Aeth Wolf

There were two main reasons for heading down to see Petephin, aside from his tremendous company, and that was Bamberg and Sinsheim. I had wanted to visit Bamberg ever since I changed there the last time I saw Petephin back in November 2023. Meanwhile, after telling him about our trip to the Deutsches Teknik Museum back in March, he suggested we should go to the Teknik Museum Sinsheim. This is about an hour and a quarter away from Würzburg, across the border in Baden-Wurtenburg. There are two Teknik Museums in this region, with the other being in Speyer, about 20 minutes away. Alas, there is so much to do, that we didn't think it wise to check out both in one day. Therefore, we decided to focus all our attention on Sinsheim. The tickets were a mite spendy at €25, but we did spend five hours there and online booking did make it cheaper. In the end, I would say it was good value.

As it was a Saturday in the middle of the school holidays, I had feared the place would be somewhat busy. However, it is such a sprawling complex, that it didn't feel too cramped. Indeed, the only time we had to queue was for the star attractions of Concorde, the Tupolev Tu-144 and the U17 U-Boot and even then our maximum wait was a matter of minutes. Those three attractions were the highlights, with the former two planes looming over one of the two main arenas which house the majority of the exhibits. As these were posed in take-off mode, it did mean a very steep incline once you into them, while the walling off of the seats under perspex made the corridors somewhat narrow. With the sheer number of people visiting these exhibits, this made for a rather cramped experience, not aided by the 28C heat from the day permeating through the cockpit. The Tupelov, with its 1970s orange and brown colour scheme, had a particularly funky odour about it and while experiencing the first ever plane to break the speed of sound was fun, I couldn't wait to be out of there. The submarine, the newest exhibit at Sinsheim, was equally cramped, meaning taking photos was a chore, but at least it was protected from the elements. The highlight here was paying €1 at a contactless card reader to simulate an attack, which had the majority of the kids bawling their eyes out as the loud noises and switch to red lighting were pretty terrifying. There were also exhibits in both the Tupolev and the U-Boot of how these behemoths got moved to the museum, which I found fascinating.

The contactless card readers were quite common throughout the museum and being a completist, of course I had to touch them. I thought this was a bit of a swizz as all of the commotion of course attracted families with children, who got to witness the show for free. The model railway was probably my favourite, as were the setting in motion of the huge wheels of two massive locomotives. One of them was pointed towards the gents toilets and I wondered what would happen if those wheels made contact with the fake rails and propelled the engine through the wall as someone was urinating. There were a few massive organs and olde style music machines, including the Mortier Tanzorgel, the largest mechanically-operated dance-music organ in the world. Alas, this one was out of action, but a few others were in operation and I enjoyed listening to their sounds. I also enjoyed the huge whirring steam engine that you could pay to operate, while no doubt some of the men enjoyed the tank that you could work through remote control, controlling the gun turret and pointing it at invisible enemies. My favourite tank, though, was the shell of one which had been destroyed in war. It's very rare to see the internal workings of these machines and it was left there, along with the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka bomber, as a testament against the glamorisation of warfare.

Like with the Deutsches Teknik Museum, there were machines everywhere, with a range of planes hanging from the ceiling. There were also many cars, from the early days all the way through to the modern day. I have never been a huge fan of automobiles, but I did appreciate the massive cars of the 1920s and 1930s, with their huge sleek designs and chunky bonnets. One of the Mercedes-Benz W31 cars favoured by the Nazi regime was on display, while I thought the Maybach's in particular were stunning. I grew less interested the closer we got to the modern age, while I'm sure the tertiary exhibit focused on the importance of tuning between Volkswagen and Opel cars from the 1970s onwards was interesting to tech geeks, but it offered little for me. We ended up walking around this in a rather whistle stop fashion, but then this museum is so big, that it pays best to take one's time, knowing it will be unlikely that you'll be able to see everything. Despite this, we did give it a good go, while the highlights for me from the automobile sections included the Blue Flame, which broke the land speed record by smashing 1,000km/h in 1970, and Brutus, which has become the mascot of the Sinsheim Museum. What I didn't realise was the Blue Flame was funded by the American Gas Association to promote the efficiency of the fuel. Meanwhile, Brutus was made famous by Top Gear amongst other programs. It is an experimental racing car constructed between 1998 and 2006 in the style of similar vehicles from the early 20th century. A special feature of this car is a 47-liter BMW aircraft engine and it certainly looks the part. They are obviously very proud of it. Speaking of racing cars, there was a whole section dedicated to Formula 1, with some familiar cars from the 1990s taking pride of place. There were also small innovations highlighted too, such as the standardisation of head lamps over the years.

