Bamberg - more sightseeing and wandering through the streets of old town. - Exploring Germany, Czech Republic and beyond... on our Recumbent Tandem - CycleBlaze
Bamberg - more sightseeing and wandering through the streets of old town.
We have grown to really love Bamberg. Its size suits us as does its population of 70,000. We have enjoyed getting to know a couple from Australia who are also cycle touring, Tony and Sylvia. They have been camping here for the past few days as well and are making their way to Vienna. Sunday is what we consider to be family day in Germany. All shops and businesses (except for some cafes) are closed and we see families enjoying the day together. Sadly this custom is no longer a luxury that we enjoy in North America. Using our Bamberg Card, we decided to hop on the bus and ride in to town - luckily (or unluckily) for us its route travelled out in to the outer hills of Bamberg. We considered it a free tour! The English Audio Walking Tour was very informative and took us to 18 key historical spots around the city. We were most impressed by the Domplatz and the incredible rose garden in the courtyard. We wanted to try one more brewery before leaving Bamberg - and we found Klosterbrau. It has been operating for almost 500 years and their Gasthaus is housed in one of the oldest half timbered buildings in Bamberg. As you can imagine, the setting was charming. We tried their specialty - Schwarzla (black beer) and Braun (brown) which has medicinal qualities. Spent the evening enjoying a quiet night at camp - we're off to Nuremburg in the morning for a few days of exploring another interesting city. It feels like an "embarrassment of riches" as we will also be in Prague within the week. Three great cities within a short period of time.
The impressive Dom (Cathedral) Bamberg. The grounds are so extensive that the Dom and the surrounding buildings and courtyards are called Domplatz.
Inside the Dom - both a place for tourists like us to marvel at its elegant historic presence as well as a sacred place for people like this woman lighting a candle.
The marvellous, intricate carvings of the Princes' Portal are protected in the winter with a wooden covering. We had looked for some time for this entryway - and when we finally found it, a roadie from the previous night's rock concert (Tim Bendzo) was taking a break here. While we have been here, a music festival has used the grounds of the Dom - opera, rock, big band....
The grounds of the Domplatz are so vast - the vast living quarters for the Bishop Prince, monks, etc - it is its own large community. We are entering the courtyard from the Old Court - the seat of the Bishop in the Middle Ages and the former court of Henry II.
The day after the rock concert. Yesterday we were there for the sound check and it was an interesting contrast between the very loud rock music sounds and the timeless sonority of the Cathedral bells. Our neighbours at the campground attended the opera and were amused that a young woman's aria had to compete with the church bells.
St.Michaelsburg - unfortunately, at this time, the church is closed to visitors. Yesterday, we visited the Brewery Museum which is housed in the cellars on these grounds.
