Miltenberg

We drove to Miltenberg in the latter part of July. The small town in the north of Bavaria is called "the pearl on the Main." It was truly a beautiful medieval old town sitting on the bank of the Main river. There was a long street with shops and cafes. Actually almost everything of the town was on it. 

A castle on the hill!

Keep going on the long street...

We arrived at the old market square with an old Renaissance well (built in 1583). How pretty!

The street continued...

Ah, there was Mayer's Bäck, a family-run bakery that I was interested in. Breakfast time!

The current baker, Mr. Volker Mayer, who has already the German master's certificate for baker, was additionally trained at the Federal Academy of the German Bakery Trade in Weinheim and became one of the first certified bread sommeliers in the world. The title is above the master's certificate. I wanted to taste bread that was created by the top of top baker!

Mohnschnecke (a poppy seed roll) for me and a croissant for J. Mine was wonderful. J liked his too!

We also bought a Fränkisches Landbrot, a natural sourdough enriched with black rye flour, which is characterized by a mild acidity and an aromatic spice. The 72 hour slow fermented bread was supposed to be Mr. Mayer's specialty. 

Keep walking on the street... 

 

Around the part of the area is called "Schwarzviertel," the black quarter because the hill behind covers the area with its deep shadows during winter. The area is also the oldest part of the town. The 14th century half-timbered houses are still found there. Actually, what J found was Faust, founded in 1654, the oldest brewery in the town. He bought a box of assorted beer to take home!

Talking about drink, Miltenberg is in the middle of the wine region. We didn't shop wine but saw grape vines on the wall of houses here and there.   

A steep steps and slopes from the market square led us to the castle on the hill. Burg Miltenberg, originally built around 1150, was in the possession of the archbishops of Mainz for a long time. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the castle changed its owner several times. Then, the city of Miltenberg acquired the building in 1979 and opened it in 2011 as a museum after extensive renovation work. When we visited there, the large part of the white building was filled with contemporary paintings. They weren't my taste but it was nice to see the inside of the building. We also climbed up to the top of the keep ruins. The view from there was great!

Lunch time! We chose Gasthaus zum Riesen, a hotel with a restaurant. It was located on the middle of the long street. No one could miss the huge blue half-timbered house. They said so many crowned heads have visited them since the 12th century and in 1711, for example, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI stayed there. 

The ground floor was a restaurant. It was managed by Faust. J was able to taste their beer there before he opened his beer box at home. We both started with salad. Although it was a side salad, the portion was generous!

J had a local dish, Miltenberger Rossäpfel - Leberknödel (boiled dumpling balls made of liver (usually beef), bread, eggs, herbs and spices.) mit Dunkelbiersoße (dark beer sause), Speck (bacon), Sauerkraut und Schwarzviertlerbrot (bread made of Schwarzviertler, Fraust's dark malty beer, I guess). It looks very hearty.

I had Zanderfilet an Rahmsauerkraut dazu Bratkartoffeln. A freshwater fish, pike-perch fillet on creamed sauerkraut and German style fried potatoes. Very good but so much!

I couldn't think about desserts right after the lunch. However, while we were again walking on the long street, bakeries were calling me. Surprisingly there were several bakeries on the street. One of them had cute ceiling decorations although we didn't buy any at the bakery.

We visited a bakery near Würzburger Tor, the 14th century gate tower, which marked the end of the long street. The bakery was small but offered a nice selection of pastries. 

We brought a slice of lemon cake, a pastry with streusel and plum (I think) and...

Rosinenbrötchen... well, the tag said so, but it was Nussgebäck, a pastry roll filled with sweet nutty (hazelnuts and almonds) paste. Actually the lemon cake had a wrong tag, too. Anyway, whatever they were, all were very good!

We also tasted Mr. Mayer's Fränkisches Landbrot next day. It was a pretty dense bread. A good chew and good flavor. 

Miltenberg, one long street and a castle hill provided us with a lot. The town was absolutely lovely and lives up to its nickname.