We spent about five hours in the museum, taking in all of the motorcycles too (including the motorised unicycle, which seemed like a colossally bad idea), although the lack of trains is worth noting. This was a little disappointing as I'm such a train nerd, but I guess the planes were the highlight. There were others on display too and we got to go into a few of these. These were sweat boxes like the others. We did take a short break for a rather disappointing lunch in the cafeteria, but then my schnizel was everything you would expect from a piece of meat that had been sat under a heat lamp for a while. Still, the chips were crispy and the onion gravy tasted more like the British stuff I'm used to rather than anything you can find in Germany. Pints of Afri Cola on draft were also particularly refreshing.

We had planned to go to Heidelberg, but I always thought it would be something of a stretch. As we had woken up about an hour later than we had intended, this was pretty much off the cards, not least because the castle would have been closed by the time we got there. I was also aware that again Petephin would have to drive and thought he may prefer a more leisurely evening out in Würzburg. Consequently, we decided to save this picturesque city for another time and devote our full attention to Sinsheim, which was due to close at 7pm. However, by the time 6pm rolled around, we realised that things were starting to close already. I had wanted to buy some 'Das U-Boot' beer for Wolfie but the gift shop strangely shut early, while we deduced that we wouldn't be allowed to enter either of the main hangers as it was so late. In the end, we bought an expensive ice cream (€3.50 for a coconut and mango Nuui that was little bigger than my Tangle Teezer) and wandered around the main courtyard.

We made it back to Würzburg shortly before 8pm, which was fortunate as it allowed Petephin to buy some more bread and yoghurt from his local REWE. All the shops shut hideously early in Bavaria so it was good timing that we got there in the nick of time. Alas, we still had to wait nearly 45 minutes for the once-hourly bus, but at least this gave me the opportunity to charge up my phone. The short journey into the centre of Würzburg was largely uneventful and even though we got dropped off a little outside the city limits, it wasn't too far a walk to get to where we wanted to be. We could have run for a tram we saw, but there was an intimidating gaggle of around 20 men just loitering on the platform. However, when we realised the next tram would be a lengthy 12 minute wait, we cut our losses and walked to our destination.

We were going to a cocktail bar favoured by Petephin called Escalera. I tend to swerve cocktails on a night out as they tend to be overpriced, but at €8.20, these ones weren't too bad. They certainly retained their flavour, rather than being diluted by ice as you drink them, and even though I started on a beer I soon found myself having a Swimming Pool at Petephin's recommendation. This was quite boozy but also fruity, and it certainly worked. We also shared a huge plate of nachos with salsa, sour cream, cheese and jalapenos. This was quite nice, although some of the nachos were somewhat burnt, while the peppers were deseeded so weren't too hot. It was good to get some soakage. The bar was only about half full, but the atmosphere was good, although there was a table of about eight rather loud men who got increasingly loud and leery as the evening went on. After drink number two and our inability to encourage any of the local furs out to join us - one of them had gone to a nightclub called Laby that looked somewhat grim - we decided to cut our losses and move elsewhere. That elsewhere was not the dreary 111 Beer bar we went to last time, partly because they have now festooned their menu with AI-generated 'art', but a bar called Irish Pixie. As the name suggests, this is Würzburg's Irish bar and the atmosphere was pretty good. We found an empty table, but 15 minutes later, moved as a two-seater became free. This caused a few billing problems, but once we paid our first drink and set up a new tab, it was fine. We were delighted to see that someone had stuck googly eyes on the three beers as part of their 'Taste of Ireland' beer flight, while I enjoyed my Guinness even though I know it wasn't poured right. Pete found his Guinness a little too heavy and due to the one-hour gap between buses, I ended up buying a Kilkenny as we waited. The frustrating thing about buses in Würzburg is there seems to be four options, but they all come once hourly. However, instead of spacing them out, they all also come within the same 10-minute interval, meaning there is nothing for 50 minutes at a time. Anyway, we left the bar shortly after 1am and yomped through the city and over the bridge to get the bus we needed. All the while, I felt an increasing urge for a piss and was quite relieved when we got back to Pete's so I could relieve myself.

