Cruise Brochure
Relax on board this morning as we cruise through the Main-Danube Canal, to Bamberg. Feel the magic of the past in this medieval Bavarian town as you explore this UNESCO World Heritage city with your guide. Boasting one of Europe’s largest intact medieval town centres, Bamberg is bursting with character and charm. At the town centre is the largest preserved old quarter in Europe. Around 2,400 listed buildings and the centuries-old garden quarter form a special cultural heritage. Admire hundreds of building façades richly decorated in fascinating detail with spectacular ornamentation.
You can’t visit Bavaria without trying some of the local brews, said to have one of the densest concentrations of breweries in the world, Bamberg is famous for its Rauchbier, a smoked beer.
This morning was very laid back as we cruised our way to Bamberg. We had a number of locks to get through again this morning – some we just sailed straight into and through whilst others we had to stop to the side as the lock was prepared or we waited for boats to come through from the opposite direction.
Cruising the river in the morning – quite narrow in some parts !
Docked in Bamberg – can’t pick your neighbours !
During the morning’s cruising, our Hungarian cruise director Csaba (pronounced “Chubba”) gave a lesson in the Lounge teaching German – an interesting and amusing exercise.
After lunch we hopped on a bus for a short ride into Bamberg for a walking tour. You may already know, however you will have noticed a little difference in the town names – yesterday we were in Wurzburg and today we are in Bamberg. Well a “burg” is a fortified town where as a “berg” associates with a hill. Wurzburg was originally a walled town and Bamberg was built on seven hills – and has been referred to as the “Franconian Rome”. Our walking tour took us along the river (the Regnitz – which joins into the Main), through part of the old town and up onto Cathedral Hill. Bamberg managed to escape a lot of the damage from the war so its buildings generally date back centuries – back to the 11th century !
Along the river looking up to the castle and cathedral
The palace rose garden
As a UNESCO site, there is a lot of ongoing restoration – the cathedral in particular had scaffolding inside and out (I imagine the drilling and banging detracts a bit for the parishioners seeking a bit of quiet solitude) ! After the cathedral, we walked back down to the river where our tour ended. At the end of the tour we had a little time to explore the town ourselves and we headed back to a nice little beer garden we had spotted earlier. Our quest was to try the famous “Rauchbier” – a smoked beer – which our guide indicated people either like or hate ! Steve and I decided to jump in at the deep and and have the Schlenkerla Rauchbier – the one with the “strong smoke taste”. As you lifted the glass to your month there was a very strong scent of bacon ! Probably somewhat surprisingly, the taste was very nice – definitely “smokey” but not overpowering. Adrienne thought it tasted quite nice also.
Old City Hall
We wandered back to the bus pickup point at the scheduled time of 5.30pm for the short ride back to the boat and by 6pm were on our way again. As we passed through the Bamberg lock, we officially entered the Main – Danube Canal. The current canal was completed in 1992 and connects the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea. It is 171 km long.
Sun setting as we head away from Bamberg
Full moon rising as we settle in for dinner
Tomorrow we reach Nuremberg – the only stop this tour which we have actually visited previously – and the weather is looking good !
Today’s “Tour Trivia” – Bamberg is home to 9 breweries and a brewpub – including the nearby areas, there is apparently a ratio of 1 brewery to every 350 people – Cheers !