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Published: November 27th 2015
The security was always going to be complicated, after the recent events in Paris. The Man in the Middle stared ruefully at the conveyor belt on the x-ray security machine, as his bag was diverted into the “further examination” holding pen. The entire contents of his bag were then carefully examined and laid out for all of Stansted Airport to see. The other half commented on the quality of the packing. The VW beanie hat was given a thorough search just in case additional emissions were being hidden, but he was spared a full body search. The bag was then swabbed, before the admission that the x-ray machine had picked up some unusual electrical equipment …………….. one camera and one mobile phone charger! Meanwhile the bag with more chargers, wires and camera equipment in and that normally arouses interest, proceeded on it’s way unmolested. The early arrival at the airport had paid dividends and left us to laugh at events. A number of others were not so lucky and were seen scampering through departures in search of their boarding gates, which can be some significant distance. The sympathetic face of low cost airlines could be envisaged saying sorry – Gate Closed
Gostenhof
Street Art - Gostenhof U Bahn Station– and offering to book you on the next flight on Friday (for a small fee). We settled into Wetherspoons for a pre-match pint or two.
After an uneventful flight, we landed at Nurnberg’s Albrecht Durer Airport and made our way to the Information Desk. We were made the proud owners of two 7 day Mobitickets. The Mobiticket is possibly the best bargain in public transport outside Malta. The princely sum of 23.30 Euros gets 2 people access to all the S Bahn, U Bahn, bus and tram services within the Nurnberg / Furth / Stein area for all 7 days. The only snag is that 2 or more people can’t use it before 9 am, before which it is only valid for a single traveller. Twenty minutes later, we were outside the Main Railway Station hunting a Tram 5 for the next leg of our journey. Hotels were an expensive proposition, so the cheapest bargain option was to be found at an Ibis Budget in a semi-industrial area south of the centre. This was Siemens country and the Ibis itself along with other companies was housed in what was probably an old Siemens office complex. It
Nurnberg
Merry Go Round of Marriage Fountain was functional, clean, warm and the breakfast surprisingly good. The wi-fi passed the test too.
A quick turn round was necessary. The Germanisches National Museum – the largest cultural collection in Germany - was free on a Wednesday evening until 2100 hours. German masterpieces didn’t strike the right note with the Man in the Middle, but there was a sparkle of interest when the world’s oldest surviving globe was mentioned. The globe made by German explorer Martin Behaim and painter Georg Albrecht Glockenthon was a commission by Nurnberg City Council. Behaim had returned home in 1490 after some exploration of West Africa and made the globe in 1492, hence the omission of America from the surface which Columbus was busy finding at that point. The paintings were an acquired taste, but we put it down to a saving of the 8 Euro entry fee. The city centre was fairly quiet, but gave a good enough impression with some fine churches and illuminated building. We retreated to a Brauhaus to reinvest the museum savings in a Weissbeer or two. When in Germany, sausages and sauerkraut had to feature – they did!
After alighting from Tram
5 near the hotel, we opted for one more beer. The only immediate option seemed to be a Turkish kebab shop. It remained for the duration of our visit, possibly the only kebab shop with no sign of a kebab. Customers came in to search for the obvious product and retreated empty handed. The money spinner other than the odd beer sale were the gambling machines. There were 2 small groups playing when we entered and a steady few others wandered in looking for an opportunity to play. They were clearly doing the rounds. The real winner was the owner, who having watched others fill them with coins waited his moment and relieved one machine of 60 odd Euros. We never identified the exact culprit, but somebody polluted the air shortly thereafter. If there had been a kebab to eat at this point, it is possible the taste would have been disguised. One of the residents of the bar, smiled a knowing smile. He clearly knew the offender. A bad smell was left in the air in more than one sense. We finished our beers and left. We didn’t risk a return visit.
Nurnberg was described by
the National Socialists as the most German of all German cities and adopted it for their Party Conferences from 1927 onwards. The current political parties at home tend to circulate the venue, but once chosen the city remained at the focal point of the annual gathering until the end. After political power was achieved in 1933, construction started in earnest to create the various venues that the top brass thought they deserved. The construction progressed in the years 1933 to 1939 and the Zeppelin Field area south east of the city centre was remodelled accordingly with a huge stadium for the party rallies. The area was linked by a wide thoroughfare of granite slabs to the Conference Centre, which remains an unfinished shell and is now the museum. The layout was designed by Albert Speer, who created in his own description buildings for not just for 1940, not for 2000, but for the years beyond. The vision crumbled long before, but a lot of the area remains intact. The original Nurnberg Zoo was in the way of the original layout, so that was conveniently relocated elsewhere. The final vision was never completed. The US Army blew up the swastika emblems
Nurnberg
Merry Go Round of Marriage Fountain in 1945 and the Roman pillars that once flanked the main rostrum were blown up by the City Council because they were dangerous. However, it is still possible to climb on the main grandstand and rostrum and look out over the field. The field that once housed hundreds of thousands of Party Member and followers, who indulged in everything from military parades to gymnastic displays. One of the more bizarre activities noted in the museum was the inclusion of hand grenade throwing competitions, which were a feature of the “Community Day”! After 1945, the area has housed everything from the US Army, motor racing and rock concerts. The Grundig Stadium – home to 1FC Nurnberg – lies on the perimeter with the Nurnberg Arena – home to the Nurnberg ice hockey and handball teams – adjacent to it.