Sunday was always going to be an easy day. I had booked my train out of Bamberg as I had a return ticket, thinking I could just get the regular shuttle service between Würzburg and the city. What I hadn't realised was that this was cancelled and replaced by a train and a bus, meaning a 40-minute journey was going to take nearly three times that. The best option available to me was to take the train to Nuremberg and change there, getting on the ICE service I was intended to board at Bamberg but one stop earlier. My thinking here was that if this train was late in Nuremberg, it would be late in Bamberg too, giving me just one point of failure - the train from Würzburg to Nuremberg. This was a packed hellscape of a train with a family converting the bike area into a play space for their children, but it was still largely on time. I deliberately got the service an hour later in anticipation of any delays, meaning I had an hour to kill in Nuremberg in the end. Fortunately, the main railway station is right outside the city walls, so I used this time to explore the city. The last time I had visited was 2008, and cresting over the hill and seeing the view below me cast familiar memories from 17 years ago. Of course, I didn't have long, but I managed to do some exploring. I got to see Frauentor guarding the city and the Gothic Church of St. Lorenz beyond. There was a man preaching outside of this, so I didn't stay too long, opting instead to soak up all of the historic (if restored) buildings. I was tempted to get an ice cream for old times' sake - I remember doing this back in 2008 - but the queues were too long and time was too short. I saw the stunning Museumsbrücke with its houses situated atop of it and the Ship of Fools statue further down. Outside this, I was accosted by an Irishman in a fluorescent yellow shirt, who wanted me to translate the inscription. I could only translate some of it - Destroy life and death laughs mercilessly - but the German was far beyond my expertise. The ship was originally meant to be a fountain and is based on the Sebastian Brant scripture from 1495 in which he describes the world as a ship which is steered to ruin by fools. There is a dog on this ship, assumedly a hound of hell, along with dead people and skeletons too.

The 14th-century Toblerone-shaped Frauenkirche with its clock dwarfed by the turrets above it was my final stop. This sits on Haputmarkt, which had the remnants of market stalls scattered around. There's a pretty gold spire fountain here, gated off as many of these tend to be, and while there were clearly other historical wonders beyond the market place, it was time to head back to the station. I decided to take the U-Bahn, even though it was only one stop from Lorenzkirche, back over the bridge and up the hill. They are renovating some of the entrances and exits here, so in some ways, it would have made more sense to walk. Still, I hadn't ridden this particular railway system before and as I am such a nerd, a one-stop hop on the U1 worked for me. Upon arrival, I had 20 minutes to get some drinks and find my platform at Nuremberg station. I called at a vending machine and noted the sweet very German looking canine mascot of the Zolli vending machine company (I think it's the green overalls and hat that point to him being German for some reason) before boarding my train. This was slightly late leaving Nuremberg on account of a delayed Vienna-bound service hogging the platform, while we had to wait 45 minutes in Erfurt as the police cleared some kids off the tracks between there and Leipzig. This meant I got back to Spandau 45 minutes late, not quite late enough to claim compensation (which I successfully did after my outbound service). I called at McDonald's on the way home as I hadn't eaten since lunchtime. I was going to eat in the restaurant, but there was a mad woman walking up to everyone and shouting 'Cuckoo' in their faces so I decided to take my burger home and eat it there, catching up with Wolfie as I did.

