Bamberg

Friday there was no Ring opera, so I took a day trip to nearby Bamberg with Die Oper Tatlerin. Bamberg is a picturesque town with well-preserved buildings going back to the Medieval period. The cute streets lined with tall buildings made me feel I was in Disneyland.

Die Oper Tatlerin only wanted to see the botanical paintings at the Kloster St. Michael, but we climbed the Michaelsberg only to discover that it was of course closed due to construction. The city's famous Dom was open but covered with scaffolding as well.

Klein Venedig looks nothing like Venice, but the view, which includes swans, is charming.

Midget Wagner followed us to Bamberg. Die Tatlerin cannily tried to lose me on the return train to Bayreuth by leading me onto the wrong carriage, where I got stuck behind a girl with ungainly luggage. Half the residents of our hotel seemed to be on the train as well.