Bamberg Day Trip

And a day trip it was! As our time in Germany is winding down, we have been trying to maximize our weekends with day trips. Bamberg is a town in Bavaria that we have heard great things about, but have yet to go there, until now.

We had a naturally late start to our day because we had to cancel our internet and the shop didn't open until 10:00 a.m. After we took care of that we grabbed some breakfast since we knew our train wouldn't be leaving for an hour and a half. Theoretically we should have had plenty of time to eat and drive to Freihung, where we would then catch the train. Little did we know it would take the bakery about 30 minutes to make our hot breakfast, so we were now a bit behind schedule. Have no fear, GPS will lead us right to the train station, we can buy tickets and hop on, no problem, right? Not so much. Freihung decided to have 2 Bahnhof streets in its town, which confused our poor GPS, so we arrived at the wrong address with what would have been plenty of time to catch the train, and then had to frantically search for the right address. Once we arrived there the train had just left minutes earlier. So, we took a walk around Freihung waiting for the next train. Once we were safely on the train, all was not well yet, because now the railway decided to have delays and track changes. So, when we finally arrived in Bamberg, we didn't have as much of the day as we would have liked, but we were determined to make the best of it.

Our first stop was the Fassla Brewery, the oldest brewery in Bamberg. It has been around since 1649, and it had some delicious beer.

We had 2 choices, lager or pils. I chose lager.

Prost!

Brewery Fassla

After enjoying a few beers we walked to the Domplatz area. Along the way we found several landmarks.

Brauerei Spezial
The second of 11 breweries in Bamberg

Representing the Buffs for Rocky Mountain Showdown weekend!

Bamberg University

Rathaus

Hofbrau (third brewery)

Bamberg Cathedral

Alte Hofhaltung (courtyard)

In the distance, Altenburg (a castle)

Walking back to Domplatz

Neue Residenz

Walking to the gardens

Garten

Michaelsberg Abbey in the background

Gasthausbrauerei Ambrausianum
(Guest House Brewery and the fourth one that we saw)

We decided to eat at Ambrausianum, and it was a wise decision. I had spatzle (again) and bratwurst, while Justin enjoyed some flammkuchen (we have to keep soaking up our German food). We also tried rauchbier, which is smoked beer. It is the type of beer Bamberg is known for. The overall smokey flavor was a little heavy, and quite honestly, it was not my favorite beer, but Justin liked it.

Delicious!

Rauchbier

After dinner we had to beeline it back to the train station so we wouldn't miss our train back to Freihung. We double checked the times, the schedule, the platforms, etc. to make sure we knew exactly what to do to make it home. We even printed off a schedule from the ticket counter to make sure we didn't forget anything. Despite being as prepared as possible, somehow we never made it to Freihung via the train. The trains were delayed again, and even though we boarded the train that was supposed to stop at Freihung (according to what we printed off and to the charts in the station), for some reason it didn't. In fact, it missed a few other stops along the way too. We weren't sure exactly what happened, but we ended up getting off the train at Amberg and taking a taxi to our car in Freihung. Not a big deal, but it makes public transportation seem a bit less desirable. And it made our trip home from Bamberg much longer (and more expensive) than it needed to be. Regardless, we still had a great time. German food and beer trumps most problems!

Antiques in Amberg

Who would pass up a day shopping for German antiques followed by exploring a German town? Definitely not this girl. Despite moving out of Germany in about a week, with little in my house besides clothing and the bare essentials, it didn't take much for my friends to convince me to join them in an antique shopping trip for one last German experience. So to Amberg we went, in search of some precious antiques.

Norbert Antiques is a store in Amberg owned by a German man named Norbert (wonder where the name came from). He goes to estate sales and finds awesome furniture, glassware, china, clocks, etc. and cleans them up to resell. Many Army wives have antique furniture from his shop. This is more or less another Army wife "must do" while living in Germany. Since I knew furniture wasn't an option for me, because I couldn't possibly get a piece of furniture back to the States with me at this point, I was hoping to find a cute something to take with me to claim my Army wife roots of antique shopping in Germany.

Norbert's

Inside the barn

Inside the shop

And find something I did! While rummaging through a china cabinet I happened upon a wein (wine) pitcher with 5 matching cups, and I got a great 10 Euro bargain! I also found a large stack of Hitler pictures that were interesting enough to talk to Norbert about. We learned that these pictures were from old cigarette deals. People would earn points for buying cartons of cigarettes, and when they earned enough points they could mail in the points, and the cigarette company would mail back a picture of Hitler. There were hundreds of pictures in this collection, but I chose just one to help me commemorate the antique shopping occasion.

