Travel Journal of the Great Rivers of Europe Cruise

Day 10 BAMBERG, Germany
16 June 2005 Thursday

Bamburg

This medieval town was miraculously spared from the bombing of WWII probably because there was no contribution to the war effort. Color coded buses to Bamburg with squares and fountains new and old. Facades and cobbled pavements.

There were three distinct areas: one for the bishops, one for the gardeners and one for common people. Of the 15 churches of the area, only 2 of these were actually available to the common folk. The others were reserved for the clergy or the monasteries or the convents. What a change of attitude when it comes to church! There was one building that had a fabulous 16th century fresco painted on two sides, and heavily carved faced and crests and as in almost all buildings, there were Madonnas and children built right into the corners and sides of buildings.

By the way, presently there are some dissatisfied travelers, grumbling because they cannot go up to the sundeck. Lowbridges from here all the way to Nurnberg (Nuremburg). You may go upstairs, I say to one person who is puzzled by the chain across the outside stair to the sundeck, if you want to get decapitated. No takers.

Katya had told us on the bus to the market place center that she was quite nervous because her fiancé had had dinner with his father last night at home in Belgium and he had called her late last night having had clearly too much to drink. She had extorted a promise that he would call after he had driven home, and when he had not called last night and then not responded to his cell phone, and was not at work, etc. Katya was a tearful wreck by the end of the morning. She finally was able to get her mother to check in on her fiancé and presumably had finally heard from him by the early afternoon. The only problem with mentioning this to a busload of parents and grandparents and mothers, is that everyone had taken the opportunity to express their concern and tell their own anecdotes of late spouses etc. Poor Katya is no doubt very very sorry that she mentioned anything at all.

Anyhow I did find my Discovery object. Don't tell anyone but it is a little puzzle of one of the Bamburg facades that I found in one of the vintage bookstores. Incidentally I did pick up several tiny children's books in German for John Heimsath's brood and did I tell you yesterday that I found a fabulous old Albrecht Durer books with color plates glued in the old way which can be cut up into framed pieces. No one would believe that this cost a whooping 2.50 EU, or would anyone have found it because this required my everpresent laser vision. Besides most shoppers were probably put off by the nude Adam and Eve but NOT I. I will disassemble this book and use the noncontroversial Durers in the classroom.

We went up as a group to the fantastic St. Stephen's Church that had the famous horse and rider statue. It is unheard of according to the local guide, to have a horse and rider of actual size during the medieval times, but there is a story that accompanies this - naturally.
There was at the time a lovely sister of the emperor Giselle whose loveliness had spread throughout the entire world (all the way to Hungary) to the ears of a pagan king. This pagan king was so enthralled with the stories that he had heard that he jumped upon his horse and traveled to Bamburg. Despite all the wild life and the weather and the possible robbers and the wild rivers and lack of roads and hotels, this pagan king made this journey all the way to Bamburg, and without even stopping to pray or pay homage at the cathedral (he was pagan after all). This pagan king went all the way to the castle to meet the famed Giselle. Naturally they fell in love, or at least he fell in love with her and though lineage was clearly not a problem, he had to promise to convert to Christianity in order to be able to marry the beautiful Giselle. And indeed this king; now King Stephen became a Christian, and thus converted his whole kingdom to Christianity. He has been thus named St. Stephen King of Hungary. And to remember this, his statue was placed in the cathedral to remember him for all time.

For some strange reason, Hitler decided that this was the perfect Aryan ideal and he protected this statue by building a wooden wall around it during the war. The last laugh is on Hitler because he obviously did not know his history since Hungarians are in no way shape or form Aryans. hahahahaha.

We crossed the wide cobbled square to the famous rose garden that was established 5 centuries later (dodging the bikes and cars whose path is marked by different colored stone pavings) The wall of the garden had wires to which the climbing roses were tied. And inside the rose garden were thousands of gorgeous healthy roses, all organized by color. We noted that yellow roses were not yet opened. I took a photograph of the triangular rose frames holding up some of the climbing roses to look like rose trees. My mother began to ruminate about roses and how to plant another wall full of roses at home.

Down the stairs to the restaurant where we were served the smoky beer of the region. A pre-lunch beersnack: dark beer that tasted like liquid smoky BBQ. It is said that one of the Bamburg breweries caught fire,and because the grain was only partially burned, and these hops were used for the beer and thus was born a new, distinctive and highly popular beer. These small glasses of beer were served with large soft pretzels, which held off everyone's hunger until lunchtime.

Along the way, one of the brewery iron signs was pointed out. An apparent star of David, or two overlapping triangles, was actually not a Star of David but the sign of fire and water, which together meant BEER. Breweries and wineries were very popular because they were not taxed.

Free time. More postcards and I found more charms for my Germany trip charm bracelet. I did see some lovely garnets in both necklace and ring form. Mommy expressed possible interest in a beautiful garnet ring/necklace set that we would have had time to look at if she had only said something! Grrrrrr!

Back on the bus, my mother was impatient because I ducked into yet one more store, even though she had walked on with fellow travelers. So little faith! Then back on the ship for lunch and talk.

Tonight, we will be entertained by the multitalented crew that will not include our program directors. Whoops! Sudden darkness, chandeliers rattling as we gently bump bump through another low bridge!

posted by Articulate Pen @ 3:16 PM