Train Bamberg to either Bad Staffelstein or Lichtenfels. From there bus to Grundfeld Hauptstr., Bad Staffelstein. The walk to the Basilica Vierzehnheiligen is 23 min according the Deutsche Bahn. I think it's closer to 15 min. If you go to www.bahn.de you can even click on "Fußweg" (walk) and get a map - at least in the German version, don't know about English.

Yes, the bus is covered by the Bayern Ticket. Unfortunately Bad Staffelstein is not in the same Transportation Network as Bamberg, so no other cheap tickets.

drawn as ever to any German references, I was intrigued by the mention of the Vierzehnheiligen, as I had never heard of them.

the website is a mine of information, and the area looks very interesting too. one to add to my list for our next visit to Germany, whenever that might be! [not that far from Erfurt, I think, which was already there].

please report back, Mokka!

[isn't fodors wonderful, that we have people with such a depth of knowledge?]

mokka4: There's a weekday bus from Bad Staffelstein Bahnhof to the parking area at Vierzehnheiligen; takes about 15 min.:

http://www.lichtenfels.bayern.de/de/redaktion/pdf/33/Ringlinie_Mobi_II_ab_19_09_2011.pdf

The church of the Vierzehnheiligen (along with the Bishop's Palace at Würzburg with its magnificent Tiepolo ceiling) is featured in the section on the work of the architect Balthasar Neumann in Kenneth Clark's Civilization series (part one of Disc 3 of the DVD set, The Pursuit of Happiness).

well, it's definitely going on my "to see" list now.

thanks mokka for raising it, and to the rest of you for filling me in.

Thanks everyone!
Russ, I HAD printed out that bus schedule before, but wasn't really sure that this bus took us all the way to VH....

Ingo: I remain confused...the train to Bad Staffelstein is NOT on the Bayern ticket, but the bus BS to VH is?
Tick tock....Excitement builds.... 13 days until we leave!!!!!

To clear up the confusion: The train is covered by the Bayern Ticket if you leave after 9 am (weekday). The bus is also covered.

However, often it is cheaper to purchase tickets of the regional transportation network. Bamberg belongs to the VGN (region Nürnberg) network, Bad Staffelstein does not. If the whole trip had been inside that VGN network you could have travelled on the family or group ticket which that network offers - and which is cheaper than the Bayern Ticket.

okay, thanks Ingo.
We are leaning toward train to Lichtenfels, bus to Grundfeld, then walk up to VH. Does anyone know if it is a pleasant walk? I imagine well-signposted...
We would then take the bus from VH back down to Bad Staffelstein Bahnhof for a nice circuit trip.

If you take the main road from Grundfeld to Vierzehnheiligen it will not be that exciting, with cars and tourist buses going up and down that road.
When you zoom in on Grundfeld on Google maps, you will see many rural roads and trails going up to the monastery. It would be much nicer to hike up there along the creek that goes down to Grundfeld. No noise and stink from traffic that way.