Viking European Sojourn River Cruise Day 21/27 - Bamberg, Germany
This morning, we sailed past a small inlet and then backed the ship down that inlet to the industrial port of Bamberg, Germany. Last night, we cruised the Main-Danube Canal, which spans between Kelheim, where we boarded yesterday, and Bamberg. We have now left the Danube behind and will sail the Main until we transfer to the Rhine near Wiesbaden in a few days.
There was little picturesque about the port but that soon changed as we rode the bus into Bamberg.
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| bayernhafen Bamberg - ship piers linking road, rail and inland waterway |
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| Heating and water tower at the slaughterhouse in Bamberg |
We boarded the packed bus for the ride into the city. We arrived at the concert hall to begin our walking tour.
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| Bamberg Concert Hall |
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| Regnitz river |
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| The former U.S. military base had an influence here |
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| The former Fisherman's Quarter - houses are on stilts like Venice |
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| This area used to be awful as everyone dumped everything - sewage, industrial waste, and more into the river - oh, it was also used for drinking water |
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| St. Elizabeth |
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| St. Elizabeth |
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| Bamberg Cathedral |
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| It is also known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and George |
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| The square outside the cathedral |
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| Old Court |
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| A greeting over the entry arch |
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| Inside the Old Court |
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| There used to be a hoist on the upper doors for bringing hay up for storage |
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| Neue Residenz Bamberg |
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| Flags of Bavaria, Germany, and the European Union |
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Neue Residenz Bamberg - built in the 1400s and 1500s
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| Entering the courtyard |
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| Nice knockers! |
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| The floor under the entry archway was made of buried and sawed-off timbers to reduce the noise of carriages as they passed through the archway |
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| The interior courtyard - it was restyled in the baroque style - sort of |
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| They didn't have the cash to actually add all the baroque ornamentation, so they painted them on - the windows are real, but all the decorative items are just paint - it was a way to go baroque without going broke |
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| The rose garden was just off the courtyard |
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| A view over the city |
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| Many of the roofs had some sagging issues |
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| St. Michael's Abbey |
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| Bamberg Cathedral |
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| The side entrance, or Prince's Portal was reserved for the Prince Bishop |
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| A depiction of Jesus ruling over all with the blessed on the left and the damned on the right |
After our time up on the hill near the cathedral, we started making our way down to the commercial center of Bamberg.
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| Icons like this adorned many of the buildings |
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| One of the breweries that brews Bamberg's famous smoked beer |
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| It was established in 1405 - the owner wasn't Jewish - the six-pointed star was the brewer's symbol |
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| Dominican Church |
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| Altes Rathaus - Old Town Hall |
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| The prince wouldn't let them build the town hall on his land, and he owned all the land |
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| They built it over the river, so...no land |
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| The artist who painted the wall in the 1700s added a 3D leg to this angel to draw attention to the fact that the angel was pointing to the artist's signature |
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| The mayor didn't like that so... |
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| The artist added more 3D characters pointing to the mayor's window - that satisfied him so he was no longer upstaged by the artist |
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| Classic half-timber construction |
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| Upper Bridge, Crucifixion Group |
We had a little over an hour of free time to wander about the city center.
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| Bronze statue of Neptune with his trident |
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| Centurione by Igor Mitoraj |
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| I had to try the smoked beer that was described as tasting like smoked ham |
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| It had a definite smokey flavor but I didn't get the ham - not my favorite and it was drinkable and had an interesting taste |
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| There seemed to be some resemblance |
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| This is what happens when you drink smoked beer |
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| St. Martin's Church - can't miss a day without seeing a church |
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| The beginning of the Gospel of John |
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| Maximilian Fountain |
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| The cops drive BMWs, undertakers - Mercedes |
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| Hauptwache or Main Guard building |
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| Built between 1772 and 1774, it was for the military on behalf of Prince Bishop Adam Friedrich von Seinsheim |
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| The old slaughterhouse |
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| When the U.S. military pulled out of Bamberg in 2014, they left these read school buses behind - they have been repurposed as tour buses |
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| I think he is changing a lightbulb |
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| We worked our way back to the concert hall to catch the bus - it took us to Zeil am Main where the ship sailed to while we were in Bamberg |
We sailed again as we ate lunch, hitting our first lock a few minutes later.
We continued sailing all afternoon, watching the German countryside and relaxing. Throughout the afternoon and evening, we sailed through multiple locks as we slowly worked our way down to sea level. After dinner tonight, Program Director, Ivan, conducted another Majority Rules game where you have to choose an answer to a question that matches most of the other teams. We had a solid finish but finished out of the prizes. Still, it was a fun evening with lots of laughs.
Tomorrow, we'll arrive in Würzburg, Germany.
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