Four fun facts about Ochsenfurt
What makes a great city exploration day unique?
I think it's a balance between the amount of fun you have in the process of discovering and the joy of knowing that there's no pressure on how much you learn during your time in a new place.
That's how I can describe my day trip to Ochsenfurt, located 21 km south of Wurzburg, in the Lower Franconian region.
When you are wandering around a new town with no maps, city guides nor GPS, the best way of learning new stuff is to basically just have fun.
Ochsenfurt fun fact #1
-Just like the english city Oxford, Ochsenfurt is named after a ford where oxen crossed the river (Ochsenfurt is located on the left back of the river Main, the main river of the region).
 |
| The main feature within the Ochsenfurt city centre is the St. Andreas church. |
 |
| Right in front of the St. Andreas church is the Fachwerkzeile, a line of houses which are built in a traditional way using timber framing. |
 |
| Probably my favorite part was looking at the Fachwerkhäuser, which are the most popular and well-known type of constructions in Germany using timber framing. You find them in every bavarian town, which is also why they are associated to southern german construction traditions. |
Ochsenfurt fun fact #2
-Ochsenfurt was one of the places in Germany where King Richard I of England, better known as Richard the Lionheart, was detained when he was returning to England from the Third Crusade, which was an attempt to reconquer the Holy Land from the hands of Saladin.
 |
| Ochsenfurt has plenty of picturesque corners like this one, a side street from the city centre. |
 |
| Another shot from this lovely corner of the world, in one of my favorite regions: Franconia! |
-This town is actually a medieval relic. The first mention of a settlement in this area was in 725. The walls and towers of the fortress were built around the 14th century. It was a part of the Bishopric of Wurzburg, a territory that belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. It later fell to the hands of the Electorate of Bavaria.
 |
| What you see in the middle of the picture is a Maibaum, in english a Maypole. As a part of the tradition when spring comes, every town in Bavaria sets up a Maibaum to welcome the warm season. Festivals are celebrated as a part of general rejoicing at the return of summer. |
 |
| Notice the Panama reusable bag? My grandma uses it always for her shopping. My brother, grandma and I, there are no words to explain how much I love them. |
-Asparagus everywhere. I visited this city during the month of May, when the freshest white asparagus are a part of every menu across the region. Soups, main courses, starters; you can eat white asparagus in every imaginable form. Whenever I think about what the month May means in the culinary aspect of Franconia, the words Spargelzeit (asparagus time) and Erdbeeren (strawberries) come to my mind.
 |
| Details from a Fachwerkhaus. |
 |
| On our way back to the car, I saw this house covered in lush green ivy. The kid inside me started balancing on a rock that was out of place and I swear I couldn't get off of it. |
Happy weekend,
Astrid
Follow: @spiegeleyetravel on instagram
Facebook: SpiegelEye travel blog
0 comentarios