That lunch had come at a local Biergarten. While it had been touching 35C on Friday, by Sunday, the temperature had dropped to 24C, making it far more comfortable. We had gotten up late and after a tasty breakfast of toast, hummus and cheese, washed down with strawberry cheesecake flavoured tea, we boarded the bus to Würzburg shortly before noon. The last time I visited Würzburg, we enjoyed a glass of wine on the main bridge, with wine being one thing the city is famous for. Indeed, you can see the vineyards stretching up the hillsides surrounding the city. However, this imbibing took place in the middle of November, and I reasoned the experience would be much better in the middle of August. Consequently, once we got to the city centre, we walked along the Main and found ourselves at the familiar wine emporium. We bought a glass of Halbtrocken Weisswein for €6.50 each, with a €5 Pfand on the glasses. This wasn't too bad considering it was a 250ml serving, and a generous 250ml serving at that. We then retired to a little alcove on the bridge overlooking a factory on one side and the beautiful castle and hillside church on the other. Being in the alcove afforded me the opportunity to put my bag down, but we were continuously pestered by wasps. At one point, one landed right in Petephin's beard, just to the side of his mouth. It stayed there for what must have been 20 seconds and although I tried to shoo it away, I think Petephin feared I would antagonise it. It did eventually go - a testament to the more benign nature of German wasps compared to their English counterparts - but they still marred our experience slightly. I did enjoy the accordion player though, who added some atmosphere and at least had a diverse repertoire of songs. Also, Petephin's friend joined us halfway into our drinking, although it must be said I was drinking much faster than Pete. This was a different friend to the one we met in Bamberg - this was a fur with whom I became acquainted during my last trip in 2023. He pointed out that we had been in a pizza parlour as we watched a religious parade, placing the date as 11 November. It's a vivid memory. He was wearing a dog collar and we started talking furry. Sadly, his partner, who I also met two years ago, wasn't able to come out yet.

I was toying with a second glass of wine but two slices of bread do not offer much protection against booze, so we decided to go to the Biergarten instead. Here, we sat by the river and watched in fascination at one of the river cruise ships being lowered in the lock next to us. We grabbed a couple of beers while I also had some Franconian sausage and potato salad, which worked very nicely as a lunch. These sausages weren't that different from the traditional German ones you get, but like with German beer, every municipality is really proud of their produce yet failing to realise that it all largely tastes the same. Still, the beer and food was good, while the company was excellent. My only regret was needing to get to Würzburg train station for 3:40pm to catch the train to Nuremberg. I would have loved to stay later, not least because they were heading over to a beach bar for a few drinks afterwards, but alas I had to get home. Consequently, at around 3:15pm, they took me to the station via the modern Würzburg Conference Centre and the university where Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-Rays. I didn't know this about Würzburg and I probably should have done. Alas, the wine and beer meant that the 20-minute walk was becoming increasingly painful due to my piss-poor bladder and we had to say our goodbyes quickly as we had cut the journey a little fine. Fortunately, there was a toilet on the train I was able to use. The train itself was split into two halves, with one half being particularly cramped, so I decamped to the other one at an intermediary stop. Still, despite this, the hour-and-a-half journey was far from the best but at least I managed to make my connection and see some of Nuremberg.

This weekend saw me head down to Bavaria to stay with Petephin, following his visit to Berlin back in April. Wolfie was going to come too, but his legs have been causing him problems and we decided to stay behind. This was probably a wise decision in retrospect as there was an awful lot of walking, as well as some difficult places to access, but I still missed him incredibly on this trip. Consequently, after trying the new Canadian-themed Maple Burger from McDonald's (not as good as the Philly Cheese Burger, which for some reason they are describing as British), I headed to Spandau railway station to catch my train. There, I discovered it had been cancelled, so I had to make my way to Hauptbahnhof and catch a train to Nuremberg, where I had to change to get to my final destination of Bamberg. All of this added nearly an hour and a half to my journey, while my connecting RE10 service had to be held back in Nuremberg as my ICE rolled in late, but I still managed to get to my Ibis Budget for the night. Alas, it was just after midnight by the time I checked in, meaning I had little time to explore the city that night. The truth was, I probably wasn't going to anyway as this being Bavaria, everything shut ridiculously early, but still. In the end, I grabbed a local beer from the vending machine in the lobby and ended up watching 'You Only Live Twice' in German, which didn't make the film any less problematic. I also got swept up in an Austrian quiz called Quiz Jagd. I understood all of the questions, but as most of them were very Austria-specific, I barely knew any of the answers.

