Day 1 Nurnberg

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We arrived in Nurnberg yesterday afternoon around 3:00 pm local time which made it 8:00 am inTexas. I won't compare times after this, but this time I have since we'd all been up for well over 24 hours Not counting a very few precious hours of napping on the flights. While at Heathrow in London, I went to Starbucks to get some caffeine and the fellow there asked me some question but I couldn't understand what he was asking, so I asked if he wanted to know where I was from and he laughed and said,"No, I know you're from Texas, I was wondering where you are going!" He said he loved the accent - kind of like we love a good British accent. I told him he should hear the whole group of us and he shook his head and figured that would be way too much of a good thing! Yep, just making friends along the way!

Once we got checked in to our hotel, Angela and I decided to venture out to exchange some dollars into Euros. Success at the main train station.

Here's the opening paragraph from Rick Steve's "Germany" about Nurnberg:

Nürnberg (sometimes spelled “Nuremberg” in English), Bavaria’s second city, is known for its glorious medieval architecture, its important Germanic history museum, its haunting Nazi past, its famous Christmas market (Germany’s biggest), and its little bratwurst (Germany’s tiniest). Nürnberg (NEWRN- behrg) was one of Europe’s leading cities in about 1500, and its large Imperial Castle marks it as a stronghold of the Holy Roman Empire. Today, though Nürnberg has a half- million residents, the charming Old Town— with its red- sandstone Gothic buildings— makes visitors feel like they are in a far smaller city.

It is absolutely stunning here, and we are staying inside the 3 mile long wall and moat (no water in it.)

I hope I never get over the awe I feel when I think about the fact that many of the buildings and walls have been here for over 500 years!

Angela and I got our first mug of glühwein (Hot mulled wine) and wandered around with no real goal except to soak in some of the city. We followed the crowd to the Christkindlesmarkt and actually stumbled upon the opening ceremony. The crowd was shoulder to shoulder and I kept thinking that it was a good thing most everyone had on those puffy coats because they made it easier for the crowd to move along kind of slipping and sliding against each other! The lights were dimmed and we waited for the Christkind to open her market from the gallery of the Church of Our Lady. The lights came on to trumpets and music. I cried when the choir started singing "Silent Night," but you know, I'd been up for nearly 30 hours by then! Uh huh! We then continued to wander along deciding on food. We got the Nuremberg roast sausages (three on a roll) called "Nurnbergers." Another thing I hope is that I don't get tired of sausages, because I plan on eating 50-100 of those suckers a day! We eventually made our way back to our hotel and to bed around 7ish. It's 3:00 am now and I'm wide awake!

Today we get to board our River Boat! So excited!

Here's a link to this market:

http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/nuremberg_christmas_market.php

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Photos

Wall and gate
Part of the old wall and gate just down from our hotel.

Wall
More of the old wall.

Christmas Market Poster
Christmas Market Poster

Gluhwein
First mug of Gluhwein.

Church of Our Lady
Where the Christmas Market opening ceremony was held.

Comments

[Linda Bracey]

Hey Texans!
Love the pictures girls! What a wonderful trip to be on! Will be keeping up on your blog- enjoy!!