Fruhschoppen and Bamberg, Wurzburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Today we had a traditional Fruhschoppen on board the Viking Pride. What is a Fruhschoppen you might ask? Well… most Germans in traditional cities will stop at a local shop or stand between 10:30am – 11:00am to have a beer, some soft pretzels, and sausages while listening to music and enjoying each others company. Josh and I participated in this highly cultural event.

Bamberg, Germany

Bamberg is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany. The town is divided into two parts by a river. The river separates the old part of town and the newer part of town. All throughout Bamberg you can cross between old and new town using one of the many bridges. I got lost because I was reading the map wrong AGAIN. Josh had the idea of holding the map upside down which put everything back into perspective and we found our way to our meeting point. Bamberg is a great city that kept most of its medieval appeal. It has also been noted as one of the few towns in Germany to sustain almost no damage during WWII. An interesting souvenir out of Bamberg is “smoked beer”. I am not sure how it is made, but it tastes as if the beer has been infused with smoked almonds. It was something nice to try once, but defiantly not one of our favorites.

Wurzburg, Germany

Located in the middle of Franconian Vineyards along the banks of the Main River, Wurzburg hosts a beautiful Baroque palace which we were able to tour. The palace is one of the largest ones in Germany and was built in the 1700’s. One of the most amazing finds in this palace was the grand staircase with a vaulted ceiling of over 6400 square feet covered with a masterpiece by Balthasar Neumann. Neumann depicted all known continents of the time with drawings of people, animals, and landscapes from each region. It was very impressive.

Our tour group suffered a minor setback when an older woman fell and broke her elbow. She tripped on cobble stone while backing up to take a picture of her friend. We found out after being taken away by ambulance, she endured a three hour surgery and might be joining the cruise again in a couple of days. Her friend is back on the boat and one of the local guides who showed us around Wurzburg is going to visit her in the hospital and keep in touch with the boat via cell phone. Luckily for her, this is the same place where the x-ray was invented (and cochlear implants).

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is located by the Tauber River. Most people call this town Rothenburg for short. This beautiful picturesque town has been preserved since the 16th century with medieval buildings, old fort walls, fountains and cobble stone streets. It was nice to walk around and climb up to the top of one of the fort walls. We also had a traditional lunch with sausages and sauerkraut.