Viking Grand European River Cruise: 6/17/2016

6/17/16 - Friday

Up at 0600 to upload the pictures from yesterday (that is about the only time when there is enough bandwidth to get things done). Today we are going to be stopping in Bamberg and this evening we will be packing up to transfer to our other ship, the Viking Bragi.

Bamberg-

Things to do in Bamberg

1. Bamberger Dom (Bamberg Cathedral)
2. Bamberg New Residence and Rose Garden (built by a Prince Bishop like the Wurzburg Residence)
3. Visit the Old Town Hall
4. Drink lots of Beer- apparently Bamberg has the worlds densest concentration of brewerys.

We will see how things go!

Bamberg is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, laid out over 7 hills where the Regnitz and Main rivers meet. Its old town preserves structures from the 11th to 19th centuries including the muraled Altes Rathaus, which occupies an island in the Regnitz reached by arched bridges. The Romanesque Bamberg Cathedral, begun in the 11th century, features 4 towers and numerous stone carvings.

Our trip to Bamberg was really fun. It is a small old city and there was relatively little to see and everything was very close. We had a good guide and we thoroughly enjoyed the day.
The city lies on a tributary of the Main River called the Regnitz River. We visited the old slaughter house, the old town hall the Cathedral of Bamberg, little venice and the old brewery where one of the first smoked beer was brewed.
Bamburg Cathedral is a beautiful medieval church with an interesting couple of saints...
The Holy Roman Emperor Henry II was the one who built the church and therefore was allowed to be buried there along with his wife Cunigunde. Apparently, they were so beloved that the powers that be cooked up a few miracles they could attribute to them and had them canonized. Quite a story once you hear the miracles they were involved with.
After our tour, we made our way back to the buses for a trip back to the ship. A nice day and everyone was pleased with the events of the day.

An example of a 1/2 timbered house that was "upgraded" to the baroque style in the front at the behest of the Prince Bishop in the 17th century. This particular family only "upgraded" the front of the house and not the side. There was some sort of tax incentive given to anyone who would convert their 1/2 timbered house to baroque style.

This is the old slaughter house of Bamburg. The left side of the house is built out over the river and the offal from the slaughtering was simply dumped into the river.

An old winch for lifting cargo into and out of river barges in the 18th century.

The old town hall bulit in 1386 is a beautifully decorated builiding sitting on a small island in the middle of the Regnitz.

The Old Town Hall.

The Old Town Hall from the other side.

Looking at the old town hall from another bridge.

Just up along the river from the slaughter house (seen on the right side) is a row of houses called the Klein-Venedig (little Venice) and was where fishermen lived. Because it was just below the slaughter house it was not a very popular area to live. Today, however, this areas is very valuable and it is almost impossible to find any vacant property.

An example of a beautiful baroque building.

A statue of St. Cunigunde on the bridge near the old town hall.

A horse and rider inside of the Bamburg Cathedral. It is apparently unusual because there are no other churches with horse sculptures.. they don't know who the rider is but the best guess is the King of Hungary at the time (around 1000)

Got Religion? Or listening to our tour guide.

The tomb of King Henry II and Cunigunde. They were canonized under some very suspicious circumstances - You should read the story of their lives.

Some of the scenes on the side of the sarcophagus.

Carving on the side of the sarcophagus.

Here we are inside of Wurzburg Cathedral waiting for the group to finish up.

One wing of the New Residence built for the Prince Bishop. It was very similar to the Residence in Wurzburg but is isn't as grand.

Wurzburg Cathedral from the side.

Standing guard while the ladies us the WC.

The Schlenkerla Bierhaus in Bamberg. They are rather famous for their smoked beer.

The sign out in front of the Schlenkerla indicates it is a brewer by the presence of the six pointed star. The bow-legged guy, it was said, is the original brewer and he had a disability and they called his place the place of the schlenkerla - the guy with the wobbly legs.