Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Friday, 9 June. We slept in and had breakfast in our room. It was a beautiful day, and we read on deck for a while. Lunch was early because the ship was arriving at Bamburg at 12:30. This is where we would leave the Main River and enter the Main-Danube Canal. (Actually, we would follow the Regnitz River. Rather than dig a completely new channel, the canal-builders utilized this existing river as far as possible.) The Regnitz splits into two channels here, and most of old Bamberg lies between them. A bus picked up our group at 13:00 and dropped us off at Crane Place (Kranenplatz) near the center of town. In Roman times, this had been the fish market, conveniently located right on the river. From here a local guide took us on a walking tour. Our first stop was the Grüner Markt, a huge square, where we visited St. Martin’s church (17th century) and were shown the Fountain of Neptune (1698)(known by the locals as Gabelmann or "Fork Man").
We followed Grüner Markt as it narrowed until we reached the Obere Bridge (1455) over the Regnitz. Halfway across this bridge, on an artificial island, is the old City Hall (rebuilt 1744-1756), an absolutely charming building.
The guide led us across and up the hill on the other side to the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul (1237). It was only one of several large churches that line the hills across both arms of the Regnitz from the city center. Inside the Cathedral was the stone statue of the Bamberg Rider (1235), as well as the tombs of an Emperor (Henry II) and a Pope (Clement II). In an interesting segue, we went from the Cathedral to a beer hall. Bamberg is noted for its smoked beer (rauchbier), and our walking tour ended at Schumer’s Bierstube where we each had a glass. I like most dark beers, and I like smoked foods, but this was way too much. I had a few sips but couldn’t finish it. Jane drank even less.
Now we were on our own for nearly two hours. Katy had shown us a soft beer mug toy that, upon being squeezed, would launch into a hearty yodel, followed by an even heartier belch. A shop that sold them was half a block from Schumer’s, so we decided to get one. We were shocked to find a huge line of people (all from our ship) standing in line at the cash register, each with a fuzzy little beer mug in hand. We stuck it out and finally got one. We walked leisurely across the bridge and through the Grüner Markt to the little square where the bus was to pick us up at 5:30. It was right on the river, and we sat around the old cranes as we waited. It was only a ten minute bus ride to the ship, but then we only had 20 minutes to get ready for the GCT Inner Circle (frequent traveler) party in the lounge at 18:00. The ship sailed then, too. The party lasted until dinner. Afterwards we did a little reading before retiring. |
