Bamberg advice

The good news is you can't do it wrong!

In my limited experience I'd say that the Schlenkerla pub does fill up on weekend evenings and you may not be able to get a seat without a reservation, but if you'll be there for three nights you'll certainly be able to find a table at some point.

In terms of retail outlets, usually Getränkemärkte (beer stores) are closed on Sundays and have limited hours on Saturdays. Grocery stores are also usually closed on Sundays, so if you're planning on picking up bottles for the trip home, keep that in mind. I remember either the Spezial pub or the Fässla pub having limited/no hours on Sundays as well.

My own personal mini-itinerary would be lunch at Schlenkerla, followed by a beer at Klosterbräu, followed by a trip up to Spezial Keller for an after-lunch smoked beer and snack. Spezial is up on a hill, so if you wind up stumbling home, at least you will be stumbling downhill. Hopefully the weather will be good for you.

 

Both times I've been we arrived on a Sunday morning and had no problems. While some places (like Greifenklau and Faessla) have spotty hours on Sunday, both are still open. You can also coordinate to visit anyone that isn't open on Saturday or Monday instead. I believe Keesmann and Kaiserdom were the only two that were full-on closed on Sunday, but were open the other days. If you have 3 nights you should have no issues.
From memory, Faessla is open from 9AM until noon'ish and Greifenklau was something like 10 until 2PM.
All of the historical sites like Michaelsberg were open on Sunday afternoon, although normal shops were hit and miss.
On my last trip I high-tailed it to Greifenklau as soon as I arrived, had lunch at Spezial, visited the cathedral and palace grounds, hit up Cafe Am Michaelsberg (with draft Herren Pils), and finished up at Schlenkerla that evening.

Have fun!

 

Lots of the brewery/restaurants in the small villages outside Bamberg don't open on Mondays.

Some of these places can close for a whole month during the summer.

 

I was in Bamberg June 30 - 2 July. After reading how touristy Schlenkerla is, I was surprised how easy it was to get lunch and dinner there. There were people on the street and inside was busy but we got a spot in their garden right away both times. We stayed at Fassla and hit both Spezial locations (go after 3 or 4 for the keller - great view there - Wilde Rose up the hill from the Keller also is later opening) Griefenklau, Klosterbrau, Keesman & Mahrs. Griefenklau and Klosterbrau were mid-day, early afternoon and both were relatively empty. The only place we really couldn't find an open spot at a table was Mahrs around 6:30p.
We were up at Cafe Am Michaelsberg in the morning but they hadn't opened yet - they were getting ready for lunch. There were several beer trailers in the large courtyard there too but no tables set up - maybe special events or weekends.
For great views, Spezial Keller and Cafe Am Michaelsberg are the places in Bamberg. Service at SK was the best of all places we went.



Side Note:
Domingo - went to Forschungs, Saturday night just after they opened - no Blonder Bock...

 

That's too bad. Any idea if it was a fluke or the sign of something else? For years that was apparently their only beer. It would be too bad if they phased it out or even made it a seasonal.

 

At one time they brewed at least one other beer (thought it was a Helles*) along with the Blonder Bock because I had the other and wanted a .5 liter of the Blonder Bock, but they wouldn't** serve it in the small size.

*Was an Export.
**wouldn't normally, but they took mercy on me because I really wanted to try it, but knew I couldn't add a second liter of beer on top of the first -- especially not a Bock!

 

Yeah, they now have Pilsissimus Export, but I guess even that one was added in the last 15 years. Not sure where I read that - maybe the BDGTM? It's an excellent beer and one of the hoppiest in the area, though.
The blonder bock apparently has roots that go back 100 years. I don't want them to drop it even if their other beers are quite good, too.

 

Trying to remember my first trip to Forschungs -- 1992? 1994? So they had more than one beer at least that long ago. On my second trip (1995) I only had the Blonder Bock.

Definitely their big seller -- I imagine they just ran out.

 

Looks like Forschungsbrauerei had a Festbier for their Summerfest celebration. Maybe that precluded the St. Jakobus for a while.

Sorry to get off Bamberg -- back to Franconia!

 

I envy you UK members being a short hop from Germany (comparatively) -- my weekends would be lost to the continent!

 

One of my favorite memories of Munich is spending a very long evening (to 03:00!) with a group of Englishmen discussing beer in the small bar of our hotel. It was then that I learned how often short trips to Germany were enjoyed -- and I've been envious ever since.

 

Fassla: Mon-Sat 8:30 AM - 11 PM; Sun 8:30 AM - 1 PM
Spezial: Sun-Fri 9 am- 11PM; Sat 9 AM- 2PM
Schlenkerla: Daily 9:30 am - 11 pm
Klosterbrau: Daily 10 am- 11 PM
Keesmann: M-F 9am- 11pm; Sat 9 am-3 pm
Mahrs: Daily 9 am-11pm
Greifenklau: Tue- Sat 9am-11:30 pm; Sun 9am-2pm

 

Serious question: full 3 days just for Bamberg? Personally, I would be inclined to see more...

 

When at nuremberg, besides sight seeing, I would recommend Landbierparadies (http://www.landbierparadies.com/) which has a really good sorted store near the HBF and a really nice pub which makes you feel like you are in the middle of the fränksche Schweiz! Also, when at the castle, I'd say head over to Altstadthof,also very nice, traditional beers.

 

My advice would be to go during the week. The city will be a little less crowded and you have better bus connections to places around Bamberg (Merkendorf for instance). Weyermann Maltings do a tour every wednesday afternoon