Nuremberg and Bamberg

Nuremberg .
We were to arrive in Nuremberg at 1.30 but due to heavy traffic in the locks we were delayed over two hours and arrived after 3.30 .
We had already decided not to take the guided tour and do our own thing in Nuremberg but because of the time we opted not to go and went for a walk instead to a nearby beer garden that we had spotted prior to docking.
This proved to be a good choice as we enjoyed several types of beer as well as chatting to the locals one of whom had been to Melbourne and was familiar with St Kilda we arrived back on board just as the first of the coaches returned. 

Bamberg.
The captain had made good time overnight but was still 1 hour behind schedule when we reached   Bamberg at 10.00am , so we left the boat on coaches to explore the village while the boat proceeded on down the canal and through 1 lock .
The town of Bamberg is delightful there was a farmers market and flower stalls in the main  mall along with the usual souvenir places. Our main aim was to find and try a locally brewed black beer that is smoked  with a taste of bacon luckily this was available at the first tavern and it did not disappoint the beer was savoured by all although Crackers wasn't that keen to have another 

Some window shopping and drooling outside the bakery's and it was time to catch the coach back to the boat .
The afternoon was spent lazing away the time with the sliding glass doors open and the sun streaming into our cabin , we watched the passing parade of villages each with its own church spire,  some houses we were able to look into the back yard along with caravan parks with people sitting outside enjoying the sunny day, ducks ,swans ,mothers with small children waving as we sailed  past .
The day has been a bit disorganized but to their credit the crew have bent over backwards to see that we were given as much time as possible in each location . We have nothing but admiration for the crew and staff as they are always friendly and go out of their way to help where ever possible Some things are just out of their control but as the cruise director said" POO HAPPENS ".
Crackers will report tomorrow on Wurzeburg and Rothenburg.