area by Queen Brunchildis to be the first Frankish bishop's church in the Worms area. The new cathedral was started after 1000 AD and completed in 1018, and significantly enlarged in 1110 and 1181. In 1250 the Roman style south portal was replaced by the larger gothic style portal. Many restorations were completed between 1890-1930 and after the bombs of 1945.
The founding of the Nikolaus Chapel by the wife of Emperor Otto II in 1058 was probably instrumental in getting Santa Claus' reputation going in Europe. The chapel and St. Nick's importance were further improved by Emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa and his wife Beatrix. In the 13th century it was enlarged in gothic style and is now a part of the larger cathedral complex.
From 1000 to 1689 (when the attached buildings of the bishop's residences were destroyed) 22 Emperor Reichstage were held here, and the list of illustrious leaders of the time include: Friedrich Barbarossa, Friedrich II & III, Maximilian I, Konrad II, Heinrich II - VII, and Johann Karl von Frankenstein.
Just about 100 yards North of the cathedral, where the Bishop's residences used to be, is also where Martin Luther was tried on April 17 and 18, 1521 by Karl V during the Reichstag.
Returning from a little excursion I suddenly was greeted by music and lots of people in the streets and around the cathedral. It was a very pleasant surprise to happen upon one of the largest festivals in Worms, and to stay right in the middle of it. I had a great view of the parade from my bedroom window and only had to go downstairs to be in the middle of the party.
Only about 500 yards from the cathedral is the OLD JEWISH CEMETARY. It was active from 1076 - 1911. On the tour we learned that at one point during the late 1930s to early 1940s it was slated to be razed, but luckily there was no money for doing it, and then it was forgotten.
Most of the cemetery was surrounded by high trees. If one had not seen some newer buildings in a distance or heard the traffic noises just outside the wall, one would not have had any idea about what year it was.
Heidelberg:
While waiting for the airplane to be completed I rented a car to get some aeronautical charts at Friebel, which is a really great pilot supply store near Worms. As I looked at the map I found that Heidelberg was really close by, and decided to visit.
I spent most of my time at the ruins of Heidelberg, which were a key motif for the German Romantic painters (~19th century). The setting at the river, just coming out of mountains into the plains is wonderful. The ruins where already overgrown from the French wars, and so they probably are almost more visible today than when they were the favorite subject for paintings.
The combination of architectural styles was amusing and interesting to me, but also showed how the castle grew over the centuries.
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Airplane Maintenance (early June):
When Yolanda and I returned for the airplane maintenance our stay was much shorter. We stayed in the same hotel, but had a room right under the roof, which gave us a great view of the cathedral's East towers from the window.
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