Christmas Spirit in Northern Bavaria

WURZBURG

Departure at 5:30 and we reach Parkingo Malpensa to leave our car. Quick transfer to Terminal 1 and we leave right on time with our Germanwings flight booked 3 months in advance (about € 140.00 each). By 9:30 we're already in Stuttgart. Our suitcases are already waiting for us on the carousel and, again quickly, we handle the paperwork for the car rental at Budget (booking made through the Enoleggio auto portal). They give us a Ford Kuga for the good price of € 128.00 for 3 days. We get in the car with our own navigator brought from home and head toward Wurzburg, which is about 90 minutes from Stuttgart. First stop, at the Harley dealership in Wurzburg, located on the outskirts of Wurzburg, where we make our first purchases.

Second stop is the majestic Residenz of Wurzburg. The Residenz is very large and imposing. However, you don't visit it in its entirety. The visit is self-guided (no guided tour); the rooms are very well preserved and pleasant.

It's lunchtime now, so we decide to make a first pass at the Wurzburg market, where we buy some hot dogs and some exquisite pastries at the bakery on the corner of the Markt Platz. Too bad the weather today is truly awful: cold, freezing wind, at times rain and snowflakes. So we decide to go to our Hotel Strauss, booked directly by e-mail many months earlier. Hotel: € 112.00 for a triple room with breakfast. The hotel is in a very central location. Affiliated parking right next to the hotel. The hotel is OK; the only negative point is that it's a target of tour groups; that day there were no fewer than 2 buses. The room is nice even if not overly large for 3 people. However, for a single night, it's more than fine.

Around 6:00 p.m. we go out to properly explore the market, which by that hour is already all lit up. The Wurzburg market isn't very big but it's located in the very central Markt Platz, in a setting worthy of respect.

The temperature has dropped even further, it's raining, snowing, in short, we take refuge in a restaurant for dinner. We find a pretty, large café/restaurant right on the market square, Café Shoenborn. We're lucky: we find a table right away and order from the extensive menu. There's a bit of everything: even pizza and pasta for those nostalgic for Italian cooking. We spend about 40 euros for 3: acceptable. We're exhausted. This morning we woke up before 5. Our eyes are closing even though it's still rather early. So we go straight back to the hotel and all three of us fall asleep right away.

BAMBERG

I knew that these groups of elderly tourists in the hotel would cause us problems and, indeed, the breakfast room was packed. We had to sit in another small room, far from the buffet, forcing us to cross half the hotel with plates and glasses to serve ourselves. The breakfast was more than good but we were disappointed by the treatment.

Right after completing the formalities at the hotel, we set off toward Bamberg. First, though, we make the ritual stop at the Bamberg Harley dealership, located in a town near the city. We then arrive in the center of Bamberg and immediately realize its charm. Cheerful old houses, narrow lively streets, canals and locks. The impact is fantastic. Evidently, though, the town isn't liked only by us but also by plenty of other people, considering the multitude of people on foot through the streets and the packed parking lots. In fact, we too have trouble finding parking: the hotel's ridiculous parking lot is full. We'll manage to park there only in the evening. The other parking lots in the center are full too and we have to wait for spaces to free up. First we visit the Neue Residenz located on Dom Platz.

The visit isn't great: we have to wait 20 minutes for the mandatory guided tour in German (on top of that). You only visit a few rather bare and freezing rooms. It's really not worth it; better to visit the nearby Cathedral. There at least you don't pay any ticket and you decide the length of the visit. Next, a nice walk among the beautiful bridges of the city and a stop at a café overlooking the canal for a hot chocolate, Eiscafè Bassano. We also notice nearby a store of the famous Christmas decorations chain Kathe Wohlfahrt, and here a stop is a must even though the prices are prohibitive. Still, we always buy something small. Right after, we get back in the car to go to the market square, Maximilian Platz (commonly called Max Platz). There too we queue up to wait for a parking space to free up in the underground garage beneath the square itself (convenient).

We're lucky and get out of it rather quickly. The Bamberg market is medium-to-large with many truly original stalls. We like it a lot and make several purchases: soaps, little houses, the classic mulled wine (here called Gluhwein). Moreover, it's already dusk and the market lights are already all on, giving us the classic Christmas atmosphere we were so looking for. We then decide to go to our hotel to see if our room is finally ready. It's a hotel housed in a historic building in the center, Palais Schrottenberg, in a very central location between the Dom Platz and the typical house on the river, the most photographed subject and symbol of the city itself. The hotel is particular, even if a bit gloomy and rather expensive (€ 170 for a triple room with breakfast). However, the location is enviable and truly convenient.

A few meters from the hotel there is also the Klein Venedig, with its characteristic houses overlooking the water that could recall memories of Venice. For dinner we notice many characteristic places with period furnishings and typical German menus. However, at 7:00 p.m. we realize they're all full. Indeed, that day in Bamberg there are really too many people. We manage to find a table in a place not far away, Wirtshaus Zum Domreiter, and we dine excellently on pork knuckle, pork chops, a mix of sausages and the classic Strudel with vanilla ice cream and cream. Average price: 58 euros for 3. Out of the place, a few nighttime photos on the canals and back to the hotel.

MICHELSTADT AND BACK

A more than decent breakfast in a beautiful old room of the hotel with background music and departure for the last stop of our short pre-Christmas trip. This morning we leave Bavaria to go to the region of Hesse, to Michelstadt. We get there after a good 2 hours of travel. It's a small, characteristic town with half-timbered houses. It looks like a fairy-tale or cartoon village but it's all real. The perimeter is marked by medieval walls and, inside, many wooden market stalls in every street and every little square. There's a lot of cheerfulness, a lot of life, a lot of festive atmosphere. We also make some purchases: pretty scarves and hats that we put on right away. Many photos because every corner deserves our attention, and then, alas, toward Stuttgart airport. It would really have been nice to stay overnight here in Michelstadt.

Right about that, we spot a hotel in a very central location to keep in mind for the future: Hotel Drei Hasen. The journey to Stuttgart isn't short but we arrive with enough time to spare to return the car at the Budget point and to wait patiently for the call for our Germanwings flight, always right on time. We're truly satisfied with this airline, which we didn't know and are using for the first time. Surprisingly, the baggage return at Malpensa was also unbelievably quick, and the Parkingo shuttle is already waiting for us at the terminal exit. In short: 30 minutes after landing we're already home. What can I say! A perfect trip. Too bad it's all already over. Dani, Max and Clarissa.