Nuremberg- more than a judgement

 

We arrived early this morning outside of the city center. It at a woodsy are reminiscent of a park. Have you wondered about the accumulation of trash aboard? Well here’s stopping place to recycle and empty! 

Our rides into the city. Of course the city is well known for its central part in the WWII Nazi narrative. Here is where Hitler held many rallies, the SS was stationed and this is the city where evil was held in judgement for crimes against humanity. Gotta give it to the German’s they embrace their history and are making sure every generation is aware of what happened and trying to prevent it from happening again. Our guide was part of an organization of students/educators named “History for all” and their goal is to make sure history is taught to everyone. 

 On our way into the city we were shown Hitler’s arenas.. the coliseum, the Zeppelin field and the headquarters of the SS. 

Looks 

like a Roman coliseum 

Entrance to the SS headquarters 

The Zeppelin field where rallies were held by Hitlerthe Zeppelin field was familiar to me from newsreels when I was a kid. Even 70+years after the fact the feelings evoked from this place was nauseous and unnerving. How humanity could support such evil

The Nuremberg Castle. The old town area was 90% destroyed in WWII. 

Entrance to the castle over the moat.

Inside the castle grounds

Another entrance archway with the 

Coat of Arms for the city,the region and the country.

Overlooking the medieval city from the castle walls

Hanging off the building corner in the market square.Its an advertisement for a blacksmith who made armor.

Das Hare. A sculpture honoring Albrecht Durer, the famous painter of the 15th century from Nuremberg.

It was a satire piece based on a famous painting Durer did of a rabbit 

The artist himself a colorful                             fountain 

If you turn the gold ring you will ensure you will come back to visit the city again

Albert turned it really good!

After our guided tour, we headed out into the city to find another item on our must see ist from the Atlas Obscura. The Wedding circle sculpture. Even the bridges have sculptures on them. At least this was we could look for the bull and know we were headed in the right direction!

Walking up to the sculpture “dating till death” The artist made a circular sculpture fountain detailing dating,marriage,life and death. I don’t think he had positive views on this! I’m not posting them in any specific order..just use your imagination and see what you think!

There is just so much meaning in this fountain!

After all the walking today and with the sprinkle of rain and cold wind,Al and I were glad to head back to the ship. I really did enjoy Nuremberg much more than I thought and would definitely return. 

Regensburg: a Bridge,a sausage,and a dog

Today we met our guide on the shore of the Danube River in Regensburg. We are still in Bavaria/Germany. The first thing we see is this large abstract gold sculpture of a catfish!The city museum is a nondescript building behind it- modern introduction to a medieval city. The entire city center is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was not bombed in WWII so the buildings are original and therefore OLD. It is the oldest Roman fort north of the Alps

A salt house. Salt was gold during medieval times and Regensburg, with its river access( 3 rivers converge here also) made it a wealthy city. When the stone bridge was built in 1100’s there was a need for a kitchen to provide food for the workers. 

This little green house was filled with the smell of cooking sausages! It is the oldest kitchen in Germany!

An old mill workings 

The stone bridge ( not built by Roman’s!)

Bronze model of the UNESCO site. There are around 1000 buildings included in the site.

The oldest Roman  fort wall and tower north of the Alps

Some good looking tourist 

The gate with the keystone. The gate was the inspiration for the stone bridge built later.

David and Goliath building 

Tower building. Merchants used the first floor for selling and lived above. The top floors weren’t really built as house- no stairs or floors- all for show to give impression of opulence and wealth. If the family needed money the stones, which were expensive, could be sold off.

Another example

The town hall

Royal entrance to town hall

Easter Bavarian outfits in store windows 

Art in an alley for a Spanish tapas bar

The small key lock in the wall opens a box that contains keys to every building in the medieval town. The fire department has the master key and will use these if there is any emergency fire. Most of the buildings are wooden structures so fire prevention and readiness is utmost important 

 

Medieval  street today

Alley heading to the church 

The cathedral . I might mention that the previous Pope, Benedict, was from Regensburg. 

Inside was beautiful but dark. The stained glass was original and so rich in color!

It amazes me every time I enter a medieval church how magnificent the human soul is to produce such beauty 

After our tour ended at the cathedral, we went in search of the Dachshund museum. Yes you read that right! 

Today was the 6th anniversary of the museum opening so the admission was free.if you have an obsession with your “hot dog” this is the place for you. 

Every cabinet and space was taken up with dachshund figures,figurines and stuffed toys. Tea pots shaped like dachshunds, cocktail picks, you name it they have it in the shape of the dog

After the excitement of the museum we headed back to the ship. The weather has changed to damp rainy and windy so we are finished with touristing. On the way back we stop at the sausage kitchen and get an original bratwurst to snack on. It was delicious! The sauerkraut melted in my mouth. A great end to a great day!!