Mainz never ceases to please and I was happy to be there again, although this time I did not visit the Dautermann winery in nearby Ingelheim. The weather was somewhat inclement and I had to shelter from the rain several times. I began by visiting a church near the Hilton Mainz, Karmeliterkirche, where a service was in progress. I moved on to the Ruine und Gedenkstätte St. Christoph, which was largely destroyed during the war. The remains of this church, standing sadly in the open air, are undergoing extensive restoration at the time of writing (July 2024).

From there I walked the short distance over to Mainz cathedral (Dom St. Martin), which is always worth a visit. Certainly, this church building is very austere and somewhat dark and almost intimidating, somehow reflecting the history the city of Mainz has been through. There were a number of somber artworks and sculptures as well as a sepulchral crypt. Let's face it, if you're really down and you need a bit of an uplift, Mainz cathedral is not the place to go to. While there, I visited the very interesting museum (Domschatz, €5) and admired the numerous treasures which had been saved, including paintings and ornate altarpieces.

Afterwards, for a bit of succour and to avoid the rain, I went into Kamps coffee for a pastry and a decent German black coffee. Truly, to get decent coffee in Germany, you need to go to a specialised coffee shop because the bakeries tend to produce stuff of variable quality (depending on the beans) from machines that are old and have been used too much.
I found the bus system in Mainz quite efficient and pleasant to use.
Lastly, while the areas around train stations in Germany are often bad and edgy, the station zone in Mainz is not too bad. There are some excellent Asian restaurants in the area.



The old center of Mainz is full of timber frame houses such as these


What used to be an apothecary has now become a music shop, which is itself a rarity these days


Imposing interior of Mainz cathedral - you can't call it beautiful because it is so austere, but it is very impressive


These monumental tomb stones were forward at the front of Mainz cathedral


There is a cloister behind Mainz cathedral, offering a moment of total peace


The museum of Mainz cathedral, known as the Domschatz, was full of statues, sculptures, altarpieces and other treasures from previous centuries