Spring is back, and the unusually warm, fine weather is only too tempting. The travel bug in me has tickled me enough to drive me into action!
This year I aim to go local and see a bit more of Bavaria, the state in which Munich is situated. My first such expedition took me to Bamberg with a few friends. Bamberg is a town of living history and one of the very few places in Germany that was spared of the damage due to World War II. Many of the buildings have been standing for at least a few hundred years, if not nearly a thousand, and the very well-preserved architecture style would give everyone a good impression of what the town would have looked like in the ages past.
A finest example of historical buildings in Bamberg is its Cathedral, with its four spires which are visible from anywhere in the town. The ambience inside the church is distinct from its peers of a similar age or size. Plain glass windows took the place of the fancy colourful mosaic ones, while the interior décor was a lot more simplistic than the ‘norm’. The Cathedral felt so natural and welcoming with the sun shining abundantly through the windows, and showed its own class in being simple but elegant.
Bamberg is surrounded by seven hills and traversed by two rivers, providing plenty of scenic spots around. We enjoyed the views of the whole town from the hills at Michaelsburg, and then made our ways down to the Klein Venedig (Little Venice) district by one of the rivers. While it is superficially quite similar to Venice with a row of houses lining the river bank, those houses were of a more typical German style, and they looked prettier and were in a much better shape than those in Venice. Bamberg is probably doing itself an injustice by naming this district after Venice!
Apart from the scenic points, my friends and I were also looking hard for local cuisine. Our ‘tour guide’ insisted on taking us to a restaurant recommended by her friends, but we still could not find it after going to and fro for three times. Eventually we settled into a random one. There we got a chance to taste the bier-haxen (pig throttle cooked in beer), just as we wanted! We also tried the local Rauchbier (smoked beer), the smoky taste of which really went down well with the taste of roasted meet.
With its spectacular historical architecture that has survived intact throughout the times, Bamberg has won the recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage. This is the perfect place for a peek into Germany – an indeed Europe – in its former ages.
春回大地，天氣又異常和暖，我也蠢蠢欲動，開展新一年的旅遊大計！
今年打算多到慕尼黑鄰近的地方，見識本土風情，第一站我就跟朋友選了富有歷史特色的班貝格（Bamberg）。班貝格是少數完全沒遭二次大戰蹂躪的地方，不少建築由數百甚至上千年前屹立至今，再加上鎮內的傳統建築風格，遊人大概也能體會或想像到班貝格的古貌。
市內最突出的建築，莫過於其大教堂（Bamberg Cathedral）。從遠看最突出之處是其四座尖聳，走進內也覺得其與別不同，就是少了斑斕的花窗，而由普通玻璃大窗取而代之，室內的裝潢也比同年代或面積相若的大教堂簡約，陽光曬進敞大的禮堂，感覺既自然又舒服，更顯出教堂的樸實莊嚴的一面。
班貝格由七座山環抱，又有兩條河貫穿其中心，所以不乏風光優美的地方，我們在聖米迦勒教堂的小山上（Michaelsburg）便可飽覽全市景色，後來又到有「小威尼斯」之稱的河畔，但見一排臨河而建的德國式小屋，不祇有水鄉特色，而且比威尼斯的民居精緻和簇新，「小威尼斯」的稱號，也許有點自貶身價了。
除了遊山玩水，我們也不忘一嘗地道菜式。我們的「導遊」便是鍥而不捨，來回跑了三趟，誓要找到友人介紹的一家食肆，怎麼也找不着，最終便隨便走進到附近的一家，卻讓我們吃到當地的啤酒烤豬腳，還嘗到地道的煙燻啤酒（Rauchbier），以豬腳佐酒，肉香和酒味乃一絕配。
班貝格古蹟處處，又難得保存得完好，所以已列為聯合國文化遺產，這個古城正好讓你感受德國——乃至歐洲——古色古香的氣息！
Date of Visit: 21 April, 2007 遊覽日期：2007年4月21日
Typical architecture in Bamberg 班貝格的典型建築
The Grüner Markt (Green Market) 市集
St. Martin's Church 聖馬丁教堂
Comfort and privacy, at a cost of 1200 euros
1200歐羅帶來的舒適和私人空間
The Old Town Hall 老市政廳
The two sides of the tower 塔樓之兩面
Art on the bridge (left) and the walls of the building (right)!
無論橋上（左）或牆身（右）都很有立體感！
Domplatz 大教堂廣場
The Cathedral 大教堂
The Old Court of the bishops 舊主教宮庭
The New Residence of the bishops 舊主教宮庭
A panoramic view of the Domplatz 大教堂廣場全觀
Obere Karolinenstrasse (left) and St. Jacob's Church
上卡羅琳街（左）及聖雅各教堂（右）
The interior of the Cathedral 大教堂內部
Michaelsburg 聖米迦勒教堂小山
St. Michael's Church and its garden 聖米迦勒教堂及其花園
Views of Bamberg from the garden, including the Cathedral (top left)
從花園瞭望班貝格，包括大教堂（左上）
Little Venice 小威尼斯
Venice, German style ... 有德國特色的威尼斯
... but there's still an element of the real Venice (right)
不過也有原本威尼斯的元素（右）
This year I aim to go local and see a bit more of Bavaria, the state in which Munich is situated. My first such expedition took me to Bamberg with a few friends. Bamberg is a town of living history and one of the very few places in Germany that was spared of the damage due to World War II. Many of the buildings have been standing for at least a few hundred years, if not nearly a thousand, and the very well-preserved architecture style would give everyone a good impression of what the town would have looked like in the ages past.
