June 21, 2009
Written June 24
Friends and Families ,
On Sunday, we continued Henry's European Vacation (HEV). Since the weather was threatening and because, after chores, we only had part of a day, we stayed close to home. Bamberg is just 20 kilometers away but it remains one of our favorite towns in Bavaria.
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One of the things Bamberg
is famous for is beer and, reportedly, one of the best is Fässla.
We'd not been to this particular Bamberg brewery (there are dozens
to sample) so we used our 19-year-old visitor as an excuse. The
beer and food were all we could hope for. |
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Back out on the streets,
we took the required photos of the "Rathaus" (City Hall) and crossed
a couple of the scenic downtown bridges. On a whim, we grabbed
a boat ride just as it was leaving for its hour-and-a-half ride. |
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The first part of the trip
passed by the wonderful old homes of central Bamberg. We needed
to duck under bridges as we moved downstream . |
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We entered a lock just at
the edge of the downtown area. The mechanism was motor-operated,
but it looked like the doors and gates had been around for a hundred
years. Actually, this canal has been around for much more than
this since it was part of the original Main-to-Danube canal that,
in the mid-18th Century, made barge travel possible from the North
Sea to the Black Sea. Our trip was shorter. |
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We left the small canal and, after swinging through
the Bamberg harbor, entered a part of the modern Main-Danube Canal.
Here there were flat-sided cruise ships built specifically to
fit the locks. We were chased off the top deck by rain but, after
20 minutes cooped up below, we returned to the upper deck - a lot
better view! |
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On the return part of the trip, we passed a few
private boats, river-hugging trees, the lock, and the large Baroque
building that now houses the Bamberg archives. (We know this because
it was one of our architect Axel's projects.) Bamberg is as beautiful
as ever. |
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The next big trip for the HEV will be later in the week, when we head to the German Alps. But, that's another story.
John and Marianne