Bamberg Germany

In the army, you live for four-day weekends. I mean sure, I have a lot of free time, but my husband has the busiest schedule. He goes leaves for P.T. and work at 5:30 every morning, and sometimes won't get home until 7:30 at night. Whew! I don't know how he does it, because I would NEVER be a happy camper if I had to work that long. This just makes me respect him so much more, because not everyone is willing to put in those hours. So, every once in a while, the army gives some nice long weekends. Lately, Jordan has had to work through the past few, but this weekend we lucked out!

Living in Europe has provided so many wonderful opportunities for travel. Even if you have a weekend, there is always somewhere new to go. This weekend, we went to Bamberg. We decided to take the train, which was about two hours. Sometimes I love the train. It is quite an adventure because you encounter so many different sights and smells. Since it is Spring now, the train wasn't too bad. During the summer it gets very hot and crowded. This means you are stuck standing or sitting next to some smelly people. I have found that the gentlemen here either do not shower, and therefore smell horrible, or they wear WAY too much cologne. It makes me think of middle school, when boys either smelled from gym, or showered their body in Axe body spray. Yuck. So we lucked out for this journey and didn't have to deal with a large crowd or stinky passengers.

Once we arrived in Bamberg, we started walking in the direction of the zentral, or town center. At least, Jordan said we were walking there. As soon as we headed in the direction Jordan said was correct, I started having doubts. You can generally tell where the center of a city is, because a crowd of people is walking in that direction. We however were walking the opposite way. I started voicing my concern, but of course I am just a woman with NO sense of direction, so my input was not heard. We continued walking for a long time, until finally Jordan realized we were in fact walking the wrong way. Ahh the satisfaction I felt, and of course I had to rub it in some.

So after a lot of extra walking, we found our way to the zentral. It was absolutely beautiful and full of life. There was a big market that day too. I love walking through markets and seeing all of the things people sell. There were baskets, flowers, meats, vegetables, and so many more vendors. All the time we were walking, Jordan was filling me in on all of the historical aspects of the city. You see, I never would need a tour guide, because I married my own! Bamberg is fascinating because it was one of the few cities that wasn't destroyed during World War II.

So after the market we ate some yummy lunch. I accidentally ordered the wrong thing, but was quite content with what I received. I had grilled fish over a mustard and dill sauce. Sounds gross, but was good. Bamberg is also known for having a very interesting type of beer. It is called Rauchbeir and has a smokey flavor. I tried some and found that it was like drinking a camp fire... so not really something I enjoyed, but when in Bamberg... After a filling lunch we headed to the prettiest parts of the city. Through the middle of the city runs the Regnitz river. In the middle of two bridges, the old town hall is located.

The old town hall was absolutely beautiful. Not only was it located in the middle of the river, the paintings on the side of the building were amazing.

Why can't they still make buildings like that now?

So it was a beautiful day that just continued to get better. Our next stop was to walk up a hill to the cathedral. Of course we had to stop to take some other pictures along the way. We are tourists after all.

The cathedral was quite beautiful. It was made in Romanesque style, which I favor. Compared to the glitz of many other cathedrals, this one was simple but still breathtaking.

The inside of the cathedral was very dark and cool. It made me feel like I couldn't speak, because I was in awe the entire time.

There were so many other things we saw and enjoyed that day. All in all, it was an amazing trip. I am such a lucky lady to be able to live close enough to any place like this!