Bamberg anyone?

The reality of my working life came crashing in upon me this last week.  

There was such a lot to do as a result of the conference I attended!  No time could be given over to the pleasures of writing another post.

But now all is under control and I am free once more.

Speaking of the conference, it was in Budapest and while I was there I was able to take up a kind offer proffered by Jane and Lance Hattatt.  I spent a rather pleasant evening attending a dinner party at their lovely residence in the heart of the City.

It was nice to meet people with whom I felt instantly at home.  Their other guests - R, W, H and B -  were equally charming people and most welcoming to me, a stranger within their midsts.  I hope to return to Budapest in more leisurely circumstances, at a later date and with AGA in tow, to 'see the sites'.

* * * * * * *

So anyway, there we were in Quedlinburg; but our holiday didn't end there, and after a couple of days we decamped and motored south.
The journey there was made amidst the wonders of a perfect autumn day.  The sky was bright and the colours were wonderful!

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

And so at length we approached the city of Bamberg.


Have you been there?

It is well worth a visit, as you shall see.

This photograph of Bamberg was taken by Kirk Dale.  The cathedral is in the middle of the photograph but I have no idea who that person is in the foreground.

Getting into Bamberg proved to be something of a challenge thanks to its unusual, and most extensive one way street system that encompasses both old and new town.  After having been lost for a good half an hour I decided that the only course was to ask a policeman.  Spotting a police station I drove in and while AGA waited in the car I went inside and met my first German Police Sergeant: An extremely helpful man who printed out a map and then drew direction so that we should not get lost again.  When I got back to the car AGA pointed out that the two undercover 'cops' that I thought the sergeant had been speaking to prior to assisting me, were in fact the gardeners...  However it had still been an exciting experience and so, accompanied by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Iphigénie, Oreste, Pylade, King Thoas and the rest, (directed by the incomparable Marc Minkowski) we came rollicking dramatically into the fair city late in the evening.  

A late dinner and then to bed.

The next morning we breakfasted and then set off to explore the town.

Quedlinburg had been a fairly well-to-do town and was at its peak during the Middle Ages after which a lack of money meant that not much in the way of new building took place and the town remained fairly much unchanged.
Bamberg on the other hand had always been a prosperous place, ruled over by a Prince-Bishop, and until 1803 was an independent city.  It contains palaces, magnificent churches and monasteries, a well endowed university and wonderful streets filled with fabulous houses.  I would call it a Baroque city myself.

Please allow me to show you around...

This building is the Altenburg, a castle built on one of the seven hills upon which Bamberg stands.  This view is from our hotel balcony and while I admit that I used the camera zoom, it was still close enough to walk to:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale

This is a view of the old St Michael's monastery.  It sits on another hill: The Michaelsberg.

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

Here is the 'centre' of town.  The old Town Hall is the building in the middle of the photograph.  It is actually on an island and you get to it via a grand bridge:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

 Built in the 14th Century, it now houses a museum containing an impressive collection of porcelain  (mostly Meissen) known as the 'Ludwig Collection'.  It includes these lovelies!

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

 This tulip vase:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

 And this very nice tureen:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

Here on the outskirts of the old town of Bamberg lies 'Little Venice'.  Each house fronts the river:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

Here is the Cathedral of Bamberg.  This year (2012) marks the 1000th anniversary of its founding.  There was a very interesting exhibition within the Diocesan Museum, which AGA and I visited.  The treasures of the Cathedral are include many early medieval garments such as the robes of St Kunigunde and the only existing robes of an early medieval Pope (these were owned by Pope Clement II who lies buried within the cathedral).  Unfortunately no photographs were allowed within the museum. 

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.  It looks rather dull but I am not sure why - probably the fault of the so called Photographer!

Opposite the Cathedral is the New Residence (Neue Residenz) which was home to the Prince Bishops and later served as a home for the exiled King Otto of Greece and his wife.  I never knew much about him but the museum within expanded upon his life and he sounded like a very nice man.  Here is a detail of this very, very large building:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

And here is as much of it as I could get into a photograph:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

Bamberg is renowned for its breweries.  There are eight of them, one of which is a restaurant as well.  The large coppery brewery vats are set amongst the tables.  I am rather partial to a glass of beer or two and so I was able to try a different type of beer each night we were there:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.  AGA is holding the glass to give an idea of size.

And while we are on the subject of eating and drinking I should add that we ate a lot of rather delicious Franconian cooking such as this schwein haxe (pork knuckle) with potato dumplings.  I enjoyed it but didn't care for the green mush.  It smelt and tasted like cabbage. . . blech!

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

 And then there were the cinnamon apple fritters with ice-cream and cream:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

Here is another view of the old town centre.  The old Town Hall is on the right.  It really was a very charming spot, and that white house on the left had a lovely book shop on the ground floor facing the street.  We made a couple of purchases there and the lady said she would look after our bags while we continued to explore.  Later I noticed that the house had a lovely garden that bordered the river and I wondered whether the lady lived there.  I hope so:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

Bamberg has some very interesting buildings but I will show them in another post as I don't want this one to be too long!  I shall therefore end with this photograph of some brave roses who remained in bloom even though the chill of winter was in the air:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.

Here is an update for you: It consists of one more photograph.  I am putting this in for Mark Ruffner. who liked the look of it.  The ornate part of the old Town Hall is actually the archway for passing across the bridge. It forms the entrance to the Council Chambers which occupy this building, as well as the space over the arch:

This Photograph was taken by Kirk Dale.