The Conference Centre is now the Documentation Centre Museum – a museum which outlines the rise and fall of the National Socialist Party and it’s links with the rally grounds and the city. The displays are and films either come with a translation or the hand held audio guide included in the price can be used. The city museums
are all a 5 Euro entrance fee, which can be upgraded to an all-day ticket for an additional 2.50 Euro. The only real problem with that is that there are too many to visit in such a short space of time and even our project for the day of the Documentation Centre and the Nurnberg Trial Museum proved to be a lot to digest in one day.
The National Socialist Party Rally Grounds showcase the beginning of the regime, whilst the Trial Museum has a focus on it’s decline. The city was the venue of the show case trials in 1945 / 1946. The Palace of Justice lies to the west of the city centre and we had been there in the morning. The centre of the Museum is Court Room 600, which was the venue of the trials. It remains an active court room today, so access can be limited when the modern day criminal courts are in session. We checked that there was access for our visit and got the green light. The addition of various workers putting out seat cushions in the public viewing space and hooking up the microphones, suggested that it had
been a good idea to go on our first morning. It appeared that a trial was about to commence. The layout is still very much as it was in 1945, although the dock has been substantially reduced in size. An audio guide in English, once again included in the price, explains all and highlights where Goering, Hess et al sat during the process. The floor above was once the viewing gallery for the invited public and press. The room behind explains the process of Nurnberg Trials with film and displays, before leading through into a brief explanation of the additional trials that took place and a look at the trials which took place in Tokyo after the Japanese surrender. The defendants were held in the prison directly behind the Courthouse, although much of including the actual wing used has now been knocked down.
After watching a truck driver skilfully avoid a JCW Mini that had inconsiderably parked outside the Palace of Justice, we retreated along the road to Gostenhof for a coffee and cake. “Goho” is allegedly the trendy face of Nurnberg. The reality seemed to be a few coffee shops and some rather large secondhand or
vintage shops.
After our full day, we had retained a special surprise for the other half. The only football fixture of any significance in Germany on the day was the U19 Budesliga clash between 1FC Nurnberg U19 and Hoffenheim U19. 1FC Nurnberg’s training headquarters were conveniently a stone’s throw from our afternoon position near the National Socialist Party Rally Grounds. The other half was less than impressed. Her feet hurt. The surprise was unwelcome. The news of a fixture in their midst also seemed to be a surprise in 1FC Nurnberg club shop. A quizzical look followed, until one of the assistants was told to direct us to a pitch at the rear of the complex. The main pitch was in darkness, so we followed some other people. We studied the poor floodlighting and the age of the kids for a while, before we realised this must be a U16 training session and relocated to the right area on the other side of the complex. We were relieved of an extortionate 5 Euros – team sheet included, but the other half got in for 3. The fayre on offer wasn’t the highest quality. It was difficult to
see any player on view gracing the Bundesliga anytime soon an as they say, if you are good enough you are old enough. Nurnberg despite being well behind Hoffenheim in the league standings took an early lead. Hoffenheim continued with their short ball system regardless and made very little impression. The rain began to fall heavily and the protests from the 3
rd trip member became louder. Alas, there were no refunds for an exit at half time.
We retreated to the Frankenstadion S Bahn station to get into the city centre – within the hour, we were in Wursthaus Galvani near the hotel for a serious helping of pork shoulder, served with gravy and veg at a fraction of the “Old Town” pricing structure.
Appendix 1
U19 Bundesliga 
1FC Nurnberg 2 - 1 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 
Date: Thursday 19 November 2015 at 1830 Hours Venue: Sportplatz am Valznerweiher (Nürnberg) Attendance: 100 Scorers: Bartsch (1FC Nurnberg) 12, 64; Beck (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim) 78 pen Teams 1FC Nurnberg R. Castellucci, P. Kammerbauer, S.
Eder, D. Kammerbauer, L. Mühl, J. Fries, J. Hofmann, Engelhardt, F. Rettig, N. Sommer (Sent Off 78') H. Bartsch
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim M. Köbbing, L. Hoffmann, J. Bühler, N. Wähling, A. Beck, M. Stüber, S. Lorenz, J. Bender, J. Kölmel, F. Çevik, M. Skenderović
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
Soviet architecture leaves me cold - pun intended. The sure loved they cement.