Today, I slept in late and skipped breakfast. For the first time, I went to the dining room for lunch. There was a special selection of fish - shrimp, crab, tuna, salmon, herring; all fixed in various ways. It was a very nice spread for Christmas day. There was a creamed vegetable soup. For the main course, I had beef goulash with spinach dumplings and pieces of green pepper and onion, topped with sour cream. I think it was the best beef goulash that I have ever had.
Bamberg is a town in Bavaria - it extends over seven hills, each crowned by a beautiful church; this led to Bamberg being called the “Franconian Rome”. Bamberg’s historic city center is a UNESCO world heritage site, primarily because of its authentic medieval appearance.
Immediately after docking in Bamberg, we departed on our walking tour at about 1:00 pm. We walked from the ship into the center of town.
The Cathedral is a late Romanesque building with four grand towers. The inside of the cathedral was decorated for Christmas, and there was also a crèche display for which Bamberg is famous at Christmas time.
There is a picturesque inner courtyard of the Old Household - half- timbering, oriels, galleries, and various types of dormer windows break up the large wall and roof areas. In the summer, greenery and flowers make the inner courtyard look wonderfully romantic and the buildings form an imposing backdrop for open-air performances of the Hoffmann Theatre.
We had a nice Christmas dinner. For the appetizer, I had the crab cake; and for the soup, the cream of leek with mushrooms. Then I had the turkey dinner with dressing, mashed sweet potatoes and gravy. I had a very nice white wine and for dessert, pumpkin pie.
Photos belong to Phil Bianco
