Frankfurt & Franconia

Dec 13

Sacramento to Denver: The Long Way to Europe

An early morning departure from Sacramento (SMF) marked the start of our holiday adventure, toddler in tow. The flight to Denver was smooth and uneventful.

A five-hour layover could have been a slog, but we made the most of it by hopping between a couple of airport lounges, grazing on food and drinks, and walking long, winding laps through the terminal to burn off Leona's energy. By the time we boarded our overnight connection, we were well fed, reasonably rested, and cautiously optimistic.

Dec 14

Frankfurt: First Sausages, First Gluhwein, First Magic

We touched down in Frankfurt in the late morning, bleary but buzzing. The S-Bahn from the airport into the city center was straightforward and efficient, a reassuring first taste of German transit. We settled into the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof, a hotel that carries the kind of quiet elegance that makes you want to slow down. After a shower and a short rest, we headed out into the evening.

The Romer Christmas Market was everything a first market experience should be. Leona's eyes went wide at the lights, the smells of roasting nuts and mulled wine, and the cheerful noise of it all. She made a beeline for the rides, spinning happily on the swings and the carousel while we stood nearby with warm cups of Gluhwein. We ate thick, snappy sausages with mustard and watched the city glow around us.

Just as we were heading back, a vintage steam train rolled quietly along the river, trailing a thin ribbon of smoke into the winter air. A perfect first night.

Dec 15

Frankfurt to Bamberg: Toy Trains, Smoked Beer, and a Jet-Lagged Toddler

We took a taxi to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, one of those grand old stations that feel like they were built to impress. Opened on August 18, 1888, after just five years of construction, it was once the largest railway station in all of Europe. The Renaissance Revival facade, designed by architect Hermann Eggert, gives way inside to soaring iron barrel-vaulted train sheds that still manage to feel both monumental and alive with movement. Our taxi driver produced an infant car seat for Leona that was comically undersized, more suggestion than safety device, but we all agreed to be charmed by the gesture and carried on.

Once aboard the ICE, we found our way to the toddler compartment. The only other occupants were a mother and her daughter, Charlotte, who turned out to be wonderful company. Charlotte told us about a little-known tradition on ICE trains: the restaurant car gives out free toy trains to children. Leona collected her first one, a small treasure she held the rest of the journey. We made a quiet pact to get a new one on every train ride that followed. The tradition stuck.

A taxi from the train station delivered us to our Airbnb in Bamberg, a three-bedroom flat perched in the heart of the historic district, accessible via three very steep flights of stairs. With luggage and a toddler, it was a workout. But the location more than made up for it. Restaurants and local shops sat at the bottom of the stairs, and the old town spread out in every direction.

In the evening, we made our way to Schlenkerla, one of the most storied brewery taverns in Germany. First mentioned in records as the House of the Blue Lion in 1405 and now run by the sixth generation of the Trum family, Schlenkerla is the home of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, a smoked beer with roots that stretch back to the Middle Ages. The smoked flavor comes from drying malted barley over an open beechwood fire, a technique that was once universal before modern kilns made it obsolete everywhere except here. Schlenkerla, along with one other Bamberg brewery, is among the last places in the world still making smoked beer the traditional way, which is why Slow Food has placed it on its Ark of Taste. The beer is served directly from oak barrels, and the taste is unmistakable, smoky, rich, and unlike anything else. Leona, meanwhile, was deep in the grip of jet lag and channeling an operatic exhaustion that made the evening memorable in its own way. It passed. We survived.

Later we strolled to the Bamberg Christmas market. Smaller than Frankfurt's, it had a genuinely intimate, small-town warmth that felt entirely its own. We sipped warm drinks and took our time.

Dec 16

Bamberg: Castles, Cathedrals, and a Frozen Performance in the Cold

We spent the day moving slowly through Bamberg, taking in the castle and the cathedral at a pace that suited the cold and the three-year-old. Leona had insisted on wearing her nightgown under her snowsuit, a fashion decision she defended with complete conviction.

At a local park, she peeled off the snowsuit in thirty-degree weather and delivered an a cappella performance of her favorite song from Frozen, unprompted and fully committed. We laughed until we were out of breath. An older German couple nearby watched the whole thing unfold with wide smiles and seemed genuinely delighted. Some moments need no translation.

Another evening at the Christmas market, warm drinks in hand, enjoying the unhurried pace of small-town German hospitality. Bamberg does this particularly well.

Dec 17

Day trip to Nuremberg

Dec 18

Farewell Bamberg: Last Strolls, Handicrafts, and a Taxi Miracle

Our last morning in Bamberg. We strolled through the old town one more time at a leisurely pace, picking up a few local handicrafts as reminders of the days we had spent there. It is the kind of place that earns its unhurried reputation.

Getting to the train station was another matter. Uber does not operate in Bamberg, and taxis proved elusive. We stood with our luggage, watching the minutes tick by, willing the travel gods to cooperate. Eventually, a taxi materialized, and the driver, without being asked, called a colleague to pick up the second half of our group. Both cars arrived at the station with just enough time to spare. It was stressful in the way that only near-misses are and deeply satisfying in the way that near-misses also are. Positive thinking and a little patience had come through again.