Zurich - A space odyssey

For our journey home, the nice girl at our hotel in Nuremberg packed us a travel snack kit filled with stohlen and mini lebkuchen cookies. She was a really sweet person, and we had a great time talking with her each morning at breakfast.





For our return trip, we got to experience what almost felt like a trip to Star Trek land.











We got to Nuremberg airport, and rode this amazing glass elevator with curved doors. It almost looked like some sort of vacuum chamber.






But the high point came when we had to pass through Zurich airport. We accidentally ended up on their subway to the wrong terminal. However, the accident proved worthwhile, it was the coolest airport subway I've ever ridden.

Bamberg

For our last day in Germany, we made a train trip to a nearby town of Bamberg. We'd seen it on a travel program called "The Thirsty Traveler", where they went to visit this brewery where they made, Rauchbier (Smoked Beer). They smoke the barley, and then make beer from it.





We got up had a good breakfast, then walked over to the train station to catch the train for the easy 40 minute journey.








We arrived at the station, which is about a 15 minute walk from the center of town. To our surprise, they also were having a very nice lowkey Christmas market.






Tony was much happier here as it felt more craftsy, and was not nearly as crowded as the market in Nuremberg.









The weather was sunny and warmer, and it was a beautiful December day.







Bamberg is built up around a navigable river, and I'm assuming was an important point of trade.





Perched on the highest point in town, Bamberg Cathedral built around 1010 was a favorite church of Pope Clement II, who was the local bishop before becoming Pope.







After his death, his body was returned to Bamberg, and is the only Pope buried outside of Italy and France.



Henry II and his wife Empress Cunigunde, who founded the church are buried in the cathedral in an elaborate sarcophagus which took 15 years to sculpt.



There is a famous statue in Bamberg Cathedral. It is called the "Bamberger Reiter" (Bamberg Rider). It is unknown who the rider is supposed to be, but this image was taken by the Nazis and used as a propaganda symbol representing German perfection looking for new lands to conquer.





Another important art piece in the Cathedral is a wood nativity scene carved by the famous artist Viet Stoss. He carved it when he was 80 years old during the 1500's.




We walked the square by the cathedral which also houses the City Hall and some other buildings also dating back 1000 years.









The town is a real charmer. I can't imagine anyone not liking this place.
































Eventually, we made our way to a brewpub called Aecht Schlenkerla, which is famous for making the Rauchbier.



Notice what appears to be a Jewish star on their sign. This symbol actually is the "Brewer's Star". A symbol bringing together the triangular symbols for fire and water, which are used in the process of brewing beer.



It was a darker beer. Not as thick as a stout, but medium bodied and full flavored. It tasted a lot of smoke. Tony felt it tasted a bit like he was drinking a campfire.










Of course I bought a bottle to bring home.





We also saw a couple different versions of Gluhwein called "Feuerzangenbowle" (flaming fire tongs punch). One where they pour burning schnapps into a large cauldron of gluhwein. . .









And one where they pour schnapps over a sugar cube and set it on fire.









Tony passed on the flaming gluhwein and instead got a glass of some delicious Hot Apple Cider.






We wandered around the town for the afternoon, just enjoying the Christmas market and all the people out taking in the sunshine.





















We stopped at a bakery and bought a loaf of "Stohlen", a traditional German Christmas bread.









I learned that Stohlen is baked symbolically in the shape of the baby Jesus wrapped in cloth. So when you are eating Stohlen, you are symbolically eating. . . hmm. . .



Before long, it was starting to get dark, and it was time to head back to Nuremberg. That evening I finally got to have Sauerbraten, a pot roast made with vinegar, which I'd been craving the whole trip. Delicious, but a bit of an acquired taste.





And of course a piece of Apfel Strudel. What trip to Germany would be complete without it.

Nuremberg - Coming to Terms with its Past

There is more to Nuremberg than its glorious Christmas Market.






Nuremberg has a long and interesting history. It was the seat for the Holy Roman Emporer in Germany, and it was also the seat of power for the Nazi Party.




This is no coincidence, as Hitler had ambitions to tie the Nazi party to the country's regal and proud history.



There are quite a few remnants of Nurembergs distant as well as recent past spread thoughout this fascinating and beautiful city.



Though much was destroyed in WWII, much has been rebuilt as it appeared before the war. Where a building was less than 60% destroyed, it was rebuilt as it was. Where it was destroyed more than that, it was built new. However then new construction seems to fit as it uses mostly traditional materials and styles.




The city was originally contained within a moated wall. Thankfully, the city decided not to tear it down, and today, they still have 90% of the original wall. It makes for a unique and beautiful feature in this town.


Our hotel was conveniently located near the train station which is on the west end of the town. From there, we could visit one of the drawbridges.

