Mainz

We have lived in Wiesbaden for over a month now, and I have left the city limits exactly once.  I have been feeling a little antsy, while Erik, who has been to the U.S. three times this month, sort of wants to stay put.  Due to this stalemate and icy temperatures (but lots of sun!), we decided just to cross the Rhine for the day and explore Mainz, the capitol city of Rhineland-Pfalz.  Although this is where Erik goes to work every day, he mostly makes a beeline from the train station to his institute and doesn't have much time to look around.

Mainz is old.  Really old.  It was a Roman city, and remains of a temple to the goddess Isis (dating back to around the 3rd century A.D., before Christianity arrived) have been found and now find themselves under a shopping mall.  After the Romans, it became an important city of the Holy Roman Empire around the 9th century, and construction of its most central and prominent structure, the cathedral, began in 975.  Eventually Mainz became a capitol of sorts of the Holy Roman Empire, since its leading elector lived there, the Archbishop of Mainz.  The Empire was not based in Rome, as some might think from the name. (If you are suspecting that Erik hijacked my computer for this paragraph, you are right.  By the way, asking a historian for the "Cliff's Notes" version is a lost cause.  This paragraph has been erased and re-written at least three times). 

Mainz Cathedral

Unfortunately, much of the really old stuff was destroyed in WWII, but a few streets around the cathedral were preserved.

Our day here consisted of finding places to get warm.  We started at the Gutenberg Museum, dedicated to a personal hero of 1/4 of the Heinrichs household, Johannes Gutenberg.  Anyone remember what he was famous for? The invention of the printing press in . . . what year? Okay, no one knows for sure, but sometime in the 1440s (?).  This might not seem like the most exciting museum ever, but actually. . . going to this museum with someone who studies this stuff is FUN. Really.  When I was working, I always accused Erik of having no idea what I do all day (actually, I still do) . . . but it turns out, I have no idea what he does either.  As we were looking at case after case of 500-year-old books, Erik would say, "Oh I've used that book.  That one too. That one too." You mean copies, or microfilm? "No, the real book." How? "You call up the book, and they bring it to you." The real, 500-year-old book? "YES. This is what I do."  Ohhhhh....

Anyway, the museum houses one of the complete copies of the first book ever to be printed, the Bible.  There are 49 or so complete copies in the world, one of which is on permanent display at Harvard's Widener library. 

History, blah blah. Then we went to the market to get some snacks.  Mainz is gearing up for Fasching, which is like the Mardi Gras of the Rhineland.  This time is huge around here, and Mainz's celebration is the second largest in Germany (after Cologne).  Anyway, a typical treat found around this time is the Berliner (also known as a Krapfen, also known as a jelly donut), with various types of filling. I thought it was time to try one and see what they're all about.  You know? They are really, truly, 100%, just a jelly donut. 

After this, we headed to the cathedral for a children's organ concert telling the story of Noah's Arc. Elsa liked it, but was pretty excited to get up and look at statues.

No day in Mainz would be complete without a stop at a Weinstube, or wine bar, which can be found on many of the side streets around the cathedral.

Mainz is definitely a wine town, located right in the middle of the wine-growing areas of Germany. These little bars are great places to sample local wines by the glass, eat a few snacks, and rub elbows with locals in a way that would make Rick Steves proud.

Two Rieslings, apple juice, and cheese. 

Lucky for you, I didn't snap any pictures of the meltdowns on the train home that happened as a result of pushing our luck.  It was worth it.