Nuremberg: Group Excurison # 2

10.24
We spent our last weekend of October in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg. Upon our arrival, we walked to the Hauptmark (main square/market area) where our director gave us a little bit of the town's history before we had a few hours of free time. I headed out with four others from our group with the intent of completing the "Mauerlauf" (wall-walk) from the new round of cultural incentives. Nuremberg is one of the only remaining cities in Third Reich territory to maintain the structural integrity of the wall, largely due to tourism. Our goal was to find 5 of the many towers along the wall and take pictures along the way, earning us 10E!

@ the Laufertor

After walking nearly the entire spans of the city wall, we were hungry and cold, so we found a cafe to grab a bite to eat and warm up. Little did we know this would end up being the single funniest event of the weekend, if not the entire semester. Note: this may be one of those 'you had to be there' stories, but I'll share it anyway. For starters, we were pleased to find out they had a 4 for the price of 3 deal on their pastries, which were modestly priced to begin with. As we were finishing up our treat, we noticed that a couple at a near-by table had left the cafe leaving behind a perfectly good, untouched pastry. How absurd...why would anyone ever do that!? After Eric circled the cafe making sure they had actually left, we snagged the pastry, devouring it in about a minute.

Next up on our agenda was a group tour of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (German National Museum). After the tour we checked into our hostel which was up on the hill next to the Imperial Palace. Unlike our trip to Vienna, we were allotted a greater amount of free time to explore the city on our own. This was especially nice because it got dark around 6 pm. We decided to make it a 'girls night out'. We ate at a traditional German restaurant, which was a lot of fun. The manager came out, greeted us and asked us where we were from. After giving him all of the basics, he cheerily informed the waitress that we were from Minnesota, but living in Salzburg. The waitress was very friendly, complimenting us on our German. We concluded the evening with a visit to an ice cream shop, and a little bit of wandering through the city.


10.25
The day started off with a trip to the Reichsparteitagsgelaende (Nazi Party Rally Grounds) and the Dokumentationzentrum, an exhibit about the history of the Nazi Regime, especially in Nuremberg and the surrounding areas. The exhibit was very powerful, and emotionally draining. After walking through the exhibit, Teresa, Carolyn and I wandered the Party Grounds, viewing the Zeppelinfeld and the Grossstrasse, to name a few. It is interesting to note the current use of these structures, as the Stadium which was once host to many of Hitler's rallies was now used as a playground for skateboarders and a court for roller-hockey players. When we walked past the Grossstrasse (Great Road) a drivers' training course was occurring. I guess it is good that these structures are being utilized, but it seemed ironic at the same time.

Zeppelinfeld Stadium

10.26
We had the morning free to wrap up our free time in the city. We visited 3 of the churches, which qualified us for the 'kitsch souvenir' portion of the cultural incentives program (I now own a lovely plaque of the Frauenkirche, a church). We also visited the Albrecht Duerer Haus, which was especially interesting as we have been learning about him in Art History. Our time in Nuremberg ended with a group lunch, before we all headed our separate ways for the fall break.

Teresa, Carolyn and I