Bamberg

Having cycled just about everywhere over the last few weeks its about time we undid all the good work and discovered why this area is so popular 

Namely, the high concentration of private breweries. So off we go to Bamberg

How nice is this..

Sunny day, classic architecture…

Cheers Google..

When we arrived it was very dull and raining. Seems to be every time I organise a pub crawl it happens in bad weather…

With my new friend 'Private German Brauereis' book in my coat pocket we descend upon the city and get very agitated as its now dark, raining and the first brewery is full with no free tables..

We settle on Mahrs-Bräu and enjoy a cracking meal and some fine ale, my favourite being the seasonal 'Bock' beer

(Pat, how you would have loved this place)

Apologies here to my other male chums as I know they would have caused serious damage to the stock levels also but to a connoisseur of proper beer (Pat) this place struck me as the holy grail

We were so welcomed inside the barman sat us on the only spare table, reserved exclusively for locals

No mechanised pumps here...

They even had windows outside which you could lick should you wish to...

Next day the weather eases a bit and we stroll back in to town

The reverse of that famous photo earlier

We had a big discussion at this point how we seem to visit Germany when its cold and near Christmas and tentatively we decide that next year we will spend the festive period somewhere like Greece and travel back to the UK in the summer to visit.

The first MOT looms in April so will have to get a travel regime set in place for future years, flying back early december for example to visit family and friends and spending the winter in sunnier climes 

I suppose I just really miss wearing shorts, but both of us find the cold weather hard going…

More window licking...

This was very strange tasting beer, very smoky but quite good

Nina, being a girl, likened it to drinking the water left over from cooking frankfurters…

Not that she has done, but I ask you!

Most of the day was spent trotting round the shops, which gave Nina a fix or two and I suppose was payback for 'forcing' her to go beer drinking the night before..

As if we hadn't had enough we left Bamberg before dark and drove to another brewery out in the hills called Brauerei-Reichold where we supped a few and had a very nice meal

There is a dedicated stellplatz at the rear of the brewery and restaurant which made it all a no brainer for parking up with views over the forests and enjoying more German hospitality

Two novel ideas here, firstly in the shower facility I found a beer bottle dispensing machine that ejected the brewery's offerings at €1.00 a pop. I went to the loo and came back with beer…

Secondly in the restaurant toilets I encountered my first video urinal, how bizarre!