Friday, July 1, 2011 -- Cruising the Main/Danube Canal -- Bamburg, Germany

Leisurely day on the ship cruising this lovely canal -- still cold and rainy.  We keep reminding ourselves that it is July.  Internet is sporadic at best so no way to update the blog.  There is a lecture mid-morning entitled "Germany since 1933" -- it is interesting to hear a German historian talk about Hitler and how he came to power. 

Lunch on board -- excellent at usual.  At 2:30 pm we arrive in Bamburg, Germany.  With a population of 70,000, Bamburg is a lovely medieval town with many original buildings and bridges.   Our Guide is Stephanie who is one of the best we've had -- she is witty and quick -- her English is flawless.   She takes us through town pointing out the best shop for this or that.  We end up at the Bamburg Cathedral -- another 13th century building.   From what I can tell the business to be in during the middle ages was building cathedrals, painting frescoes and sculpting statues --- and we've seen only a few of the places that survived.

After our tour we wandered around town stopping in a shop or two.  Sharon and Patte purchased some local handmade lace items.   The guys were anxious to redeem the voucher Stephanie had given each of us for a free pint of local smoked beer.  However, everyone on the tour had the same voucher so the two places for redemption were packed.  We opted to redeem for a beer package to go and buy a beer someplace less crowded.   Since the weather had improved we chose "Scheiners Gaststuben" -- an outdoor restaurant on a plaza.  As long as we were there we also decided to try a sausage platter --- we could not believe what came out.  We thought we were getting a snack -- but the plate of sausages, potatoes and salads that came out took up half the table.   Of course, we've been in training for the past week -- so we had no trouble polishing this off -- after all we hadn't eaten for two hours.

Most of the shops close promptly at 6:00 pm -- but on the way back to the ship I approached a watch store, recommended by Stephanie, that appeared to be closed.  I knocked on the door and the proprietor acknowledged me but spoke no English.  However, he was a good businessman --  he got his wife who spoke flawless English --  I bought a watch -- Sharon bought a gold chain.

Bamburg is a town I could come back to -- perhaps for the Christmas Markets.  It has good vibes -- happy, bustling people going about their lives and enjoying it.

Back on board -- our after dinner entertainment was Valerie, a local singer with a gorgeous voice.  She sang tunes from all over the world.

Another good day on the river -- now if only this weather would clear it would be perfect.

Thanks to Skip for letting us know that the Cathedral of Ulm in Ulm Germany is the tallest in the world.

Thanks for Reading

Pat  
On the Main/Danube Canal toward Nuremberg