🐐THE GAMBOL
October 24, 2026 • 📍Marktheidenfeld and Lohr am Main• 🚢 Rhine & Main Explorer +
🎶 TODAY’S TUNE
📇 THE STORY
So Greg told us yesterday, I think Greg told us yesterday, maybe Matthew, our program director, told us the Main was named that for the mining industry. It is fitting that I would bring that up today as we are visiting the “true home” of Snow White or Maria Sophia Margaretha Catharina von Erthal.
We arrived in Marktheidenfeld around 11 after a morning of sailing. It is a quaint little walkable German village. Jim and I did a quick walkabout before lunch and our afternoon adventure. Somehow we missed seeing the Big Blue House of Marktheidenfeld, the Franck Haus. The Franck Haus is an excellent example of a Rococo building, but not to worry, I will have more examples! As you can see, I have included the link.
After lunch, we loaded up on the bus to Lohr am Main. We were in group A and had Claudia as our guide. She was quite entertaining and took all through town, explaining upon entering the different quarters of the different tradespeople. She explained about the writing above the door that our guide in Freiburg had explained: children went around at the end of Christmas time singing and blessing the house, for a small donation for the church. The letters above the house represent the 3 wise kings and stand for Christus Mansionem Benedicat-May Christ bless this house. The numbers are for the year. The church does a procession of the 13 stations of the cross every year. 4 men are needed to carry the stations. For the station that represents Jesus’ 3 day stay in the tomb, a whale swallowing Jonah is used because he, too, was entombed for 3 days.
Although many claim the true story of Snow White, Bamberg appears to have the facts. Maria Sofia’s mother died; her father owned a mirror factory and remarried when Maria Sofia was little. They lived in a house with turrets. If you don’t believe me…. read all about Maria Sofia here.
📸 THE PHOTOS
#HowFortunateWeAre #RetiredAndLovingIt #MakingOurOwnSunshine