BAMBERG TO REGENSBURG

Bamberg Wednesday 29 December 2010

A nice free day today. Before the change in plans we had toyed with the excursion to Nuremburg but it was a full day tour and we just didn't fancy that so we declined.

It was a full day tour with an early start, but we slept in and nearly missed breakfast - something of a tragedy for us! But we managed to get some Tucker into us after all and while having a cappuccino in the lounge Rab got chatting to a couple of the girls whose husbands were on the tour or sick and they all agreed that a shopping trip would be an idea. I suggested catching a taxi to avoid having to try on the shuttle bus, so we did that and met up for lunch at a local eatery the Wilde Rose for a bratwurst and beer. I tried the weissbier which was very nice, I thought while Rab enjoyed her pilsner. While we were sitting in the lounge I spotted a line of dozens of pigeons sitting on the roof of the factory building opposite us. There must have been some warmth coming out of some kind of ventilation system, although the roof was snowy.

We were back on the ship in the early afternoon and very comfortable. A good day indeed. We spent the afternoon packing as the bags had to be outside the cabins at 7.00 the following morning and the coaches were leaving at 8.00.

The trip to Nuremberg sounded a bit disappointing and those we spoke to said they spent most of the day on the coaches making us rather glad we'd given it the miss. I didn't feel too hot, and had a disturbed night with a lot of coughing.    

Regenberg Thursday 30 December 2010

A loooooooonnnggg day. One to thoroughly endorse my dislike of long distance coach trips and guided tours.

We were up at 5.30 - well, I woke up at 5.15 and showered to give Rab a clear run; got the bags outside the cabin just before 6.30; had breakfast at 7.00 and were on the coach for the Document Centre Tour at Nuremberg at 8.00. The guide on the bus was the same one from the day before and apparently the coach followed the same route, so we were spared what others were not - a repeat dose of some really detailed history of the area. We took a little over and hour and a quarter to get to the Centre - a vast building constructed by Hitler to emulate the Colliseum. I guess it isn't the original - surely the Allies would have flattened that with the rest of Nuremberg? 

It was really cold today - the sky was clear with not a cloud in sight, which made for some great vistas along the way but also for snow on the ground that had frozen solid. The guide led us up the stairs to the Centre in her jolly way only to be berated by Suitcase John for not pointing out that there was a lift available. Oh Dear! We picked up our voice guides "Stand in a line, please. Zhen move away.", said the caretaker from Central Casting. We moseyed off to the beginning of the tour and while I think it was well, done, Rab lost interest fairly rapidly and I must say there was not a lot to learn. Maybe it is our age group, but we've seen the movies and documentaries and .....well, this was more of the same. We made our way done to the cafe and slouched around there with some of our pals - of course first having followed orders about the return of the voice guides " You shall bring them here - to this side - schnell, schnell! " She didn't actually say schnell, but you could tell she would have liked to as she polished our germs vigorously off the machinery.

Back on the bus we seemed to go around Nuremberg in ever decreasing circles before finally coming to a halt in the City Centre from. When we were lead to the Bratwurst Palace where we were to have our lunch - and free wine but not free beer. We were served no less than SIX bratwurst a head on a fine bed of sauerkraut and very tasty they were too - at least for us. But SIX sausages each! Admittedly they were small - like a  chippolata - and Rab and I managed them between us in a 4:8 ratio, but many of the fussy Poms nibbled one end of one. Sausage and left the rest. What a waste.

We nipped off for shopping and pics and joined the coach again at the designated time for another two hour trip. The countryside was still amazing, with the sun shining brightly, but that made it rather uncomfortable for me and with the small bus seat digging into various portions of my anatomy I was looking forward to the end of the trip. The original plan had us on a two hour guided tour of the Sturm und Taxis Palace and the town and it was suggested that we might just drop our packs off and get going. I said to Rab that if I set foot on the boat, I wasn't going to get off again!

Our bags were all in our cabin, so we unpacked rapidly and then headed into town with Marj and Chris for some retail therapy - talk about no rest for the weary. It was seriously cold ashore, with the snow set like icy concrete. Nice town and it was interesting wandering through it, but..... Rab and Chris spent a lot of time in the shops and I slowly froze in the street with Marj.

We got back to the ship safely, about an hour before the poor unfortunates on the Town Walk and after an early dinner I collapsed into bed at about 8.00.