Snow White....

and the seven dwarves.

A wordless Sunday, sort of..:-)

Baby's day out(Part 1).

Only that the baby was me...:-)

Yesterday, Ms A had a school trip to attend to. With both the kids away the entire day I had 8 hours all to myself. What fun to leave the house and do something that you like? I have always wanted to walk through vineyards, without any interruption. So, narrowing down on the ones below the Festung Mairenberg in Würzburg, I took the train to this lovely town, which is only 45 minutes away.

Würzburg is a blend of both old and new, with modern shopping malls and cafes sandwiched between old churches and stucco buildings, it's a delight for both the young and old to simply walk through and take in the smells and sights.At the heart of the town, right beside the Marienkapelle(the red church) is the markt platz. With festivals happening round the clock, colorful stalls and food courts adorn this place all through the year. I have a favorite one which sells the best franconian bratwurst. After relishing one which was my lunch and wandering around the stalls, I proceeded to the Alte Mainbrücke(Old Main bridge).

One of the oldest and loveliest stone bridges in Germany, it has amazing views over the Main with the small ships docked to the side, the fortress right on top of the mountain with the sprawling vineyards below and the towers of St Kilian church on the other end. 12 larger than life statues of saints and emperors are placed on both the sides of the bridge. Above is St. Burkard, Würzburg's first bishop. There is always a flurry of activity on this bridge.....Guided tours with tourists, lovers holding hands and looking upward to the fortress, wine lovers sipping on that glass of wine(yes, they were standing on the bridge with their glasses), photo enthusiasts like me waiting for that moment of respite from the crowds to get the perfect shot and the elderly, seating themselves on the stone benches for that much awaited break.

Once you go over the bridge, there are clear signs guiding you to the fortress. The option in front of me were two paths - 20 minutes by stairs or 40 minutes through vineyards. Both uphill.

You can guess what I chose...:-)

As I climbed up steadily, the roof tops of Würzburg slowly came into sight. It was indeed breathtaking. I spent quite some time taking it all in, after all there was nobody along with me. 

The Marienberg fortress is a prominent landmark of Würzburg. It was the home of the prince bishops from 1201 until the 18th century. With two courtyards, towers, a church and gardens, you need quite some time to explore both inside and outside.
Having already done the tours of the above 2 years ago I could not wait to get into the vineyards. Only problem was I couldn't figure out how to get to them.....:D

to be continued...

I finally went out ALONE...

Yes, just me, my thoughts, myself.

and, I enjoyed it thoroughly..

so much so, that I want to do it, more often..:-)

I paused where I pleased,

clicked way too many pictures,

cause you see, there was nobody waiting for me or tagging alongside.

I knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see.

A walk through the vineyards. 

The arch up there, that was the entrance to them.

My heart almost skipped a beat when I saw it.

Klein Venedig

While I thought I would squeeze in all the sights we saw in Bamberg into one post, I thought it would be a shame not to share pictures of the Little Venice(Klein Venedig). The entire day, sunshine and rain were playing a little game of hide and seek. So when we were by the banks of the river Regnitz to view the row of 19th century fishermen's houses, the blue skies popped out just for a while so that I could get these gorgeous shots..:D

It is not possible to walk through these row of 30 wooden houses. You have to be on the opposite side of the river bank to actually view this little delight. Each house has a tiny front yard filled with flowers, patio furniture and an occasional boat tied to the dock.

Notice the two young lads crooning on a guitar on this warm summer's day.

Do you know that there are vacation homes on the klein Venedig. I would have loved to live in one of them.

I spent time watching this lady garden. Did she mind? I wonder... Or she must be used to a bunch of tourists like me trying to catch a glimpse of normal life on the Vendig.

So, which was your favorite picture?

Farmer's market in Bamberg.

On Saturday, the family and I finally visited Bamberg. For hubby dear it was sheer nostalgia. While I come back tomorrow with some ramblings about our visit, I thought I would leave you all with pictures from the weekend farmer's market of Bamberg. It was huge, colorful and crowded!!

It was a wonderful combination of flowers, veggies, fruits, honey, liqueur, bread, meat and not to forget, PEOPLE...:D

I did end up buying some cherries from enthusiastic elderly ladies at a stall. By the time we were back home late in the night, they were squashed.

Why I ♥ to window shop

One of the things I love to do is window shop..

When in any town or village, I make it a point to visit the marktplatz just to peek into shops and sometimes spend an awful lot of time admiring the treasures separated from me by that glass window, while my family patiently waits for me.

At times it is love at first sight and I walk just right in to buy what I like(if it's affordable)...:D

In Lohr, there is one such bylane(Obere Schlacthausgasse) which has a charming shop with all kinds of home decor you can think of. I always try to cut across this lane just to take a look at what is in store for me. They do up their windows according to seasons and I can spend hours looking at the nitty gritty details. 

Below is how it is when the store's open. 

Stunning, isn't it?

So tell me, do you love to window shop? Are you content with just looking through the windows or do you really go out there and splurge?

Eis Eis baby..

Some of the things we take for granted back home....

like a bowl of ice cream in a cafe or ice parlor..

Well, we wait for it like crazy here.

You see, these cafes are closed for five months in a year(autumn through winter).

They close with a note pinned up on their door wishing us customers a pleasant winter.

Then, it's a long wait till spring.

And when that happens, I bring out all the pennies and coins for the little ones to have that scoop of ice on a cone.....

 For a small town like Lohr, we have quite a few ice cafes..

Our favorite  is Eis Cafe Venezia. 

  

They have unique flavors..like the one I had below..

BAGIGI which means peanuts/groundnuts.

I didn't know there was a peanut ice cream!!! 

Do you have a favorite ice parlor in town?