Heidenheim - Eschweiler

Today we were supposed to go 'just' back home, but read what we saw and experienced:

We started early from our AirBnB in Heidesheim for breakfast at Domcafe in Mainz.

The breakfast tasted great in the sun and we only had a 20m walk around the corner to the cathedral...or so we thought...

At 10:10 am, ready to head around the corner, I assessed the situation in the cathedral. After all, we wanted to see the Chagall windows and participate in a guided tour...The mop-wielding cathedral custodian with a migration background informed me, in response to my question about the windows, that they are not in the cathedral, but in St. Stephan.

At first, I thought it was a mistake and verified it with an elderly couple sitting right next to us at the Domcafe, facing the inconvenient facts.

And RIGHT! We still had a sporty 15-minute walk ahead of us...uphill (but thankfully we didn't know that yet).

Panting and well-moisturized, we arrived at St. Stephan with a delay of exactly 15 minutes, bathed in calming blue church light, and easily found our way to the eagerly listening group in the front pews.

The Chagall windows are stunningly beautiful, especially in the rear choir area, full of biblical stories and rich in detail.

Keep in mind that Chagall sketched the rear windows in their original size. Then the glass was made (over 15 different shades of blue alone!) and cut. After that, Chagall received the glass back and painted the details for the faces. Only then were they brought to Mainz and remained, connected and assembled. Chagall, at over 90 years old, could no longer make the journey to Mainz to see the windows, but his wife was present at the inauguration of the windows in Mainz.

The two-part windows in the rear choir consist of two windows each, telling a story from the Bible.

The side windows are designed continuously.

The luminosity is immense, even though the windows have never been cleaned!

The church acquired Chagall's sketches for the transverse nave a few years ago at Sotheby's (for €70,000). Chagall, due to his age, no longer created the sketches in their original size.

We received a detailed explanation of four windows as part of the really good tour. A definite must-see if you're in the area. The dates are announced on the Internet.

By the way, the Klais organ is also very impressive and seems to float in the room.

The completely preserved cloister is also worth seeing.

Afterwards, we had a delicious coffee across from the theater with wonderful brass players from St. Petersburg...unbelievable, they were also in Eschweiler!

By noon, we leisurely headed towards the Rhine, passing the largest Weber grill right at the factory in Ingelheim.

And onto the Rhine ferry...

...and further towards Kaub with the beautiful little castle...

...captured from the rest area at CVJM-Heim (the 22% incline was something for experienced drivers)...

Afterwards, we went to St. Goar for the next ferry...

...past numerous castles and palaces that are found around every bend in the Rhine Valley...

After a short coffee break, we continued towards Koblenz and then to Maria Laach Abbey. It was a spontaneous idea because it was along the way (plus I had never been there before).

Fortunately, we had finished the jam! So I could take a pot of lemon thyme from the monastery garden, which I neatly packed in the motorcycle case :-)

We continued towards Einruhr, where we enjoyed a proper dinner. In the Eifel, at 12.5 degrees and rain, all our reserves were depleted and we felt quite frozen.

But the delicious tomato soup and the schnitzel with homemade mustard-onion sauce put everything back in order.

After driving 2700 kilometers, we safely arrived back home! It was another great day with a very beautiful and relaxed tour.

I hope you enjoyed reading. Let's see where we'll end up next time.

Wishing you all a good time and see you at the latest for the next blog. Best regards from us!