In the town of Amberg at another antique shop I found a wooden stein that looked like a barrel, so naturally I bought that too. So I left the day with a great collection of antiques to take back to America with me.

My antique collection from the day!

After shopping we walked around the downtown platz of Amberg. It was fun to see another beautiful German city while enjoying great company.

Tammy, Jill, me, and Anna

Rathaus

Cathedral

Fountain in the square

Farmer's market

Sigh, beautiful Amberg

After sightseeing we ate an amazing German meal at a local brewery called Schloderer Brau. Spatzle was my dish of choice (I have to eat as much as possible before we leave), along with a yummy beer. Oh how I am going to miss German food and beer!

Inside the brewery

The bar area

Best lunch ever

Jill and me with our lunchtime view

Anna and me outside the beer garden area

It is safe to say the town of Amberg and antique shopping stole my heart, but lovely company helped make that all the more true!  

Boleslawiec Polish Pottery Festival

One of the first things I have learned about Army wives is that they love Polish pottery.  Now I am partial to Army wives stationed in Europe, as this has been our only duty station, BUT it seems fair to say that stateside Army wives would love Polish pottery too.  I for one am a fan!  Polish pottery is not only pretty and colorful, but it is also quite functional for those wives that aren't always fond of dishes (they are dishwasher safe, oven safe, basically anything safe).

It is a shame (but blessing for our bank account) that my first trip to Poland to go Polish pottery shopping happened to be 3 weeks before permanently leaving Europe.  I could have had a fully loaded kitchen if we were here one more year ;)

Alas, Justin was sweet enough to let us take one last trip in our car (it gets shipped to the States this week) to go to the Polish Pottery Festival in Boleslawiec, Poland.  It was a 4 hour drive, but the German countryside is so beautiful that those hours were precious, as it was definitely our last time seeing that scenery and driving on the autobahn.

When we made it to Poland we headed straight to the festival.  On our way we walked by a famous ceramic museum, but since it was Sunday the museum was closed.  So, we walked around the festival checking out all the stalls.  There was not only Polish pottery, but many ceramic stalls, along with many food stalls and other odds and ends.  There was also plenty of entertainment, which included a hamster-wheel-type-contraption that had musical men playing inside of it (see below).

Hamster wheel of music and men

Polish band complete with dancers

While enjoying the entertainment, we also chowed down on some Polish food.  Waffles must be really popular in Boleslawiec, because it seemed like every other stall was selling waffles.  So of course, we tried some waffles, along with sausage, pork, potatoes, beer, and slushies (haven't had one of those since my 7-11 days back in Colorado).

Mmmmm!

After replenishing with some food, we watched potters help kids make their own bowls and painters decorate flowers on people's arms and legs.

Fascinating to watch

Next, we headed to the downtown platz, complete with a rathaus, fountains, an old church, and more stalls with pottery.  This is where we made our first purchase, a beautiful teapot, and for quite a good deal too!

Rathaus and fountains on the ground

Old church and stalls behind us

Pottery fun

Cute display in the square

  
After enjoying the festival for a bit, we drove to some Polish pottery shops to find larger selections.  On our way to the car we came across a few fun finds.

Giant pottery was all over the town

Justin the bug

We went to two factories, which were quite crowded.  It was fun to browse the shops, looking for special keepsakes to take home with us.  We were also on a mission to find 12 different bowls for my friend, Jill, which was a success.  It was fun seeing all the different patterns, styles, and pieces of pottery.  Some might say it was even overwhelming.

Outside a pottery shop

Pottery on display

So much pottery!

Along with Jill's bowls and our teapot, we also bought a casserole dish, an awesome tea mug complete with a spoon and tea holder, and a mini tea set.  
 

Mini tea set

Casserole dish

It was definitely a quick trip, followed by a 4 hour drive home.  However, I can call myself an official European stationed Army wife now that I have been to Poland to go Polish pottery shopping.  Added bonus, I went during a festival!

P.S. We enjoyed our last adventure driving on the autobahn too!  Complete with 100 mile per hour speeds, legal beer drinking (only the passenger, of course), and back road craziness thanks to a wet road and some sort of accident.  All in all, our whimsical trip to Poland was a great way to move our country count to ten :)

Sporting Justin's sunglasses

Sipping on a brew (legally, mind you)