Sep 21 - Bamberg, Germany

Today’s excursion was out into the Franconian Countryside!  What an enjoyable tour!  There were only 10 of us on the tour so we could walk at a leisurely pace, and linger a bit longer at some of the stops.

We left Bamberg, a UNESCO World Heritage site and headed to Memmelsdorf to the Seehof Palace built in the late 1600’s as the summer residence for the Bamberg Prince-Bishops.  It was a foggy morning so our first view of the palace was a bit obscured!  

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We were taken inside to look at some of the rooms.  The ornate White Hall was amazing with it’s painted ceiling.

From there we went into the little town of Memmelsdorf to a brewery, Drei Konigen (Three Kings) which is owned and operated by a family with a son and two daughters.  They have the restaurant, the brewery and a hotel which I would venture to say are the best in the area.  Almost everyone tried the two beers - a lager and a ‘smoky’ beer which apparently began in Bamberg and it was served with a soft pretzel and a sweet mustard sauce.  Yum!

After leaving the town we were driven through the countryside to a little Baroque church called Maria Limbach. Dating back to the 15th century, Wallfahrtskirche Maria Limbach is a pilgrimage church credited to Prince-Bishop Friedrich Karl von Schönborn. It was stunning!

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Our last stop was in a town called Zeil.  It had many half-timbered houses, cobblestone streets, and was the site of witch trials!

                            This is the tower where witches were 

                                imprisoned until their execution!

While we were driving through the countryside, the ship was continuing to sail through the locks on the Main!  So rather than go back to Bamberg  we met up with the ship at Haßfurt.  It was very interesting to watch as they got close enough to the shore to let us embark!

                                        Viking Rolf came up the river 

                   The captain manoeuvred the ship close to shore

              A crane on the top deck lowered a crew member

Once ashore he tied the boat and prepared to received the gangway

                                   The gangway was next….

They put it in place on a cement slab at the bottom of the stairway

                                   And we all boarded the ship!

Another wonderful dinner!  Delicious red wine! and now to think about what great new adventure awaits us tomorrow!

Stay tuned!

The Tired Travellers

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