I could have gotten up early to explore Bamberg, away from the heat of the day that was to hit 35C. Of course, I didn't. I had drank too much on the train and my recent chronic fatigue - I am still no closer to getting any diagnosis for ADHD - meant I was going to take advantage of any lie-in I had. This meant I skipped breakfast to favour a sleep until noon check-out, only surfacing slightly early to get a shower. Food was to be obtained from the Yorma's at the railway station, which was a mere 400m away. Indeed, the reason I went with the Ibis Budget, despite it being a little way out of the centre of the city, was its proximity to the station. There, I picked up a buttered pretzel that was more butter than pretzel, producing a chive-based slimy experience. It was far from satisfying. I then headed back to the hotel and waited for Petephin, who was driving to Bamberg from Wurzburg. As I did, I saw the muscly biker dude with whom I had shared the lift on the way down to the reception pack up his panniers, while an Indian man stared at me intently while I was loitering about. I don't know what his problem was.

Petephin soon managed to collar me and we headed towards the city centre, opting for a car park that was closer to where we wanted to be and in the shade. Car parked, we then headed into the city, casually checking out Gabelmoo (Neptunsbrunnen). This was one of the many statues in the city with people tantilisingly half-naked, but not naked enough, although I was also struck by the number of fox-themed things that were everywhere. Further down the main square, there is the pretty Kath. Kirche St. Martin, beyond which there lies Maximilian Platz with its cobbled square and unique fountain. It was here where Petephin's friend had parked, and he met us about an hour into our trip. He is a Bamberg native and although not a furry, he does share Pete's Portuguese heritage and musical interests. Indeed, I don't think I have ever listened to so much Portuguese and Brazilian Schlager as I have done this past weekend.

Petephin's friend, whose name has shamefully escaped me, had suggested a restaurant called Little Italy. There are two branches of these, but we assumed he meant the one in the old town. This meant that I got to see the stunning Bamberg Altes Rathaus. This is situated over the river itself after the Bishop had refused to grant land upon which to build a town hall. The locals then took matters into their own hands and now it straddles either side of an old bridge. Upon this, there are statues to saints, not unlike the famous bridge in Prague. Meanwhile, an arch and clocktower guide walkers into the old town proper. It has a white and wooden Tudor style, with stunning oche and brown frescoes down each of its main sides. There are also bridges either side, so you can see this stunning building from all angles. In the archway, there is a plaque dedicated to Claus Graf Stauffenberg, one of the two men who tried unsuccessfully to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The best thing about the Altes Rathaus is it exposes itself in front of you as you turn a corner onto the bridge. This had me giddy and I couldn't stop smiling at its beauty. On the other side, you walk into an area that is as close to the 14th century as I have ever gotten. Narrow alleyways, bustling breweries, full restaurants, and a huge church and monastery complex dominating the seven hills surrounding the city. Indeed, had it not been for credit cards and mobile phones, you could be forgiven for having stepped back in time.

We found the restaurant pretty easily and although I wasn't feeling particularly hungry after my greasy bagel, it was good to get some food now. Petephin's friend soon joined us and it wasn't long before we were tucking into their humongous pizzas. If anything, my Speciale was perhaps a little too meaty, while it had those appalling vinegary pepperoni things here that are liked so much. It was a good pizza, if it did lay somewhat heavy in the stomach, and it was great to be sat indoors away from the intensity of the summer heat. Petephin's friend was charming and was happy to show us all of the sights, but before this, we headed over to a Portuguese cafe to grab some pastais de nata. I had these creamy pastry dumplings in Lisbon, but these weren't too bad, belying the chinzy and cluttered cafe we got them from. Apparently, there is quite the Portuguese diaspora in this area, which makes restaurants like Zuckerstuck particularly popular. We ate our pastries as we walked down to Little Venice, so called because there is a canal down here. Alas, there seems to be only one canal, which makes it very little indeed, but the chocolate-box wooden houses that frame this elegant waterway was pretty. Flowers and lights were being hung ahead of a major street festival this weekend - one of those street festivals that locals are proud of, but which is identical to every other street festival in Germany. Still, it was weird seeming emergency exit banners hanging from the lampposts so it clearly gets a lot of people.

