NORTHERN HIGHLIGHTS TOUR - NURNBERG/GERMANY

Ready for the start !

The first stop of our tour was Nürnberg.

Nuremberg is the second-largest city of the German federal state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 511,628 inhabitants make it the 14th largest city in Germany. We stopped there for a few hours.

I had been in Nürnberg long time ago for the famous Nurnberg Toy Messe (fair). Of course the exhibition hall was not in the new one you see today, because it was in 1965 when I was 22 years old ! At that time I worked there to translate German to the visitors into English and French. From the city I haven't seen very much, at that time I also was more interested in Nürnberg's night life together with my colleagues.

This time I visited the city center  of Nürnberg.

The city is famous for its medieval walls and ancient castle, gingerbread cookies, toy manufacturing, Gothic churches, Nürnberger bratwurst and the Christmas market. The city dates back to the year 1050 and for around 500 years, it was the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire, sometimes referred to by historians as the First Reich or first German empire.

In January 1945, 90% of the old city of Nürnberg was destroyed when it was bombed by the Allies because of its historic importance to Hitler and the Nazis. The famous Nürnberg Castle and the city wall were damaged in the bombing raid, but have been restored. Much of Nürnberg was rebuilt to look like the original, but there are also modern buildings, as shown in the photo below.

Because of its close association with the Nazi party, the city of Nürnberg was chosen as the site of the International Military Tribunal, the war crimes trial, which started in November 1945 at the Justizgebäude (Palace of Justice). After the war, Nuremberg was in the American zone of occupation and American troops were stationed in the city until 1992. My aunt my mother's sister was a translator in this trial and translated German into English. Later she married an American and followed him to the States in Madison/Wisc.

The city is the home of the unique National Germanic Museum, chartered in 1852; it features a complete collection of Dürer’s printed graphic works and is the largest museum of German art and culture. Of course we had no time to visit it.

When I hear the name Nürnberg, it makes me think of Christmas !  and his Christmas market called Christkindelsmarkt (Christ Child Market). It was the start of Christmas markets all over the world. Historians assume that the market has its origins in traditional sales at the weekly market between 1610 and 1639.



Nürnberg is famous for its Ginger Bread (Lebkuchen) which can be traced back to the 13th century. While lebkuchen are popular all over Germany, the ones sold in Nuremberg stand out because of their unique taste. These concoctions are made of flour, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and nuts, and simply melt in your mouth. They come in various shapes and with creative toppings.



Very much recommended to try is the "Bratwurst" of Nuremberg a sausage which is not allowed to be over 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) long or more than 25 grams (.9 ounces) in weight, it can only be made out of minced pork and its fat content should not exceed 35%. Also, only sausages produced in Nuremberg have the right to be called Nuremberg sausages. Nuremberg produces over 3 million sausages every single day, much of which is exported to all over the world.



The Nuremberg Bretzel (pretzels) is everyone’s favorite bread and is found everywhere you look in Nuremberg.

Of course I had to try the Bratwurst and also bought a "Bretzel" filled with cheese for the way.



I walked along the streets and around the market place, I admired the Frauenkirche



and watched a photographer taking pictures of two couples in wedding outfits in front of the city hall.



Little wooden Christmas figurines. Nurenberg is also famous for its Christmas decoration. Funny to see in July !















Around the market place, you had the choice between Nurenberg's specialities !


Bratwurst !!



A well










Nurenberg's river crossing the city







Busy shopping street



and some female "monks" who tried to convince the tourists for a better life in heaven or whatever !

Of course there are many other things to see, like the castle, but I didn't have the courage to walk up the hill and see it.

At least I had seen enough from Nurenberg to decide if I want to come back for a little longer or not.