Sankt Nepomuk, Bamberg

...summer evening, which makes the Sankt Nepomuk rather special. And it doesn’t fail to make the most of it.

So overall there was excellent, good and not so good. I'd give it 8/10 for the restaurant and 5/10 for the room which at €146 was a bit over the top for the space on offer. I'll decline to rate the access and parking and put that down to an off day.

But why St Nepomuk you’re asking (and if not, why not?). I’m ashamed ...
...had to do some retrospective research (and me a seasoned Ciaoster too). St John of Nepomuk was a 14th century Czech saint put to death by King Wenceslas (no, not that one) for refusing to divulge the secrets of the confessional. Wenceslas had him drowned in the river Vltava, so by one of those tenuous saintly associations he is considered as a protection from flooding. What better saint to have beside you on a river bank. If you find yourself in ... more

There is an apocryphal recipe which begins “first catch your chicken”. Equally, “first find your hotel” is pretty much a prerequisite for staying there, never mind writing a review about it. During my perambulations around Europe I’ve had some real tough ones to find, including some navigational challenges which have threatened divorce. These days, armed with Google maps and mobiles, the thrill of the hunt is lessened somewhat, so it was a surprise to come up against a brick wall on this one. Blind alley would be a better metaphor. We were in our usual configuration: he doing the higher intellectual stuff of map-reading; me, as a mere rude mechanical, doing the driving. We knew the hotel was in the old town, by the river, we had the hotel phone number and maps large and small.

From the point at which we found the bridge we intended to cross was pedestrian only things went downhill. And uphill, and downhill again. By the time we were on our third circumnavigation of the narrow, cobbled and, at other times, charming old town of Bamberg tempers were fraying. As we stopped, yet again, to read the street signs and phone the hotel, concerned citizens tapped on the window and offered help. It’s just over there, they said, but it’s tricky to get to. Indeed. Just 50 yards from our destination I had to ask once more. The chap gave me a funny look but by then I didn’t care.

So it is to the hotel’s credit that half an hour after arriving hot and frazzled I was feeling much more relaxed. But before we thankfully put the car away for the night and the rest of this review, I have to tell you about the parking arrangements. Car management is an important issue if you’re staying here. This is a typical central European old town with very little space, so a car park is out of the question. Instead, the hotel has artfully built two garages into the structure, with fearsome looking ramps and hydraulics and stuff. Peering down into the depths, I wondered what happened if your car was at the bottom and you wanted a quick getaway next morning. Presumably they think of that. We left our jalopy and keys gratefully with the receptionist and rediscovered it next morning reversed up a narrow ramp that I would never have attempted. Rolling down the ramp was fine, but getting round the tight corner in the direction we wanted to go was not. Picture the scene: relaxed holiday-makers enjoying a late Sunday morning breakfast in the sunshine, interrupted by the growling of a car in low gear and then being asked if they would mind moving their table back. And just a little bit more. To their credit they were very gracious about it.

Whether or not all the guests arrive in a state of hyper-irritation I couldn’t say, but the reception is certainly very warm and welcoming. A young lady (all the staff were young, multi-tasking, and seemed to work all day and all evening – I hope they were well paid) showed us all round the hotel, explained where everything was, what time meals were etc. This didn’t stop us immediately turning the wrong way when we left our room. We weren’t having a good day navigationally speaking. But the hotel is a bit of a warren. It is both in, and of, the old town, being on the site of a former mill, and consists of two separate buildings linked at ground and first floor level. One of the buildings is on the bank and the other stands in the river which runs over a weir at this point, hence the mill. Inside, though, it is totally modern.

Our room was a deluxe double, as opposed to a plain vanilla double. Triple rooms and suites are also available. Like the rest of the hotel it was very modern and light with white walls, light wood, brushed metal fittings and a minimalist design. It was L-shaped, with the en-suite bathroom in the infill of the L, so there was a small lobby area which opened out into the room. That description, however, gives the impression of its being much bigger than it actually was. In truth it was rather small. Fortunately we were only staying for one night as I think any longer and it would have felt distinctly cramped. The bathroom only had space for a shower, not a bath, and there was nowhere to put one’s lotions and potions which I always find really irksome.

As this was summer, in central Europe, on a river, we were pleased to see mosquito netting over one panel of the window, so we could have that part open and not stifle or be bitten to death. The heat generated in the shower room, however, was something else. It got to be like a sauna in there, so no chance of my lingering for hours, not without becoming a shadow of my former self, anyway. Nevertheless, the room had everything we needed, it all worked, and the bed was very comfortable.

Visiting the old town from here is, of course, a short walk, and getting around on two feet as opposed to four wheels is a breeze. This is not a review about Bamberg, but I have to mention what a delightful place it is, with its highlight of the old town hall sitting on its own island in the river. In fact, the only other thing in the river, at least in this stretch of it, is our hotel, and one of its main selling points is its panoramic restaurant terrace with views on to the town hall.

To which terrace we repaired for dinner. There are evenings which one can look back on when everything was just right - the food, the service, the setting – and this was one such. It was a Saturday so the terrace was full, with a pleasant buzz. The young staff bustled about, efficient but not over-formal, and as night fell the town hall was illuminated. The hotel kitchen has a good reputation and the food was very good indeed. I won’t recount it course by course because the point was that it was part of a whole, and that whole was memorable. When the weather isn’t kind the indoor restaurant also has a view, but then I think the ambience would be quite different. The river frontage in Bamberg is not opened up and developed - in fact here and there it could do with some tidying - so there is no row of bijou cafés and restaurants in which to sit and enjoy a summer evening, which makes the Sankt Nepomuk rather special. And it doesn’t fail to make the most of it.

So overall there was excellent, good and not so good. I'd give it 8/10 for the restaurant and 5/10 for the room which at €146 was a bit over the top for the space on offer. I'll decline to rate the access and parking and put that down to an off day.

But why St Nepomuk you’re asking (and if not, why not?). I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t enquire at the time and had to do some retrospective research (and me a seasoned Ciaoster too). St John of Nepomuk was a 14th century Czech saint put to death by King Wenceslas (no, not that one) for refusing to divulge the secrets of the confessional. Wenceslas had him drowned in the river Vltava, so by one of those tenuous saintly associations he is considered as a protection from flooding. What better saint to have beside you on a river bank. If you find yourself in Prague you will see a statue of him on Charles Bridge. But even better, he has his own website (www.sjn.cz/eng) – how cool and modern is that? He’ll be writing on Ciao next. Watch out for the user name Johnny Nepp!

Reunited with our problematic vehicle we set off next morning, remarking that at least now we knew the way. But no, we had to stop and ask again. Twice.
 

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