When we left Nuremberg we knew that the Danube part of our journey was over. Overnight our ship, Bragi, had crossed the continental divide, that invisible border in the mountains that separates where raindrops will end up: The Black Sea or the North Sea.
Our morning balcony view heading toward Bamberg.
The night before we’d been warned that we might be late to dock in Bamberg because Bragi would be competing for lock time. Apparently a lot of ships were participating in a regatta through the Main-Danube Canal. Luckily for us, we got through with no issues. We docked on time in Bamberg (9:00 am) and everyone got on the buses quickly.
Three excursion options were available today:
- Walking tour of Bamberg (the included tour)
- Extended walking tour plus brewery visit
- Optional Franconian countryside tour, mostly on the bus plus a couple of short stops
We chose option #2 because Bamberg is famous for a smoky-tasting beer called rauchbier. This meant that we wouldn’t have any free time on our own, but we didn’t mind. After all, if we had been on our own we would have stopped at a tavern to sample their unique beer anyway.
Impressive sights
Our tour guide may have been from Belarus but he spoke English with a perfect German accent. He was a seven-year resident of Bamberg, studying Adult Education at the local university. He explained a lot about Bamberg’s history and architecture.
Bamberg has no railway lines or major industry. Because of this the city was not damaged during World War II. Thanks to being spared all the bombs it still has an authentic medieval appearance, which earned the old town UNESCO World Heritage status.
Some of the major sights we saw on our tour included:
Bamberg Cathedral dates from 1237.
The Old Imperial Court, Alte Hofhaltung, was the residence of the bishops in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Neue Residenz, residence of the bishops after the 17th century.
There is a beautiful rose garden behind the New Residence
Old Town Hall dates from 1386. It was built in the middle of the Regnitz River and is accessible by two bridges.
“Little Venice” is a colony of picturesque fishermen’s houses in Bamberg. The buildings date from the 19th century.
Michaelsberg Abbey, built in the 12th century.
How do you smoke a beer?
As well-known as Bamberg is as a UNESCO world heritage site, it is just as famous for its rauchbier (smoked beer). The famous beer gets its distinctive smoke flavor because they use malted barley dried over an open flame.
Our final stop on the tour was to Schlenkerla, the best known brewery in town. They still maintain the old tradition of tapping directly from the wooden barrel.
With a reputation like that they still produce the original Schlenkerla Smokebeer.
Schenkerla may be the oldest Bamberg brewery as well, because it was first mentioned in 1405.
Our tasting included three beer varieties, two of which (urbock and weizen) were made from the smoky barley. The final, Helles, is made from unsmoked barley but still has a smoky flavor due to it being brewed near the smoking operation. All three tasted like liquid smoke. Absolutely delicious. After we got home we found out that their beers are exported. If you’d like to try them they are available in the U.S. at Whole Foods and Total Wine (check Schlenkerla’s website for other locations).
Urbock beer
Weizen beer
Helles beer
Our waitress handed out pretzels and German mustard to help cleanse our palates between beers.
Change of plans
Our ship left Bamberg at 1:30, while we were enjoying a late lunch. We were supposed to have a presentation on Germany Today but thanks to the lecturer’s schedule it was postponed to Thursday. Dewi offered an impromptu presentation about some of Viking’s other river cruise destinations. She also shared more about their new ocean cruises, and revealed what she had heard about the company’s planned expansion to the Mississippi River (2017).
I was pleasantly surprised that Dewi’s talk had none of the book-now-for-a-great-deal vibe we’ve gotten on ocean cruises. She did mention that we could buy a special coupon for $100 that would give us $200 off our next cruise, though. It’s not a particularly impressive deal but we might do it anyway. We’ll see.
Tomorrow: Wurzburg and Rothenburg ob der Tauber
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