The Day-trip Diaries - Part 1: Nürnberg

2010 has been a bit of a leaner year for me and so any big trips would have been a bit cost prohibitive. But I'm not one to just sit on my laurels, (and not just because I like plants) so this past summer and fall I took several day trips to cities, towns, and destinations all across Bavaria. Sometimes you don't have to go far to find wondrous things. These are the Day-trip Diaries...

Part 1: Nürnberg

In early June I suffered from a case of bursitis in my left elbow and it was impossible for me to go anywhere. It was no fun at all watching many a beautiful June days pass painfully by as I sat behind my window at home. I was determined to go somewhere before the month let out and so, in the last week of June, with my elbow more or less back to normal and beautiful weather in the forecast, I decided to go exploring. My destination for the day was Bavaria's second city: Nürnberg (also known to English speakers as Nuremberg).

I boarded an early regional train and found my seat. Charged with some good music and the excitement of traveling again, I enjoyed the two-hour train ride to the northern Bavarian region of Franconia.

Nürnberg, the cultural capital of Franconia, is an ancient city steeped in a rich, though at times tragic, history. I had passed through the train station dozens of times on my way to or from somewhere else, but I had never made the trip to discover this city.

With my backpack on my back and my camera hanging around my neck, I disembarked from the train and dodged my way through the busy train station to the main entrance to the city.

Turning around, I took a gander at the fancy façade of the train station where the first railway in Germany started...

I had my Rick Steve's Germany book on hand, but I also wanted a more detailed map of the city, so the first order of business was to visit the local Tourist Information Center. It was right across the street from the station and from there I was able to pick up a complimentary map as well as some information about transportation within the city. Equipped with my map, my book, and a loose plan for the day the exploring could now begin!


Nürnberg was one of Europe's most important cities during the Middle-Ages and remnants of the city's ancient prestige are abundant. Surrounding the old city are the city walls and various towers.

I entered the old town near one big fat tower, the Tower of Our Lady...

Within the city walls was a small courtyard tightly packed with kitschy souvenir shoppes and restaurants...

My plan was to follow the main route through the old town from the Central Station to the Castle, checking out the light angles for photography to figure out what I should photograph in the morning, and what I should photograph in the evening. Here were some of the morning views...

German pride...

One of the few still-standing medieval tower-houses. In the Middle Ages, rich families built their houses like mini castles to keep their loved ones and belongings safe...

A view down the main thoroughfare with the Castle in the distance...

Closeup of the Castle...

The main market square. At Christmastime this square boasts the largest Christmas Market in all of Germany. That's not Nürnberg's only Christmas claim to fame; tinsel was invented in the city in the 1600's....

But in June, the most popular item on the market is Franconian Asparagus...

The Schönenbrunnen (Beautiful Fountain) with carved kings and princes surrounded by fancy gold and colorful decor...

Eventually I came to the iconic towers of the Nürnberg Castle...

I followed the path around to a cozy side entrance...

Inside the castle yard was a small collection of timber framed houses...

From below the Castle...

I was already starting to work up a hunger and Rick Steves recommended a little restaurant near the castle. Nürnberg is famous for their tiny but tasty sausages and this restaurant is supposedly one of the best for these little "Nürnbergers" so I went inside and ordered three sausages in a roll to-go. I watched as they cooked the sausages on the grill. It smelled heavenly...

A few minutes later I was walking out with my sausages and enjoying the tremendous flavor packed into these juicy little guys. I resolved to come back for dinner as well.

I headed back towards the train station. In the marketplace, I saw this...

Your guess is as good as mine.

I crossed the lazy Pegnitz River...

Found some birds enjoying a bath...

I got back to the train station and hopped aboard a tram that took me out to the Dokumentations-Zentrum.

Of course, Nürnberg's most unfortunate claim to fame is its strong association with Nazism in the 30's and 40's. Because of the city's history central role in the Holy Roman Empire and its central location within Germany, it was chosen as the site of enormous propaganda rallies. The largest remaining Nazi structure, the Kongresshalle, now houses an extensive museum examining the rise and effect of Nazism in Germany.

The entrance to the Kongresshalle has been artistically added to in order to give it a sense of unease and foreboding...

Inside the exhibits are presented in an interesting but eerie way...

Perhaps the most tragic and sad of the exhibits were these anti-Semitic items produced by or for children. Here is some "artwork" from first-graders in the 1930's. The one on the left is a poem about fat Jews who consume and consume. The one on the left says, "The Jews are our misfortune!"

This is a board game called, "Jews Out!" featuring the rhymed instructions: "Roll the dice with skill so that you can collect all the Jews"

It can be a bit depressing.

Here is the inner courtyard of the Kongresshalle. It was meant to become a huge amphitheater but it was never completed...

I took a walk around the Kongresshalle and the grounds...

It was actually a beautiful day and the serene pond and peaceful park contrasted sharply with the history of the area...

I walked around to the Zeppelinfeld where those famous huge rallies took place. The grounds are still used today for shows, trade-fairs, and concerts. They were setting up for a fair when I visited.

Here is the platform where Hitler and his minions watched the proceedings and spoke to the crowd...

Here it is again...

Here it is from a distance with a bit more of the crowd...

The stairway to the podium. Today anyone can just walk up here. There are beer bottles, names carved in the door, weeds growing through the cracks, and a sense of "we leave it so that we don't forget, but we're not going to take care of it."

Here I am on the podium area with the rally grounds behind me...

The platform is in the background on the left...

The lonely desolation of the scene marks the utter failure of Nazism...

Walking back to the tram station along the lakefront there were paddle boats, ice cream stands, and every evidence of normality, testaments of the fact that even though the German people are soberly aware and ashamed of this part of their history, they do not let the ghosts of the past haunt the brightness of the future...

I got back to the tram and had a nice nap during the twenty-minute ride back to the old town. I still had a lot to see in Nürnberg, and the best pictures were yet to come. But that will all have to wait until next week...




TO BE CONTINUED....






...and to make sure I don't end on a depressing note...

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