Ending January in Nuremberg, Germany & Czech Republic

Back in December, I was tracking discounted flights and stumbled upon round-trip tickets to Numeberg, Germany for $203. Knowing Prague was only a 4-hour bus from there (and seeing Prague flights were more than double that) we figured we would make a winter trip out of the two cities!

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early for our flight to Nuremberg. With the pups settled, we were off to the Sevilla Airport for our 9:30 am flight. Bryan particularly enjoyed the view out his window as we went over the Alps!

I have to admit, we have gotten good at speeding our way out of airports and to our hotel to drop our luggage, but this trip started out with a few hiccups. As soon as we landed, I got an email saying our tour for the following day had been canceled due to a lack of participants. So while Bryan figured out public transit to our hotel, I did some quick searches and found a free walking tour to book for the next day. Whew! At least we will have some kind of guided tour!

Then we made our way to the hotel just to learn it was closed.

Yeah. Doors locked.

Lights off.

Sign in the window saying they would open at 2:30 pm for check-in.

It was 1:00 pm.

After calling the "after hours" number and explaining this information was not posted on the hotel's website or in any of our previous communications with the hotel... I was pretty pissed, but there was nothing to do but wait.

Klasse Imbiss

So when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade! With a quick Google search, we found a nearby Kebab restaurant to pass the time. Bryan and I perked up with the delicious sandwiches and we were beyond thankful for the German lady who helped translate with the restaurant staff!

So far, Nuremberg wasn't going too well, but at least we had food.

Eventually, our hotel opened (at 2:50 pm...don't get me started again) and we were able to check in and drop our suitcases! Then we hopped on the city's tram and headed out of town to the Rally Grounds.

Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds:

Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände

The canceled tour was supposed to take us to this area, but when I went to rebook, I found a walking tour for the city center instead, so Bryan and I filled our evening by visiting the sights that won't be included tomorrow. Along our walk, with the help of Google, Wikipedia, and the posted signage, Bryan and I learned why Nuremberg was such an important stronghold for Nazi Germany.

During the rise of the German National Socialist Party (aka Nazi Party,) Hitler famously called Nuremberg the "most German city in the world." With these strong words, the National Party chose to build a giant complex in the town to showcase Germany's power, design, and political strength. As the party grew in popularity, the expansion of these rally grounds grew, though were never completed.

Große Straße

According to the plans of the architect, Albert Speer, the Great Street was to be the central access of the Party Rally Grounds from the city center. The street is made up of over 60,000 granite slabs and is 60 meters wide and 1,500 meters long. The Great Street was designed to visually connect the Imperial Castle in the Old Town to the Rally Party headquarters building.

Keep in mind, this area was designed during the height of the Nazi Regime. None of the plans were completed because of the War. The timeline below helped us understand how Germany went from WWI, to a rise in the Nazi Party, into WWII. While the area was used for years to host rallies, it was never fully built as planned.

While this area was being constructed, Nuremberg became the first German city to implement laws making it illegal for Aryans and Jews to have any form of physical or emotional relationship. These segregation laws were famously named the Nuremberg Laws and were the start of legal segregation and defamation of Jews in Germany. Many cities followed suit in 1935 with similar laws in the hopes of keeping up with "the most German city in the world."

Zeppelinhaupttribüne

In 1927-1935, the Zeppelin Field meadow served as a parade ground for the National Socialists during their Party Rallies. In the beginning, they put up temporary wooden stands for the spectators, but eventually upgraded the arena with stone stands, that remain today.

The complex is almost square and has a higher, more extravagant side called the "Fuhrer's Rostrum," the monumental Grandstand that has been famously photographed with Hitler at the center giving speeches. The interior space could hold up to 200,000 people for mass events staged by the National Socialists, and seeing the design and layout of the intended powerhouse was pretty eerie.

During WWII, the complex remained largely intact. On April 22, 1945, the US Army held its victory parade at the main grandstand. After the ceremony, the swastika, located on top of the main stands, was blown up to make the entire world aware of the end of National Socialists in Germany.

In 1967, the city of Nuremberg had the pillar galleries demolished because they were unstable. Some years later, the side towers surrounding the main stand were also taken down to half their previous height for stability reasons. What you see in our photos above is what remains today. The city is currently expanding its museum of the area and plans are underway to secure, stabilize, and educate on the remaining structures.

