Traveling- Bamberg

How much fun can you have visiting the first secretary your father had at MCC in Frankfurt, Germany?  Well, it turns out a LOT!  Lenemarie invited us to come visit her in Bamberg.  We took the cheaper, slower train, which took five hours.  The terrain in Germany changes so quickly and we enjoyed the incredibly beautiful scenery.

  Lenemarie and her friend Volker, who knew my father well, picked us up!  We're so used to taking public transportation that this was a real treat. 

We would stay two nights at a Lutheran Church guesthouse, but spent that afternoon and evening at her apartment - talking and talking. 

Of course there was some reminiscing and story telling, but mostly we just spent the time getting to know each other.  Lenemarie and Volker are both well worth the effort to learn to know.  They were very young during WWII, but remember events from that time. 

Their perspective on the past decades both of Germany as a country and of the Mennonite Church here was very enlightening.

Lenemarie procured a young American walking tour guide for us. Jaden is doing his PhD at the Bamberg University in German History.   Fortified by her wonderful breakfast, the four of us headed off to the old part of town.  Lenemarie couldn't join us because of a sprained foot.  We learned a lot that we hadn't known. 

 

First of all, this was never a part of the Roman empire - too far north and east of the Rhein (where most Roman forts stood). Secondly, this small town in northern (lower-) Bavaria was a town dominated by the Catholic Church - and the archbishop who ruled from the top of the mountain. 

The bishop had a grand residence from which included a "Kaiser's room" should a Kaiser of the Holy Roman Empire ever visit . . . but who never did. 

When the townspeople asked the bishop for land in town to build their Rathaus (townhall) he refused. They did not want to put it on the other side of the river, so they built in right in the middle!

 



After Jaden left us we found a pub and Jack enjoyed the local Rauchbier (smoky beer). Bamberg has the highest number of breweries per capita in all of Germany - there are 13 breweries! I had the best yet Apfelschorle (sparkling apple juice).

Lenemarie joined us for a "Shadows and Light" performance on the history of Bamberg in the oldest room in the Archbishop's "Residence" - which would later serve as a prison sell during the period when the town was burning witches. 

It's difficult to describe the way the narrator used lights projected through cut outs, puppets, acting in the pitch-black room, but the "intermission" is easy to explain - it sure was a real surprise!  The narrator very deftly had each of us on the end of our row hand out small glasses and fill ours from the bottle of smoky beer from the Middle Ages for our row and pass it down.  While we all tasted the beer he continued with tales from the past, then we quickly collected our row's glasses and returned them to a cart.  Btw 95% of the audience were Germans and they didn't seem all that surprised.

That evening we drove out to a lovely traditional restaurant.  I had Bärlauch Schnitzel.  Supposedly Bärlauch is spring garlic.  You just use the leaves.  Our LU butcher makes great Bärlauch sausages. Are you acquainted with this leaf?  It doesn't taste like garlic at all!




The following morning Jack and I wandered through the city, revisiting places we wanted to see again.

and discovering new places, like this along the river. 

It is an incredibly historic and scenic city. 

And they love modern sculptures.

Lenemarie convinced us to stay for a goulash noodle lunch that she topped off with a traditional strawberry cake.  What a fantastic visit to meet old / new friends.