Nuremberg and Bamberg feels like the world stood still. The pristinely preserved old buildings look so good that if you were to wear what the barmaids in Munich wears, you would fit right in. 

Nuremberg is only 2 hours by bus from Munich. Bamberg a short 40 minutes by train. I stayed over at Nuremberg at the basement of a beautiful apartment owned by Stephanie un Alexander. The house is only 15 minutes away by S-bahn from Nuremberg Hbf. If you’re an Airbnb virgin and want $50 off your first stay, click here for my referral discount 😄. 
Nuremberg old town was pretty large but you can still cover it within a day so a day trip is possible from Munich. The cathedral, the market, the Shonen Brunnen is a must see. If you can find the rings on the Shonen Brunnen, the beautiful fountain, do turn the rings 3 times for good luck. I walked around it like 3 times before I found it. It’s on the doors but you have to look up. It’s good verses the other parts that are black. Remember to go up to the castle for a free panoramic view of the whole town. If you want you can also enter the museum. 

For food, you have to try the pork shoulder with sauerkraut and potato dumplings at Barfuber. The skin is so crispy and the flesh comes softly apart as your fork touches it. The fats seems to be melted and buttery and it just tastes so good. Wash it down with the typical Nuremberg dark beer, that’s as dark as black coffee. 

The bratwursts here are also famous on a bun. They put 3 of these yummies in a bun. Here in Nuremberg, they are small and has to be no more than 9cm to be authentic and I tasted a very good one with fast moving queues just outside St Lorenz church. For 3 euros, it’s good value! They said its small because they used to be able to squeeze them through the gate holes in medieval times. 

Walking around cute Nuremberg is a work out as it’s slopey and the buildings are typical Franconian, meaning really beautiful and has pop out windows. I didn’t need a map because I just let the beautiful buildings lead to where I was going. Do wait till the sun sets before you head home because the old cathedrals light up and it’s magnificent. It was raining the whole day when I was in Nuremberg but it was still so pleasant and beautiful to walk in. They also have the transport museum if you’re into trains as the first trains ran from here. 

If you come during Christmas, the Christmas market is world famous. If not, you can head to the eternal Xmas shop that’s called Kathe Wohlfahrt. It has such cute things and it feels like Christmas inside. 

I loved Bamberg. Bamberg is so cool it has their city hall perched on the river. It’s also Unesco because the whole old town felt like it has never left the 13th century. And have you ever tried SMOKED DARK BEER? The Benedictine monks had their monastery’s brewery catch fire one day and it smoked the barley that’s used to brew beer. When they tasted the beer that came after, it tasted so good they continued making it that way up till this day. The result? An awesome tasting dark brew that you should savor the smell as you drink it. 

The food to try has to be the Bamberger Zweibel. It’s a traditional Bamberg dish as they used to produce a lot of onions. It’s an onion stuffed with minced meat, cooked to perfection so the onion is sweet and then topped off with a dark beer sauce and mash potatoes. It’s heavenly on a cold day and best with the smoked dark beer. To have it, head to Schlenkerla which is one of the older brauhaus that makes the smoked dark beer using the authentic method. You know it’s good when it’s crowded with Germans and people stand on the streets drinking their brew from morning till night. It was so good and value for money I came here for both lunch and dinner in my day trip.  

Bamberg is divided into 3 main parts. Domburg, Michaelsberg and Little Venice which is the island. I spent most of my time around the ales Rathaus which is near little Venice as the market, shopping, eating and cute cute old buildings are all there. 

Have you seen the cute little town hall that’s perched on the Regnitz River? Well you can’t miss it. It’s so cute in Rococo style and apparently it was built on the man made island because there was no land designated to it by the bishop in the Middle Ages. It still stands now, sitting pretty on the lake and you can visit the museum inside. 

Domburg has the beautiful rose garden, Cathedral and palace. The rose garden has over 4500 roses of different colours and smells (yes they smell different) and it smells amazing in full bloom. It also has great views of the town. The Imperial Cathedral is free and it’s huge and beautiful inside and out and has the bodies of the King Henrich II and Queen Kunigunde! The palace is a museum that I didn’t enter but the walk around the grounds as it’s very beautiful. 

If you walk slightly uphill, you’ll reach michaelsberg. The monastery turned brewery is now a museum and its nice to visit if you love beer and can read German. I paid 4 euros and had an English postcard to state minimal explanations so it wasn’t as good as if I had an English guide or a German friend who can translate for me. The views from the surroundings is beautiful as it’s perched on the hills. 

If you love markets, there is a lively market and the strawberries are amazingly sweet. You won’t miss it if you’re in the told town. It’s near the Rathaus. 

And there you go, great food, tasty beer, amazing strolls in cute awesome towns that are car free and an awesome time even in bad weather. Bamberg and Nuremberg, if I can visit you again I would! 

XOXO

Stella.