On Monday, June 3, we'll return to Nuremberg and then Henfenfeld, and two days later we'll hit Bamberg. At least I'll be in a place in which the language is not as alien as Czech is to me!
Oh man, Bamberg! I couldn't have given you any advice on Prague, but I spent three months in Bamberg and - I think you'll like it.
😎 If you don't mind, I'm gonna pass a few words by you - part for you and part to relish in my nostalgia.
It's small but plenty beautiful. Practically all of the sights are within a 10-minute walk from the old city hall. (A side note - when the hall was built, all land north of the river was owned by the State and that south of the river by the Church. The hall was built over the river so that it wouldn't be seen as giving favoritism towards either entity). Like many European cities the churches are some of the most popular stops, and the church on Domplatz deserves special note for it stands on grounds where a church has been for the last 1000 years - it was the former seat of a Bishop. Half-timber houses abound and are fun if only for looking at. Schloss Seehof was the Bishop's former residence and is great fun for viewing with a wide garden and lake all its own, just a few miles north of Bamberg proper.
It's a great place to raise kids, but I can't suggest many places that your four-year-old might enjoy.
So let's get down to the other real reason to visit Bamberg: the beer - the beer. Schlenkerla and Spezial hold the city's unique Rauchbier, Mahr's Brau holds a nice unfiltered lager called Ungespundet ("a U, bitte"), and the city's best Weizen is at Wilde Rose. Schlenkerla is perhaps the nicest tourist trap in the entire world.
You can get to all of their restaurants with ease if you stay near the city center, but my opinion holds that the best locations are the Kellers - traditional Bavarian outdoor biergartens with communal benches. Wilde Rose and Spezial have the better two, Wilde Rose for the atmosphere and Spezial for the view over the city, and they're both on the same road just south of the city and beyond Schlenkerla's brewery location.
An even better view can be had from the Michaelsberg Abbey or Rosengarten, but there's no beer to be had at either.
🙂
If you have a few days, you might also think to visit some of the villages outside of the city. If you make it to Schloss Seehof go a few miles further and you'll find Merkendorf, my favorite of the villages. Brauerei Hummel has the nice homey feel of Bavarian brauhauses without the tourism found in Bamberg, and nice drinks to boot. Brauerei Wagner has its own following but I found it less homey than Hummel, though you might enjoy it. If you go in the other direction, about 20km out of Bamberg, you'll find Mönchsambach whose kellerbier (Mönchsambacher Lager) is rated as the best in the world by the good contributors to RateBeer.
Maybe this can be of help to you! I hope you like the city.
