Bamberg

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We visited Bamberg two days prior to my birthday. It is a Bavarian town honoured with UNESCO for its authentic medieval appearance.  It is also called Bavaria Rome as it has seven hills around.
It took half hour to 45 minutes by train from Nürnberg to Bamberg.  It's quite some distance to walk to the town centre. Never mind, the buildings on the way are beautiful.

Our first important tourist spot is the town hall (Rathus), built on River Regnitz.  Originally it's Gothic style but later added with Baroque and Rococo elements. The Fachwerk part hanging over the river is the point which most photographed.  But the main building is also very beautiful.  Don't overlook it.

 

We soon moved to the square where the Cathedral stands.  The square is huge. Surrounding are the old court (Alte Hofhaltung), New Residenz and Rose Garden.  The Cathedral was founded in 1004 by the emperor Henry II.  Inside stand many gorgeous sculptures.  Of the most importance are the tomb of the founder with his wife and the Bamberg Horseman.

 

After visiting the Rose Garden we ascended towards the Michaelsberg Abbey.  If you want a more comfortable trip, you can opt for a short bus ride.  But we walked as my companion always prefers walking, like his feet conquering all the difficult paths.

 
 

At time the abbey was closed.  The view over the town was nice and so as the abbey with its surrounding.   We settled at a opened cafe nearby to appreciate the beauty.   I had a humble vegetable soup and my friend luxurious ice cream with banana and rich cream.



Good food came with a cost: next is to walk to another hill - Altenburg.  It was barren, hot and exhausting!  Descending to the town and then ascending to Altenburg. And it's quite steep. But the view back to the town was gorgeous.  Yes, one can drive up but will not enjoy the great views and burn energy.

The castle is quite small.  Walk around, climb the tower to have a panoramic view of the other side of Bamberg - green, green and green.  There is no cafe but vending machine for drinks or ice cream. 


We still visited a few churches before we headed back to the town centre.   The most memorable one is Carmelite Monastery St. Theodor.  The Romanesque columns and arches dated from 14th century are beautiful art pieces. Next to the it is a shop selling the produce from the monastery, the city and nearby.  The scent was nice. Other churches visited are: Kirche des chem. Chorherrenstifts St. Gangolf u. Maria, Obere Pfarre and St. Stephen.



We had an early dinner at Schlenkerla, a popular local and traditional restaurant.  Its smoked beer is among the 50 best beer in the world. Our table is in the biergarten.   Both of us ordered meat: pork knuckle and shoulder.  Our food was served super quick.  They were lovely, with sauerkaut.  But fries were around at time, July 2015.


The last tourist spot of the day is the Little Venice (Klein Venedig).  It's romantic!  A row of houses dated from 17th century stand on the eastern side of river Regnitz.  We saw residents there using small boats to move around.




Time flied.  We had to hurry back.  Here is almost the last big square we passed through. And I always like the German shop signs, very characteristic and sometimes cute.








Location: Bamberg, Germany

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