After our walk, we decided to check out the Neues Residenz and Dom area. This was a bit of a demanding walk up a hill, not aided by our very full bellies, but the views were certainly worth it. I have already been to the Residenz in Wurzburg, so we decided to skip the museum here, thinking that the artistic styles, furniture and portraiture would be much similar to that I have already seen. We did check out the pretty Rose Garden though, which had a range of different roses planted in neatly spaced flowerbeds. In the middle, there were statues, again many of which being half-naked, while the views over the city were stunning. We even got to see one woman's set of pants, hanging on her washing line. As I say, the views were stunning. The other thing I noticed up here was the name of the coffee company Minges being advertised on some parasols in the cafe at one side of the Rose Garden. Having grown up in the Nineties where the word 'minge' was intimate slang for women's privates, the coffee didn't seem all too appealing. While we were up here, we noted the horrendous door knockers with snakes cascading off them, while it was good to discover that quite a few famous feature films were shot up here too.

Over the road, next to the Dom, there was another small museum and courtyard complex. Some young children were throwing water at each other in here, but we did get to see the Old Court building, parts of which dated from 1003. After this, we got to see the cathedral itself. I opted to pay the €2 and pick up a paper guide, as it highlighted all of the important sights. Of course, my favourite was The Bamberg Horseman - I have rarely seen a full statue of a horse in a church. I found the crypt where past bishops were buried quite sobering, along with the inscriptions on the wall detailing them all dating back to 1007. This sense of history, immediately in front of you, added to the grandeur and importance of the space. The cathedral itself offered respite from the searing heat, although I can imagine it would be particularly frigid in the winter. Meanwhile, near the exit and also outside in the courtyard, we saw sculptures of two men made out of different colours of glass bottles. This was part of an exhibit called 'People of Glass - Human Fragility' by Ha Schult. He has created 12 of these 'apostles', all made out of coloured glass, highlighting the environmental impacts of glass production. All of the glass used was recycled.

After our walk around the cathedral, Petephin's friend suggested we go to a castle out of town. In having a car at our disposal, this wouldn't normally be open to me, so it seemed like a good opportunity. He had a rather swish Mercedes Benz, which we picked up back at Maximilian Platz, walking through the city as we did. We were amazed at just how quiet the city was, yet noting that this is typical for Germany on public holidays. Friday was Maria Himmelfahrt, so Bavaria got the day off, although it is worth nothing that Berlin did not, as is often the case. Anyway, we got to the car and after a 10-minute drive through some of Bamberg's more salubrious neighbourhoods, we parked at the top of a hill upon which there stood a modest fort. Bamberg Castle, also known as Altenburg, is built on the highest of the seven hills overlooking the city. This affords it great views, although the foliage of the trees blocked most of them. We could have paid €1 to walk up the circular tower, but we were now in the zenith of the heat of the day, and I don't think any of us could have been bothered. We were tempted to grab a beer in the shady beer garden in its main courtyard, but with Petephin and his friend both needing to drive, we thought it unwise. The castle dates from 1109 but was almost completely destroyed in 1553. There is a 33-meter-high 13th-century keep beyond the main portcullis and a place which clearly used to be a stable for horses. The castle itself is rather modest and with little to really see, we only ended up staying here about ten minutes.

It was approaching 5pm by this point and it was suggested we check out Memmelsdorf Castle. This is in a village of the same name, some ten minutes out of Bamberg. We didn't have much time to check out the inside of this summer home, but we did get to walk around the grounds, where we saw some lakes out back and some pretty nice sets of woodland. There were maps of the old orangery before it had gone into disrepair prior to its subsequent restoration, while we also saw five different types of citrus trees highlighting the sort of fruit they used to grow here. The castle itself, with its orange and cream facade and striking slate roof looked particularly stunning in the summer sun, with the verdant well-coiffured gardens and neat pathways adding a Downtown Abbey finesse. The whitewashed coats of arms above the door suggest a previous grandeur, as do some of the (again frustratingly nearly but not quite naked) statues in the grounds. Finally, the red and white sweeping entrance that lets you into the main courtyard added another slice of grandeur. We spent a good hour walking around here, and it was here where I learnt much more about Schlager. Petephin's friend also talked a lot about attractive women during our time together, highlighting a few people as being attractive. I have been out of the heterosexual world for so long, it felt a little jarring, as I hadn't heard such comments for about 25 years. Still, it was benign enough.