A finest example of historical buildings in Bamberg is its Cathedral, with its four spires which are visible from anywhere in the town. The ambience inside the church is distinct from its peers of a similar age or size. Plain glass windows took the place of the fancy colourful mosaic ones, while the interior décor was a lot more simplistic than the ‘norm’. The Cathedral felt so natural and welcoming with the sun shining abundantly through the windows, and showed its own class in being simple but elegant.
Bamberg is surrounded by seven hills and traversed by two rivers, providing plenty of scenic spots around. We enjoyed the views of the whole town from the hills at Michaelsburg, and then made our ways down to the Klein Venedig (Little Venice) district by one of the rivers. While it is superficially quite similar to Venice with a row of houses lining the river bank, those houses were of a more typical German style, and they looked prettier and were in a much better shape than those in Venice. Bamberg is probably doing itself an injustice by naming this district after Venice!
Apart from the scenic points, my friends and I were also looking hard for local cuisine. Our ‘tour guide’ insisted on taking us to a restaurant recommended by her friends, but we still could not find it after going to and fro for three times. Eventually we settled into a random one. There we got a chance to taste the bier-haxen (pig throttle cooked in beer), just as we wanted! We also tried the local Rauchbier (smoked beer), the smoky taste of which really went down well with the taste of roasted meet.
With its spectacular historical architecture that has survived intact throughout the times, Bamberg has won the recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage. This is the perfect place for a peek into Germany – an indeed Europe – in its former ages.
春回大地，天氣又異常和暖，我也蠢蠢欲動，開展新一年的旅遊大計！
今年打算多到慕尼黑鄰近的地方，見識本土風情，第一站我就跟朋友選了富有歷史特色的班貝格（Bamberg）。班貝格是少數完全沒遭二次大戰蹂躪的地方，不少建築由數百甚至上千年前屹立至今，再加上鎮內的傳統建築風格，遊人大概也能體會或想像到班貝格的古貌。
市內最突出的建築，莫過於其大教堂（Bamberg Cathedral）。從遠看最突出之處是其四座尖聳，走進內也覺得其與別不同，就是少了斑斕的花窗，而由普通玻璃大窗取而代之，室內的裝潢也比同年代或面積相若的大教堂簡約，陽光曬進敞大的禮堂，感覺既自然又舒服，更顯出教堂的樸實莊嚴的一面。
班貝格由七座山環抱，又有兩條河貫穿其中心，所以不乏風光優美的地方，我們在聖米迦勒教堂的小山上（Michaelsburg）便可飽覽全市景色，後來又到有「小威尼斯」之稱的河畔，但見一排臨河而建的德國式小屋，不祇有水鄉特色，而且比威尼斯的民居精緻和簇新，「小威尼斯」的稱號，也許有點自貶身價了。
除了遊山玩水，我們也不忘一嘗地道菜式。我們的「導遊」便是鍥而不捨，來回跑了三趟，誓要找到友人介紹的一家食肆，怎麼也找不着，最終便隨便走進到附近的一家，卻讓我們吃到當地的啤酒烤豬腳，還嘗到地道的煙燻啤酒（Rauchbier），以豬腳佐酒，肉香和酒味乃一絕配。
班貝格古蹟處處，又難得保存得完好，所以已列為聯合國文化遺產，這個古城正好讓你感受德國——乃至歐洲——古色古香的氣息！
Date of Visit: 21 April, 2007 遊覽日期：2007年4月21日
Typical architecture in Bamberg 班貝格的典型建築
The Grüner Markt (Green Market) 市集
St. Martin's Church 聖馬丁教堂
Comfort and privacy, at a cost of 1200 euros
1200歐羅帶來的舒適和私人空間
The Old Town Hall 老市政廳
The Old Town Hall on its sides 老市政廳之兩側
The two sides of the tower 塔樓之兩面
Art on the bridge (left) and the walls of the building (right)!
無論橋上（左）或牆身（右）都很有立體感！
Domplatz 大教堂廣場
The Cathedral 大教堂
The Old Court of the bishops 舊主教宮庭
The New Residence of the bishops 舊主教宮庭
A panoramic view of the Domplatz 大教堂廣場全觀
Obere Karolinenstrasse (left) and St. Jacob's Church
上卡羅琳街（左）及聖雅各教堂（右）
The interior of the Cathedral 大教堂內部
Michaelsburg 聖米迦勒教堂小山
St. Michael's Church and its garden 聖米迦勒教堂及其花園
Views of Bamberg from the garden, including the Cathedral (top left)
從花園瞭望班貝格，包括大教堂（左上）
Little Venice 小威尼斯
Venice, German style ... 有德國特色的威尼斯
... but there's still an element of the real Venice (right)
不過也有原本威尼斯的元素（右）
Comments
Aya, I should have bumped into you once in Hong Kong! (... I guess)