August 2016
We had passed by Nuremberg on several different occasions, but we were never tempted to stop in because all we could think of were the Nuremberg Trials, which did not give happy impressions. Then I came across an article about the city that raved about the cultural history and the natural beauty of the place. In fact, the Nazis chose this city as their center of activities for these reasons, it said. Thus, we finally made a stop on our way to Munich from Regensburg in 2015.
It was a quick 30 minute drive, and we were able to park the car on the street near the center, then we just walked around. We read about this sausage place within the southeastern gate of the city wall, and the little sausages they had there were just so delicious! We wanted to sit there all day and eat them while drinking beer. There were many shops in the surrounding area of the wall, and I took a break from the sausage+beer long enough to look around. Eventually we headed back to the car and drove on.
Then a year later, our river cruise ship stopped in Nuremberg, a city of 500,000 people, for a day & bused us into the city. The first stop was the Nuremberg Castle at the northwest corner of the old town city wall.
The castle ground was extensive, but, still, walkable. You get the pretty nice view of the old town from here.
From the Castle, we slowly walked downward toward the center of town. This area contained some old houses including the house the famed painter Albrecht Dürer lived and worked in. The picture below shows the house and the area.
We continued walking for a few more minutes and reached the city hall.
We came to a big square where the most famous church in town, St. Sebald, stands. This Romanesque style church built in the 13th century has a musical clock with moving parts in the center of the building exterior.
We could not leave this town without trying the little sausages one more time, but we were hungry and still at least 15-20 minutes away from the restaurant that we liked the previous year. Not to worry! What claims to be THE oldest sausage restaurant in the world was around the corner. The sausages were a bit more expensive here, but they tasted pretty good. We learned from the local tour guide provided by the ship that there’s a perpetual sausage war going on between the cities of Regensburg and Nuremberg, each claiming to produce THE best sausage! Personally, it’s hard to tell the taste difference, but I liked the riverside location of the Regensburg’s Historic Sausage kitchen, and the Nuremberg’s quirky little place tucked away in the city wall would share the number one spot in my book. I do prefer these little bratwursts over bigger varieties of sausage,
After the lunch, we walked south following the main drag and reached another famous church, Lorenzkirche. The first time we were here, we came across the very first jukebox that played hymns, and we were looking forward to putting some coins in to hear some music. Sadly, the jukebox was not there any more.
The old town is divided into two sections, north and south, by this river.
History buffs might want to visit the rally ground for the Nazis and the Documentation Center to learn about the Nazis, and this is located south of the city wall. The courtroom for the Nuremberg Trials is located west of the city wall. We did not have time or energy to venture out to these places. We did manage to visit the Toy Museum near the city hall, though. Nuremberg has been a well known toy making city for hundreds of years. Who knew!
Small Wide World 