As well as being the oldest town in Germany, Worms also has a very silly name. That was pretty much why we went – that and the fact that we could travel for free with my season ticket. We knew nothing about what we would find there. It turns out, though, that Worms is a pretty hot tourist destination in the area. The place has many hotels and a rather snazzy looking youth hostel opposite the cathedral. Day trips run to and from there all season, and the tourist office (Address: Am Neumarkt 14) is stocked with useful brochures in English as well as German.
Things to see -------------
· Dom
The cathedral was built between 1171 and 1230. It’s Late Romanesque with an amazing Baroque alter if that means anything to you. If not, let’s just say it’s pretty to look at. Entrance is free, but if you fancy visiting the catacombs (in an underground room smaller than my bedroom, in the center of the church) you’ll be charged the extortionate rate of, erm, 10 cents. That’s about 6p. The Cathedral is huge and you can spend hours there. We did, much to my horror. I’m more of a walk in, nosy around for 10 mins, walk out kinda gal, but the others with me weren’t, so I found myself counting tiles on the floor, reading the community notice boards, flicking through the German hymn books and generally trying to keep myself amused. The cathedral is open every day, but not for visiting during services.
· Lutherdenkmal
The week before we went to Worms we went to our regular pub quiz. One of the questions was who said, “Here I stand. I have no choice”, or words to that effect. The answer was Luther, he came from Worms and now in the park in the center of town he will stand forever more in the memorial. It was built in 1868 and has statues of him and other famous locals, plus the coats of arms for places nearby. Not much, but it’s famous, and they sell post cards of it, so you should probably give it a look.
· Jewish Cemetery
Worms had a large Jewish community. Note the past tense, this is Germany so you should be able work out why it’s a “had” not a “has”. The cemetery has grave stones dating from the 11th Century, and is actually a really nice place to wander around. Much more cheerful than the more modern places, this one has trees and flowers and is almost like a park. Free entry, open dawn until dusk near enough. This was the place where they invited you to find out about “Jewish Worms”. Just like that. Now English being the world language that it is, I find it hard to believe that this was unintentional. But we found it hilarious, and there are photos of us pointing to the sign laughing being developed somewhere in Heidelberg as we speak.
· Jewish Synagogue
Across town is the near synagogue, rebuilt in 1959 after the other was destroyed. It’s small but it’s cool on a hot summer’s day, and a lot more interesting than the cathedral in my mind. Part of it is now a small museum, with exhibits tracing the Jewish history of Worms. Again, free entry. Men are asked to cover their heads when they enter, and caps are provided for this.
Other sights: the town walls date from 800 AD and reminded me of those in Lucca and York. If you follow these you are taken on a nice walk around the town and down towards the Rhein, on the banks of which Worms sits. We contemplated walking up to Köln, but then remembered it’s more than 2 hours on the super snazzy fast trains, so it might take us a while. The Rotes Haus is the only surviving residential Renaissance building, but isn’t that interesting – pretty much, as the name suggests, just a red house.
The rest of the town ---------------------
Worms has a lovely town center, with a proper “German” feel. There is a pedestrianised zone with a semi-large selection of shops including all the big names I associate with Germany: Galleria Kaufhof, Schlecker, Orsay, Tschibo, DM, New Yorker, C+A. The selection of souvenirs on offer is not extensive, but there are lots of places selling postcards if you want to send “Greetings from Worms” to the folks back home.
Eating and drinking are easy and pleasant, with a large selection on eateries, many with outdoor seating. The best place to buy ice cream has to be Vannini Italienisches Eis, near the tourist office and cathedral. They have a huge selection with really low prices. My favourite? Their profiterole ice cream. Imagine the filling of one, made into ice cream, with chocolate rivers running through it. Then add chunks of the profiterole pastry, all frozen and delicious. It is heaven, and I’m seriously considering going back to the town just for that…..
Where to stay --------------
Worms has everything from Pension (B+Bs) to 4 star hotels. We didn’t stay over because we live within day-tripping distance, but some nice looking places include:
Worms, it turns out, is actually a funky cool little place. There’s a nice selection of things to do and see, and most are free. There are lots of pavement cafes for breaks, and if you walk down to the Rhein there are many places to sit and watch the world go by. A day is enough for sightseeing and shopping, but it would also make a nice base for exploring the region. It has good bus and train links, and is within easy reach of several airports including Frankfurt International (normal flights) and Frankfurt Hahn (Ryanair et al).
www.worms.de
Next stop on the list of German places with funny names? An irresistible post-card buying trip to Wank. Op coming soon….
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