We all went to Würzburg (in northern Bavaria) yesterday. I think I’ll spare you the details of the various churches etc…We ended up our tour of the city with a tour of the episcopal Residenz, built in the 18th century, after the bishops got tired of riding down from their hilltop fortress every frickin’ day. We would frankly have preferred to skip it and have lunch, since the hour was advanced…the more so because, while the building is mad famous, it is also pure rococo, and as Tom (our resident architect) put it when we’d settled in at a table at the wine fair, “That third room…with all the gold...really made me want to vomit.”
Amanda: “I don’t know…it’s kind of like Ghetto-fabulous.”
From there, of course, the conversation inevitably turned to imagining the bishops of Würzburg as rap stars…
“Yo, diss mah crib.”
“Lookit these little dwarves here. Aren’t they funny?”
“An’ this room…actually, I dunno what this room is fo’. The architect was sayin’ somethin’ ‘bout symmetry an’ sh!t…”

Meatime, today I finally made it down to St. Oswalds. It’s a good--well, “good”--example of what happens when 18th century architects are allowed to run riot in a medieval building. Kinda reminiscent of the Sheldonian, with faux-marble columns supporting the galleries. The angel sitting on the chancel arch is pretty cool, though…kinda Blakeian.