Slightly cooler today, & what a relief that was – only 27°! We met Christina in Coburg to go and exchange some money, then she took us to Bamberg, a medium-sized historic town of UNESCO World Heritage status set on 7 hills about 50kms away.


 Its lovely to a) be able to spend time with friends and b) to have a personal tour guide round nice places. We parked and walked to the centre of the old town, yet another beautiful collection of buildings with some dating from the 1600s alongside more modern ones. There was a flower market in front of one large church, the area being pedestrianised but where you had to be really alert to dodge all the cyclists.


 We stopped for lunch at a bakery/cafe, where we had an iced coffee ie. coffee with ice cream and cream (NOT for dieters!) and a sandwich. Our next stop was at the bridge over the River Regnitz, and the unusual sight of a painted facade on a house with pictures of cherubs on, one having a 3D leg sticking out! Christina also showed us the views in the other direction, of an area called Little Italy with that style of house and boat and where you can do a river cruise.


 
 Later we walked up one of the hills to the Cathedral of St Peter & St George, an imposing building which was founded in 1012 and is the burial place of Clemens ll, the only pope to be interred north of the Alps because he loved Bamberg so much. The church building is not at all ostentatious, but has some beautifully decorated altar screens, some dating back over 600 years.

 
It also has an unusual statue for inside a church – that of the Bamberg Horseman, a full-sized knight on horseback created around 1235 by an unknown craftsman and the authorities are not sure who it is supposed to be; various suggestions include Constantine the Great, one of the 3 Wise Men or a symbolic figure from the Middle Ages. Whoever it is, its an extremely well preserved and beautiful statue.


 Opposite the cathedral is the famous Rose Garden on the terrace of one of the palaces.







 At this time of year it is stunning, being planted with over four and a half thousand roses, and most of which were in bloom. It also has great views over the city rooftops and you can see several of the churches which crown each of the hills.


 We strolled back down past the shops and saw the City Gate from the other side, its richly painted exterior flanking the sculptures on the clock tower. All this viewing of historical masterpieces was exhausting so we fortified ourselves with an ice cream – a wonderful concoction of fruits and ice cream in a large goblet. THIS is how ice cream should be!


 After some food shopping we returned to Coburg to collect our car then went "home" to prepare a bbq: Christina was coming for a swim and for tea, our thank you for a great guided tour. David, sadly, had to attend a course 3 hours away for work so was unable to share our meal. 

 
 




 Christina duly arrived and we walked down to inspect the swimming pond; the brochure said it had water from the site's own well, with natural plants to avoid algae. However the algae seemed to have circumvented those regenerating plants as the water was a little too green for our liking and with the presence of quite a few baby newts, we decided not to bother! We did dabble our feet in though, before enjoying a nice bbq and a good chat.