Paris to Swiss Alps (Zurich) Oct 2024 Viking Hild

Speyer, Germany:  a morning breakfast on board before heading out on today's adventure.  The Viking Hild actually docked in Germersheim and we bused into Speyer. Speyer (Spires) -  is one of Germany's oldest cities.  Speyer Cathedral , a number of other churches, and the  Altpörtel  ("old gate") dominate the Speyer landscape. In the cathedral, beneath the high altar, are the tombs of eight  Holy Roman Emperors  and  German kings.   The city is famous for the 1529  Protestation at Speyer .   During the 16th century Protestant Reformation era in 1526, at the first  Diet of Speyer (1526)   interim toleration of   Lutheran   teaching and worship is decreed by   Holy Roman Emperor Charles V . In Speyer we saw the following: 1.  The Cathedral -  Pope Pius XI  raised Speyer Cathedral to the rank of a minor basilica of the  Roman Catholic Church  in 1925.   Begun in ...

Mainz - is the state capitol of the  Rhineland-Palatinate and  Mainz is located at the northern end of the  Upper Rhine Plain where the Rhine and Main rivers converge.   In the early  Middle Ages , Mainz played a significant role in the  Christianisation  of the  German  and  Slavic peoples .   It is the home of : 1.  The Gutenberg Museum (under renovation unfortunately) and Gutenberg University.   Mainz is the birthplace of  Johannes Gutenberg , who introduced letterpress  printing  to Europe with his  movable type   printing press ,  starting the global spread of the printing press , and in the early 1450s manufactured his first books in the city, including the  Gutenberg Bibles 2. Mainz Cathedral of St. Martin   over 1,000 years old.  It  is one of the three Rhine  Holy Roman Empire Cathedrals  along with  Speyer Cathedral  and...