Bevin does Bamberg

On Monday 2 November, I adventured to Bamberg!  We had planned to do Nuremberg as a group (Corine, Volker, and I), but Corine and Volker got sick so I did a solo expedition to Bamberg instead.  I boarded a train in The Reuth and headed to Bamberg-- which only took about 30 minutes.  Germany is so small (compared to Texas, of course)!!

There are approximately a billion churches in Bamberg, so I had to pick and choose.  I began by visiting an old Dominican monastery called Heilig Grab ("Holy grave" or "holy sepulcher").  All that is left now is the church, and I suspect it has been altered throughout history.  But it was beautiful, of course.  And they have a Virgin and Child sculpture that has special vestments, and that is always interesting to me!

On my way toward the Bamberg Cathedral, I passed a monument with a great patina on the Maximillianplatz (bronze sculpture from 1880 by Fredinand von Miller).

Bamberg is a town of many rivers and canals!  I crossed a lot of bridges, which were mostly modern and not terribly beautiful.  But the views from said bridges were fantastic!  The leaves that are still hanging on are vibrant and colorful, and their reflections on the water were lovely.

The Bamberg Cathedral was OUTSTANDING!  Because Alles Heiligen Tag (All Saints' Day) was just on November 1, guided tour groups were not allowed inside the cathedral and all visitors were asked to be very quiet.  So the church was not as crowded or loud as one would expect such an attraction to be.  Because of the church holiday, there were many more candles than normal and their smoke filled the vaulting.  With afternoon sun pouring through the windows, the most picturesque beams of light cut through the otherwise dark space.  It was like a dream!!  I couldn't believe my eyes, and many other visitors stood in awe as well.

Of course the art and architecture of the cathedral was awe-inspiring as well.  Filled with paintings and altarpieces by famous Medieval and Renaissance artists, it was totally exciting for an enthusiastic art historian such as myself!

And lastly, I have an important update about a German food product called quark.  Pronounced KVAHRK.  This is basically the German version of cream cheese/sour cream/magic.  They put it on bread mostly, but it also has many other functions.  For instance, they use quark to make cheesecake instead of cream cheese.  They also sell various flavors, such as drei zwiebel (three onion).  Basically, I'm in love in quark.  So when I found this "graffiti" on a wall in Bamberg, I had to stop and take a picture because I couldn't agree more!