Geoff Brock & Bruce Gamble
         
     
 

Bamberg
Give me more smoked beer!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tuesday 29th April 2014
  
After passing through several more locks overnight and almost completing our transit through the Danube-Main Canal, we arrived in Bamberg the next morning.
By the looks of it, we weren't quite in the city centre!
Because of some very low bridges on this stretch, the top deck of the ship was out of bounds. Even the railings had been flattened.
We were collected by coach from the ship and driven the short distance into town.
Bruce was immediately impressed by the gorgeous looking treats on display in the well-stocked confectioners (mental note for later!)
This charming town, built on seven hills flanking the Regnitz River, was not damaged during World War II and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its architecture is diverse, spanning 12th century Romanesque to 18th century Rococo.
The first point of interest on our guided walking tour was the statue of Poseidon, with his golden trident in a pedestrianised square in the town.
 
 
In the vicinity of the Poseiden statue was a colourful fruit and vegetable market.
 
We were guided towards a bridge which crossed the Regnitz River.
Looking up at St. Michael's Abbey
 
 
As we crossed the bridge, we admired the Old City Hall, with its lavish frescoes
 
 
Statue of Queen Kunigunde (photo enhanced slightly because the detail wasn't very clear)
 
 
The leg of a cherub protrudes from the wall as a sculpture!
  
 
Slaughterhouse (1742) with cow sculpture
 
 
 
Bamberg and the surrounding area is notable for its beers. The city has ten independent breweries. We paused outside this famous pub (see above and below), famous for its Rauchbier (smoked beer), which is a true Bamberg speciality. It is an almost black ale made using smoked malt. Geoff took special note of the location and made certain that we could find the place again once the guided tour was over... and yes, he did find it again.. see picture a bit further on.
Cathedral of St. Peter and St. George
The "Bamberg Rider" in the cathedral
Tomb of Henry II and Kunigunde
 
 
 
Back in Cathedral Square, the renaissance Old Court adjoins the cathedral.
The courtyard of the Old Court
One of the doors to the cathedral from within the courtyard.
 
We enjoyed the company of fellow travellers John and Anne, from Edinburgh.
On the opposite side of Cathedral Square is the 17th century New Residence
We didn't go inside, but we did walk through into the Rose Garden
 
It was a bit early in the season for roses!
View from the rose garden towards St. Michael's Abbey
 
A few more views of Bamberg's skyline from the rose garden.
 
 
 
 
We decided to leave the guided tour at this point and do our own thing.
We loved seeing the mish-mash of architectural styles
The view from both sides (no we haven't simply reversed the pictures!)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We headed back to the pub so that Geoff could taste that "smoked beer". Another couple on our ship had beaten us to it despite it being only around 10:30 in the morning. Mind you the pub was pretty full of local people already!
Afterwards, we continued our slow walk, taking in the sights.
 
 
We almost missed this classic view. Thanks to John for telling us about it!
 
Well, Geoff had his beer and Bruce was not to be deprived of a treat! This one was chocolately, biscuity and delicious!
   
It was time to get our coach back to the canal and onto our ship in time for an early afternoon departure.
 
Some of our crew members waved madly to their collegues and friends on the Scenic Sapphire's sister ship, the Scenic Pearl, as it passed us sailing in the opposite direction.
It wasn't too long before we had left the canal and were sailing in the Main River itself. There were still many locks, but we enjoyed the slow pace and the quiet suburban and country scenery as we glided past.
 
 
We were now heading down, having done quite a bit of "up" as we crossed the European Watershed
 
 
 
 
Next stop Würzburg!
 
 
©Geoff Brock and Bruce Gamble