After walking around the Rally Grounds, Bryan and I understood a little more of this city's importance before and during the war. Visiting the rally grounds today helped us to gather additional questions to ask our tour guide tomorrow!

Gutmann am Dutzendteich

As the sun set, we finished our walk around the Rally Grounds and stumbled upon a hoppin' restaurant. Not quite ready for dinner, we snuck in for a beer and a chance to warm up!

Hugendubel

On our way to dinner, we swung by Hugendubel Bookstore to get another copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for our collection! While we did pick up a German hardback copy in Vienna, Austria during our Christmas Market trip, I had seen that the German paperback version has a different cover art from any other we own...so I had to get it! We now sit at 19 copies in our foreign HP collection containing 16 different languages. How freakin cool is that!?!

Biergarten O’Sheas Irish Pub

With such a success at the bookstore we knew a failure was coming...and it came with our dinner. Bryan wanted a true German meal, but the restaurant he found was full with reservations so we were turned away. We weren't letting anything get us down at this point in the day, so we went to the closest place that was open and available: an Irish Pub.

Now y'all know Bryan and I love a good Irish Pub! From our time in Ireland to staying over an Irish Pub in London, we KNOW good Irish food and drinks when we see them, so we weren't at all disappointed in our dinner at O'Sheas Irish Pub! We shared an Irish Stew and a Cottage Pie alongside some good Irish drinks. While it wasn't the German meal Bryan wanted, it warmed up our souls and gave us a good ending to our first crazy day of the trip.

As we tucked into bed on the first day, we said a silent prayer that the rest of the trip would run smoother than it started...

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

The only plus to our hotel was that it included a free breakfast. The pillows were trash and the bathroom was covered in water after our showers, so we were beyond happy to check out of Hotel Erlenstegen and make our way back to the city's center.

For a little background, I didn't have too much choice with our hotel this time around. Apparently, our cheap flights correlated with the world's largest toy conference! By the time we booked this last-minute trip, hotels were sky-high for such a small town, so I booked what I could outside of the city's center. Note to self: see what crazy conferences are happening before deciding to buy the cheap flights! HA!

Central Station Nuremberg: Hauptbahnhof Nürnberg

We stored our luggage at the train station before making our way to the meeting point for our walking tour! Good thing Bryan always carries coins!

Handwerkerhof Nuremberg

As we made our way to the center of town for our meet-up point, we passed the cutest shopping area that was rebuilt to resemble a medieval courtyard!

St. Lawrence Church: Lorenzkirche

We also passed St. Lawrence Church and later learned that Saint Lawerence is always depicted in paintings and sculptures holding a grill. While it kind of looks like he's holding a waffle, the grill is there to remind passersby that he was cooked alive on a metal grate during the Christian persecutions of the Roman Empire. After our tour we visited this church and actually went inside- so you will see it again later!

Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt

After checking in with our guide and having a few minutes before the tour started, we were pleasantly surprised that the Nuremberg Christmas Market was still set up and active! Bryan didn't think twice before heading to their mulled wine booth and getting another mug for our collection! Plus, the warm drink helped keep my hands and throat warm for our afternoon of walking in the cool air!

Frauenkirche

Our tour guide, Vittorio (Victor to us), was born and raised in Italy, lived in Barcelona, Spain for 3 years, and then moved to Nuremberg, where he established his own walking tour company 6 years ago! Bryan and I thought he was the coolest guy ever- especially because he resembled our good friend Stego! (We thought they looked so much alike that we sent Stego and Meg pictures of the Italian doppelganger for a good laugh!)

Our tour started at Frauenkirche, a church known for its belltower performance.

The belltower show consists of a gold-dressed man & seven prince-electors that parade around and bow. This show commemorates the Golden Bull of 1356, where Emperor Charles IV (gold-ladden man) issued a new order for elections of the Holy Roman Empire. This new order was signed in Nuremberg and required the seven prince selectors to come to Nuremberg when electing a new emperor. (You will learn more about Charles IV when you read Bryan's blog about Prague!)

While the show was short, it shows the seven prince selectors bowing to the Emperor:

Nassau House: Nassauer Haus

Victor started our tour by explaining a very brief history of Germany. The Holy Roman Empire ruled the region from 800 through 1806. This era was called the "First Reich" (translates as First Kingdom.) Then the Second Reich, also known as the German Empire ruled much of central Europe and lasted from 1871 through 1918 (the end of WW1.) Most known is the Third Reich, which ruled for the shortest time of 12 years under Hitler's control.

