Bamberg and Nuremberg

After a long day of travel (Almaty to Istanbul, long layover in Istanbul that was delayed, Istanbul to Munich, Munich city train to suburban town we stayed in) we arrived happy and tired to a friendly German welcome.  The next morning we rose early (Munich is 5 hours behind Almaty, so it wasn't too hard) and caught a regional train north to Bamberg. We got coffee and heavily buttered pretzels to go and left the city around 6 a.m.. We had the train mostly to ourselves, at least after the groups of students got off in the suburbs, still awake but fading and buzzed from the St. Patrick's Day celebration in the city the night before. It was a beautiful morning with great views of small towns, each with a church steeple (see the people?) dotting the Bavarian countryside in Spring. 

Bamberg is a mid-sized city of around 70,000 and is a UNESCO World Heritage City. It is also said to have the highest per capita breweries in the world. Which is why we went there. 

Bavarian style. 

The Old City Hall

This photo was taken around 10 a.m.. Having a beer in the morning is nothing to look twice at in Germany. In fact, all week we saw couples and friends enjoying the morning sunshine with a beer in hand before 11 a.m.

The front of the Old City Hall.

Cobbled bridge on other side of Old City Hall. 

The exterior of the historic Schenkerla Brewery and our first stop in Bamberg. 

And now you see why. Not only is it dark. It is smoked. 

Here we also dined on what would be the best sauerkraut we had while in Germany. 

12th century St. Michael's Church overlooks the city. 

The plaza behing the church models typical Bavarian architecture. 

A typical street in Bamberg. 

One thing I loved about Germany is their use of form and function.

Another brewery. 

After wandering streets and neighborhoods we ended up on a riverside path which offered us this view. 

And another brewery. 

The playground next to the beer garden and view of the city beyond. 

The lightly occupied beer garden with still bare trees. Locals told us we hit the first good weather days of the year. 

On the way back toward Munich we stopped in Nuremberg for dinner. Much more commercialized, a few old churches stand on the pedestrian street surrounded by Starbucks and local fast food joints. 

An almost frightening detail on one of the churches. 

A morbid side entrance, stacked with stylized bones and skulls.