Well I’m sure as anyone who has read the previous post will
have gathered, I’ve been away in foreign parts, and from my comments on other
blogs, particularly Retired Martin’s
page, Germany
was the destination for this year’s spring break.
The base for our five day short holiday, was the lovely city
of Bamberg; a real gem of a place
which fortunately managed to escape the attentions of Arthur "Bomber" Harris, an
obsessive man who considered it his mission to pound as many beautiful
and historic German cities into rubble.
Bamberg is a
well known destination for British beer lovers, given its nine or ten
breweries, and its distinctive beers; the most famous of which is Rauchbier –
literally “smoke beer.” The importance of the latter is perhaps over-stated, given
that only two of the city’s breweries produce it on a regular basis but,
Schenkerla, who produce the most distinctive and widely known Rauchbier are
custodians of not only a world classic beer, but are also guardians of one of
the most unspoilt taverns in which to drink it.
I travelled there with son Matthew, leaving Mrs PBT’s to
spend a few days down at her sister’s in Bexhill. She is recovering well, but
decided a spell at the seaside would be more beneficial than a trip abroad.
This was undoubtedly a wise move on her part, as Matt and I formed part of a
group of beer enthusiasts, most of whom were from Maidstone CAMRA. This was the
same bunch of individuals who we visited Düsseldorf with, last year.
The main part of the group travelled over by train (Eurostar
plus Deutsche Bahn), but as our travel arrangements were rather more last
minute (due to Eileen’s earlier illness), we flew into Munich
and then took the train. Flying into Nuremberg
is undoubtedly the quickest way of getting to Bamberg,
but Ryan Air are now the only airline offering direct flights between this
handy little airport and the UK. Easy Jet, on the other hand, operate three flights daily, each way between Gatwick and Munich, and by making use of a Bayern Ticket, it was possible to make the onward trip to Bamberg at a very reasonable price.
The train journey is quite lengthy, but our early morning
flight, allowed plenty of options, so after landing at Munich,
we took the bus to nearby Freising. From there we boarded one of Deutsche
Bahn’s double-decker, Regional Express trains, and from the upper deck we
enjoyed a comfortable journey to Nuremberg,
as our train sped through the picturesque Bavarian countryside.
A quick change of trains, saw us arriving in Bamberg
shortly before 3.30pm, and five
minutes later we were checking in to our recently-built, stylish hotel, close
to the station. The rest of the group were also staying at the same hotel,
although I hadn’t realised this when I first booked it.
Our itinerary allowed for two days in Bamberg plus a trip out to nearby Forchheim and its four breweries. Matt and I stayed on an extra day, so we decided
to do the cultural thing by spending a day in Würzburg. Harris unfortunately
managed to virtually destroy that city, and seven decades later the scars are still visible, but
the magnificent Würzburg Rezidenz has been painstakingly reconstructed, along
with a number of other historic monuments.
I will be writing about our experiences at these various
places, later on, but for now I will just say that we had a really good time.
The weather was fine, apart from the last day, the pubs were splendid, the beer
was magnificent– along with the prices (around €2.80 for a half litre), and the
company was excellent.
Matt and I got back in the early hours of Friday, and have
spent the day unpacking, washing, tidying things away along with some shopping.
Tomorrow, there is a street party taking place at the bottom of our road, as
apparently two people are getting married. I’m not an ardent royalist, but the party
will be a good excuse to get to know some of the new people who have moved into
our road, and to catch up with those neighbours who we wish to catch up with.
9 comments:
Glad you enjoyed your trip Paul.
I think you're a little harsh on Bomber Harris although I suppose it would also be accurate to describe Hermann Goering as obsessive as his Luftwaffe was also intent on bombing the crap out of as many British cities as they could.
Certainly that's what my Nan used to tell me when recounting the time her sister and family were wiped out when Jerry dropped a bomb on their house in the East End.
Sadly that's what happens in a war.
Syd, of course these sorts of horrors happen in a war, but two wrongs don't make a right. Harris was certainly someone obsessed with pounding Germany to rubble, even to the extent of believing that bombing alone would win the war. I'm not being hard on the man, but you have to ask was the end game worth destroying not just beautiful and historic cities, but tens of thousands of civillian lives.
Würzburg was destroyed less than two months before the war in Europe came to an end. The Third Reich was already close to collapse, and there were no armaments factories, or other legitimate targets in the city. The motive behind the attack was one of revenge or sheer spite.
We've both said our pieces now, and a discussion about that most British of obsessions (WWII), was not what I had in mind when I was in Bamberg last week. So, as Basil Fawlty famously alluded to, no more mention of the war, please.
Less controversially, those Ibis places (in various guises) are my hotels of choice too. Looking forward to your reports from Forcheim, one of the obvious places I haven't got to yet. Glad you all had a good time.
Can't wait for your posts. One of my favorite cities in Europe. What beer!
Great to see you had a good time. I loved both Bamberg and Forchheim, and hope to get back there before too long.
Syd's comparison of Harris and Goering is a little disingenuous. Towards the end of the war, the Allies had built up this massive bomber fleet, but were running out of targets - or at least, of targets with any military value. So they just looked for places to flatten. Goering never had that luxury.
Any way you slice it the bombing of civilian targets changed at this point in time. An awful change for the world. The ramifications of this are going to be felt by too many people. We're going to carry that weight a long time.
Yes, we'll add it to the rest eh, Dave?
Now, "rauchbier", reminds me, that the English cognate of "rauch" (smoke) is "reek". Edinburgh's nickname "Auld Reekie" doesn't mean "old smelly" as some people mistakenly and clumsily assume, but "Old Smokey". (So they can let that idea disappear up the lum.)
You wanted to know that, didn't you?
Nice blog again, Paul. Mrs. U. Wants to go to Germany soon now.
Today seems like a good one to spend on topiary. Or on anything, really, wouldn't you say?
Cheers,
E
"The base for our five day short holiday, was the lovely city of Bamberg; "
The beer hunter mentions Bamburg in The Fifth Element (about halfway through). Still on my to do list some day. :)
"saw us arriving in Bamberg shortly before 3.30pm, and five minutes later we were checking in to our recently-built, stylish hotel"
Good timing, as check-in is usually 3 or 4pm for most hotels.
"The weather was fine, apart from the last day,"
That certainly makes a difference. My trip to visit my mother this year was so much better than last year, partly due to the weather being excellent (and finding a bar to have a pint at 11am each day when my brother and I went to buy her a paper also helped). :)
"the beer was magnificent– along with the prices (around €2.80 for a half litre), and the company was excellent."
Glad it was a good time all round.
"as apparently two people are getting married."
LOL. I thought it was two people living on the street; until I read your next sentence. :)
Cheers
Forchheim post now published. Even better, no typos evident on the current one! The topiary, if you can call my attempts at hedge trimming that, was completed today.
Yesterday was spent meeting neighbours, old and new at the street party, held at the bottom of our road. Although initiated by a certain event which took place earlier that day, the party gave us the chance to get acquainted with many of the “new” people who have moved into our road. We’re old-stagers, having lived in the street for 24 years now, so it was good to meet some of the newcomers.
It was an enjoyable event, and a good example of a local community coming together.
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