Bamberg Germany
May 30, 2024
Todays tour was of Bamberg which is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is a complete medieval city. Bamberg only suffered 4% damage during WWII. The majority of the half timbered buildings are along the river front and were fisherman's homes. The majority of the buildings in the city were rebuilt in the early part of the 17th century as Baroque. The exception to this is the Bamberg Cathedral which is a combination Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
When we left the ship it was pouring rain and this rain continued off and on through out the walking tour of the town. The city hall has been painted with a huge mural and depicts popular scences from the 1700's. A statue of Kaiserin Kunigund who was the queen of the area presides over the area. The tour proceeded up the hill to the cathedral and into the palace of the Kaiserin Kunigund and on into the rose garden. This palace over looks the city and even in the rain the scene was quite striking. We could not go into the cathedral as today was a special holiday and there was a service on in the cathedral.
After the tour ended I saw that the church service was over and people were coming out of the cathedral. I really wanted to slip inside to get a picture of the Horseman of Bamberg as this statue is the symbol of Bamberg so I wiggled my way up stream and inside. A couple of quick photos and I was ready to leave, however they were closing all the doors as a second service was about to start. After a brief moment of panic I spotted a side door which had not been closed and made my escape.
Outside the rain was now just hammering down. Out came my umbrella and I was off to meet up with Agnes, Jim and Sandra in the pub where the Bamberg smoked beer is made. This smoked beer was made by accident when there was a fire in the brewery and the beer came out with a smoky flavour. Some people thought is tasted like bacon others thought it tasted like an ashtray. However it is a must experience when in Bamberg.
In the pub they had organized a table (quite a feat as everyone was trying to get inside out of the rain) and had a beer waiting for me when I got there. I thought the beer had a bacon taste but was not something that I would regularly order. We ordered a light snack to go with the beer. When we emerged from the pub the hammering rain was done and it was a bright sunny day.
We strolled back to meet the bus and on the way stopped into a second church which was a baroque church. Bright and sunny inside with beautiful colours everywhere.
The rain held of until we got on the bus and back to the ship.
Terry
No comments:
Post a Comment