Our morning was spent in a leisurely pace, sampling fresh German pretzels and beer en route to the last stop along the Maine river - a gem of Franconia - Bamberg. The town claims a population of 70,000 of which 10% are students. These lucky residents share in 9 breweries plus 81 others in the surrounding region which produce a total of over 200 different types of beers. It is also the home of Boche manufacturing & basketball champions of Germany
Bamberg is know for its "Rauchbier" or smoked beer - it is a dark red ale with a smooth but smokey flavor and an aftertaste of bacon. We all got to try a bottle, compliments of Ama Waterways & then spent a free afternoon just wandering the pedestrian districts from Gruener Markt to Maxplatz and Austrasse
Bamburg was built along this offshoot river Regnitz. These are some of the oldest buildings from 16th Century. Houses were built by tanners who became quite rich in their trade of leathers
Altes Rathaus in Bamberg
Leslie& Ken - fellow Canadians we met on the ship
A parliamentary town hall that is straddling a river ..first ever..lol
Wonderful rose garden fronting the edge of city wall
"Peace Rose" - successful and popular all over the world - a blend of light yellow to pink color, developed by French horticulturist Francis Meilland and so aptly named after WWII. Meilland had apparently foresaw the German invasion of France and he sent cuttings to friends in Italy, Turkey, Germany & U.S. to protect the new hybrid
No medieval town would be complete without a cathedral - this one was built in 1237 in the Romanesque tradition and holds the tombs of Emperor Henry II and Pope Clement II. Above pic is a magnificent marable tomb of the founder and his wife, masterpiece of the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, and carved between 1499 - 1513. Another treasure of the cathedral is an equestrian statue known as the Bamberg Horseman which dates back to 1200
This spread of houses on the canal also known as "little Venice"
The Schlenkerla, one of Bamburg's famous breweries and taverns where we all claimed our Rauchbier
