Cities of Light: Day 10
Day 10: Friday, October 27, 2023 - Bamberg, Germany
The day's statistics:
- Weather: overcast to partly cloudy to rainy, upper 50s
- Steps: 13,672 Linda; 13,518 Steve
- Miles traveled (approximately): 43
We followed our normal wake-up routine.
Breakfast was the usual egg benedict for Linda, and I had the buffet.
While I didn't get a picture of every buffet breakfast plate, this gives an idea of what I pretty much had most days: scrambled eggs, sausage,
bacon, a little potato, and some veggies though it was pretty much mushrooms every day.
During breakfast, we went through a lock.
Also at breakfast, we got a selfie with our server Geo.
And another selfie with our daily-but-not-at-breakfast wine-pourer Milan.
And looking out the window while in our room...
Today's excursion was called "Bamberg Walking Tour". However, it wasn't scheduled until after lunch - 1:30, so we had some scenic sailing.
This morning, at 10:00, we had the port talk because we had to cover the disembarkment routine. Our group - blue - was scheduled for an 8:30
departure.
When we got back to the room, we started packing now, rather than waiting until tonight so we wouldn't be so rushed. This
gave us the opportunity to pack the carry-ons for two days rather than having to go into the big suitcases for anything.
The papers we received also included information about the hotel departures - after we disembarked, we were going to spend two nights in
the Hilton in Prague, and the following morning, depart. But the documentation we had had a problem. On that following morning, we were flying
from Prague to Vienna (11:10 AM > 12:05 PM [with a time zone]), then Vienna to Warsaw (1:00 PM > 2:15 PM), but the Viking sheet showed we were
flying from Vienna to Warsaw 11:10 AM > 12:05 (right time, wrong city_. So based on that, we had no transport TO the airport, and would not have
appropriately timed pick-up in Warsaw because we wouldn't be arriving until more than two hours later. I went to the Guest Services desk and
explained what the problem was. The information was entered into their computer, and I was told that I should be able to get more information
when we get to the hotel.
Before returning to the room, I stepped out onto the bow to take a couple pictures.
The first really shows how narrow the waterway is, and one of the advantages of being on a ship like this - an ocean sized
ship could never navigate a waterway this narrow and shallow.
The sundeck was closed - and the wheelhouse and other deck apparatus were lowered to make way for a low clearance.
This series shows how little space there is between the ship and bridge. Some cruises - though not ours - have been impacted
by high water because of this exact situation - a disadvantage of cruising on a waterway this nnarrow and shallow.
We easily passed under the bridge and floated on.
We nearly finished packing, and it was time for lunch.
I didn't note who we sat with.
Linda had white bean soup, roast beef & herbed cream cheese sandwich, and Viennese iced coffee.
I had the mozzarella and salad from the market fare, white bean soup, fish & chips, and apple compote tart.
Toward the end of our lunch, we docked at a port in the middle of a lumber shipping depot.
We didn't get to sit and relax like we usually sort of do since our excursion started at 1:30.
After getting our supplies from the room - QuietVoice®, camera, jackets - we boarded the bus.
Today's guide was Steven.
We headed into town.
We arrived at the concert hall, gathered in groups, broke out the umbrellas as it started lightly raining, and
headed off on foot along the river.
An approximation of our walking route.
- Purple line: start of the walk with the guide. We stopped in front of a church where they were also filming an episode of a TV show inside.
- Green line: rest of the walk to the Old Court.
- Pink line: from the Old Court to the Rose Garden, and back to the plaza.
- Blue line: walk from the Old Court to City Hall.
- Red line: our return walk to the Dom (aka Bamberg Cathedral) and back.
- Orange line: walk through the town.
And most of the sights along the walk.
Along the river path were some small backyard gardens, with the path between the two.
And on the other side of the path...
There were two ramps flanked by tiny steps. This would probably be used to push baby strollers and or wheelchairs. Very convenient.
We crossed the river. The houses on the left were originally deemed inhabitable due to frequent river flooding. Now they are prized
seven figure dwellings.
Moving on...
We arrived at a church where a local TV series (as opposed to US-based) filming was taking place. We can only assume
the lights were to simulate daylight since it was raining.
At one time, on Sand Street, there were 14 bars / pubs; now, there are 16 in the entire city.
Further down the street.
Another stumbling stone.
The brewery with the flowers on the front, and the sign-post with the Star of David sells something called smoked beer.
We continued down the road, made our way up a flight of stairs, and was in the Bamberger Dom plaza.
We walked through a passageway and were in the Old Court.
Our guide told us that one of his friends was an extra in the movie The Three Muskateers that was filmed in this court.
We left the Old Court, crossed back across the plaza, walked through another passageway, and headed toward the Rose Garden.
There were a few flowers in bloom, but not as many as during the season. I can only imaging how great this garden would look then.
There was also a fountain.
From the very back of the gardens, there was an overlook vantage point.
We finished in the garden and headed back to the Dom.
We then made our way back down the hill and toward City Hall.
We weaved through the city a little, and passed a couple points of interest that included a couple Christmas stores.
We arrived at City Hall.
There as an extensive amount of artwork on the outside of the building.
One artistic element of note was the leg sticking out of the side of the building.
Another artistic element of note was this Cherub sort of figure hold back the curtain showing that "government had nothing to hide."
On the bridge over / very near the canal there were a couple sets of statues.
At this point, our guided tour was over. We were given free time and had to be back at the concert hall at 5:30.
We wanted to go inside the Dom, so we headed back up the hill.
We passed a store that was selling what looked like small porcelain kitchen appliances, including this blue and white Schlitz toaster
by Dolce and Gabbana. For €645.00 ($650ish).
We arrived at the Dom and entered. It was a very large Dom, and had two altars - one at either end.
There was a lot of stonework, statues, and chapels.
Supposedly, no one knows who the horse rider is, though there is some speculation that it is the architect.
Near one end of the church is a tomb.
Off to one side of an altar was a crypt. I decided to pay it a quick visit.
There wasn't too much stained glass.
We came across a sub-chapel.
We finished our visit at the Dom and stepped outside. We ran into Margie and Eric who were headed to the Jewish Quarter.
We headed back down the hill - again.
We arrived at city hall, and crossed the brodge.
We continued on and made our way a street with a large number of shops and restaurants. And somehow ran into Eric.
This isn't Eric, nor is it a statue of him...
We eventually came across a rather large market square. And took a selfie.
In the background of the selfie above, there is a Woolworth. This chain is apparently still going strong in Europe.
We continued our walk, and headed in the direction of the river. We knew if we got to the river, all we had to do
was turn right, and walk to the concert hall. We came across four other fellow travelers that were headed in the
same direction we were, and we essentially just followed them.
We eventually made it to the concert hall. Three of the four buses were taking passengers, but ours hadn't arrived yet.
So we waited at the end of the line until it did. But there wasn't enough space for it so the driver drove all the way
to the front of the line. We boarded, and headed to the ship.
After visiting the stateroom, we headed to the lounge.
Tonight was the Captain's Cocktail Party and Toast. We had some light appetizers.
After the toast was the port talk, though it centered around disembarkment.
Then we headed to the dining room for our last dinner on this ship.
We sat with Marge and Eric.
Linda had the Casaer salad, Krustenbraten (crispy roast pork), and buchteln (brioche with custard).
I had the salad, Krustenbraten (crispy roast pork), and crème brûlée.
After dinner, we returned to our room.
We finished finalizing our luggage packing, and eventually went to bed.