We headed back into the city after this, largely because I wanted to try some beer. Bamberg is world-renowned for its breweries so after parking a little out of town, we walked by the canal to get back into the centre. The highlight was the famous Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, whose beer 'tastes like bacon' according to Petephin's friend. This brewery was well-known to me as even before the days of craft beer, it was the sort of thing you could buy in good bars. I always found the smokiness a little overpowering in bottle, but in draft, it definitely works. Alas, it took us a while to get in, as the security guard was being particularly fussy about us bringing in our bottles of water. We had picked these up at a small convenience store just outside the Altes Rathaus. This was one of those places that just had vending machines, except I had never seen so many vending such a variety of different products. The prices were reasonable for a convenience store, while the place was refreshingly cool, providing a good way to escape the oppressive heat. Anyway, the bouncer wouldn't let us in until we had finished our bottles (while Petephin's friend was chatting to his girlfriend for the fourth or fifth time that day), which meant that Petephin had to drink something like a litre of water very quickly. We could have drank beer on the street as many others were doing - there was a hatch inside that was only serving the famous smoked beer - but we wanted to go to the beer garden for a sit down. After finishing our water, this is what we did. We sat on some benches around a tree and although there was an unfortunate incident where Petephin knocked his friend's beer over, a good time was had. As I say, I tend to find this beer in bottles too smoky, but here it was perfect. There was a slight smokiness, but was not too overpowering, while the aroma in the glass also added to the experience. I was made up sitting out here in the warmth as I genuinely didn't know that this place was in Bamberg and that they had been making it here since 1405. To try it at source was an incredible opportunity. I also didn't realise the Brauernstern, the Brewer's Star, in Germany is similar to the star of St. David. I would have stayed for another, but I was aware I was the only one who was not driving.

There are many traditional breweries on this street and with it being a warm evening and a national holiday, there were throngs of people enjoying their time out. It was great to soak up this atmosphere and although I knew my two friends were driving, I still wanted to try some more beers. Fortunately, they indulged me as I wanted to go to a place called Ahornla with a unicorn logo. This place has been brewing since 1366 and although the tables outside were all full, we did get to sit inside. This was a little utilitarian, but we could see the brewing vessels out back, while the Rotbier I sampled was also quite good. What was even better though was the roasted pork sandwich this place does. We got this at the end of the day - after I had grabbed a third beer to drink on the bridge outside the old town hall - as it was on the way back to Petephin's friend's car. The sandwich is sold in a hole in the wall concession next to the Ahornla pub. It was €4.80, so a mite spendy, but the pork was greasy and succulent, topped with crispy crackling. The bread had a crisp outside and pillowy interior and when served with mustard, it cuts through the fat perfectly. I wasn't too hungry, but Petephin's friend suggested I try it and he was not wrong. It was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten and I was raving about it on the way back to the car. As we went, we spotted a phalanx of moths buzzing around every streetlamp, so much so that it was like some sort of plague of locusts. Still, it was a good way to end the evening. As I say, prior to this, I did grab a local beer from the vending machine convenience store while my friends grabbed soft drinks due to their need to drive. We sat on the bridge, next to the black half-face statue 'Centurione I' by Igor Mitoraj. It was a great atmosphere with a stunning background, with the murals on the side of the Rathaus lit up. In the distance, over the canal, there was golden lightning shooting from the sky, which added an even greater mystique. It was the end to a great day and I even raised my beer bottle to the aforementioned bouncer as we walked past the front of his pub, and he nodded at me in acknowledgement. We had become friends despite his previous rudeness and I had even thanked him after having our smoky beer.

On the way back to Petephin's friend's car, we checked out the Lüpertz-Fenster Bamberg. These are in the Kirche St. Elisabeth, a neat pink church perched on the corner of a square. With the light coming out of the church, you could see these stunning stained glass windows from the outside looking in, which suggests they must be breathtaking on the inside during a sunny day. We got back to Petephin's at around midnight via his friend's house, where we stopped for a toilet break. As we parked on his drive, we saw a lady dressed in lingerie that can only be described as prostitute red. We thought it an odd place for prostitution, it being a nice suburban village some way out of the centre of the city, but she grabbed her minge when we looked at her so I guess she was after one thing. By the time we left Petephin's friend's house ten minutes later - as we went to his house before picking up Petephin's car - she was sadly gone into the night.