From there it was a nice walk down Konigstrasse (the main street) past one of the original massive grain houses. Here, grain was stored for the winter months. Today, there is a fun microbrewery in the basement. A testament to its history.







Further down, one comes to San Lorenzo Church, which was damaged during WWII, but has been restored.









It is a beautiful gothic church, with an amazing entrance door flanked by Adam and Eve, with a Virgin Mary in the center.








Inside, it is massive as it's high ceiling and arches reach heavenward. A small choir and orchestra were rehearsing for a service that evening. It was beautiful.








Directly across from the church is an old palace from some nobleman who felt the need to have a more fortified home. There is even a sun dial on the outside of it.




As you walk further, you cross a bridge with a view of the old town hospital. I'm not sure why it was built over the water, but the river wasn't navigable, but served mainly as the city's sewer system. Perhaps that is a reason.



If you follow the river downstream, you will come to the executioner's home. It is right on the edge of town, and is also built over the river.









This seems to be a running theme with some of the structures in Germany.







Nuremberg Cathedral overlooks the main square where the main Christmas Market is held. It was built by the Holy Roman Emporer Charles IV, and is another fantastic example of gothic architecture.








It is from the balcony of this church that the angel officially opens the Christmas Market.













Just across the square is the Schonen Brunen (pretty fountain). It was the source of clean drinking water in Nuremburg.






There is this little ring on the fountain, that if you spin it, you are supposed to have good luck. At the very least, you are guaranteed a good photo op.









Tony and I walked further up the hill past the city hall. It features prominently as a backdrop in the Nazi propaganda film "Triumph of the Will".








The crests over the doors show a blending of the Austro-Hungarian and Holy Roman Empire crests.

As we walked up the hill further, we came to San Sebaldus Church, which had been severely damaged in the war. Even now, it is still undergoing repair and restoration. Inside there is a fascinating computer display showing the evolution of this church's exterior starting in 1230 to the present.

At the top of the hill is Nuremberg Castle. It isn't large and lavish compared to many of the castles we've seen on our travels, but this was the German seat of the Holy Roman Emporer and goes back to around the 1100's.

It was built as a fort with its own water supply. It was heavily damaged during WWII, and had to be rebuilt and restored after the war.






Just a couple blocks from the castle is the home and studio of artist Albrecht Durer. Tony and I walked over to the beautiful square where it stands.





We both really liked it here as it felt like a quintessential German town square.







There is this really strange sculpture of a rotting rabbit in the square. The guidebook says that it was inspired by a Durer painting. Either way, it is creepy to look at.





This also represented the other end of the original walled town. There is a massive tunnel burrowed through the hillside that leads to another drawbridge.




With that, we ended our tour of the old Nuremberg, and decided to come forward a few centuries to look at Nuremberg during the period when it was the headquarters for the Nazi Party.




The original Zeppelin Fields parade grounds still stand as well as the main walls of what was to be a grand Congress Hall. This was all to be part of a huge Nazi Rally Grounds; and the grand plans Hitler and his Architect of choice Albert Speer had were massive.





Today, Zeppelin Fields is mostly used as a parking lot for the nearby Football Pitch, though it has also served as a location for a Rock Concert as well as part of a Motor Speedway.





In a strange way, it still impresses the visitor. Now it serves as a hollow reminder of a time when delusional fascists ran crazy in Europe living out their fantasies on the backs of the people.






The Nazi Convention Hall was never completed beyond its exterior walls. It was here that the Nazi party would have held it annual meetings with Hitler standing at its center.







It would have been a massive building with a huge freestanding dome roof.












One can see battle damage from the war marring its granite surface.








A visit is still impressive when you imagine the scope of the vision they had for this site.










Housed inside the north wing of the Congress Hall is the "Documentation Center", or what might otherwise be called the "Rise and Fall of the Nazi Party".






It documents the formation, expansion and ultimate collapse of one of the most powerful organizations on the planet, which orchestrated a World War and the deaths of millions of people.




The museum does a good job riding the fine line between horror and nostalgia. It isn't hard to understand why so many people followed this dictator into his madness.





The museum tour ends with a grim illustration of the human cost of the Nazi insanity. The tracks symbolize the rails by which so many people were taken to the Extermination Camps. The small chips each represent 100 people killed in them. They say that if the chips had each contained a name of an individual killed in the camps, it would fill the room to overflowing.

The structures in the site are all Class 2 historic buildings, which means that they can not be torn down and must be maintained. Perhaps they serve as a reminder to us of a period not so long ago where the human race went insane. I think Nuremberg, and in deed all mankind is still coming to grips with the meaning of this time in our recent history and I can only hope we have learned from it.