During the First Reich, the Jewish ghetto was an important neighborhood in Nuremberg. This area was famous in Europe for its trade routes connecting the rest of Europe with Indian and Asian spices. Then in 1349, 646 Jewish citizens were burned alive because they miraculously survived during the Black Plague. Thought to be witches by the rest of the community, these Jewish citizens just avoided the sickness because of their cleanliness habits, like bathing monthly and washing their hands before prayers and meals. This is the earliest story of Jewish communities being targeted in Germany.

Throughout the 2nd and 3rd Reichs, Nuremberg grew into an important part of the metal industry, which also explains Hitler's fascination with this town: they could transition to building weaponry for the coming war.

During the city's height, there were 150 towers around the old town area. Post-WWII, only 80 of those remained standing. One of the few that survived the war was Nassauer Haus, right here in the main city square. It is famous for its detailed fresco paintings and the scrolls showing local solar clocks along the upper half.

Kunstwerk Nürnberger Kreuzweg (1991) Klaus Prant

Along the left side of St. Lawrence Church (mentioned earlier) are 14 square stones. This art was placed here as a memorial for all "deported people's" struggles during WWII. Our guide explained the art isn't religiously tied to Jews because not all people who were deported from the city were Jewish: some were political oppositionists, homosexuals, gypsies, and disabled people. This memorial was designed using square stones that mimic the Great Street design we visited yesterday outside the city center.

Holy Spirit Hospital, Nürnberg: Heilig-Geist-Spital

Next along our tour, we passed the Holy Spirit Hospital. Established in the early 1300s, this clinic served the sick, the elderly, and handicapped people of Nuremberg for centuries. The building survived the bombings of WWII, and is still partly a senior living location to this day!

Another fun fact about Nuremberg: today there are over 150 craft beers in the city alone. In the city, it is legal for children of 14 to drink beer or wine with parental permission; and 16 years old without permission.

Narrenschiffbrunnen

This statue was designed in 1984-1987 by sculptor Jürgen Weber. It depicts images from the satire work, The Ship of Fools by Sebastian Brant, and is based on wood cuttings by Albrecht Dürer (more about him later.) The statue is supposed to represent all of humanity in a boat, representing life and death. Inside the boat are Adam and Eve. The statue is supposed to remind passersby that we must stay attentive to keep the boat of life in balance and the world moving forward.

Schöner Brunnen

The giant 14th-century spire in the center of town isn't only a recognizable image of Nuremberg, but also carries its own bit of legend and luck. It is said if you spin the black ring three times, your wish will come true. Bryan tested this out, but who knows what he wished for!

Turm Luginsland

As we made our way up towards the castle, we passed Turm Luginsland. During the medieval ages, it was a horse barn for the castle. Then in the 1930s, it was transformed into an early hostel for the Nazi rally crowds. For a town residence of 400,000, the city needed to build quick shelters for the 1 million visitors who would come for Nationalist field events of the 1930s. To solve the housing crisis for these events, the city transformed many stables into beds!

Burgamtmannsgebäude der Burggrafenburg

Along our climb to the castle, we noticed tons of holes in the stone walls. Looking like perfectly spaced bullet holes, these spots remain from the early ages of transportation and the building of the wall. To pick up and move these giant slabs of stone, metal hooks were used to lift the stones. To get a good grip on these heavy rocks, tiny holes were drilled near the center of the stones.

Sinwell Tower: Sinwellturm

Victor also taught us that the symbolic image of an Eagle means invasion. He also explained that his home country of Italy got rid of their military salute after Hitler adopted the practice for the Nazi Party.

Imperial Castle of Nurember: Kaiserburg Nürnberg

Once we made it to the top of the castle, we had a spectacular view of the city. Victor explained that while much of this area was destroyed during the bombings, the city used the original stones to rebuild everything in the 1950s.

We ended our history lesson at the top of the castle by learning about the Nuremberg Trials. Between November 20, 1945 and October 1, 1946, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) tried 21 of the most important surviving leaders of Nazi Germany. The purpose of the trial was not just to convict the defendants but also to collect irrefutable evidence of Nazi crimes, Eleven were sentenced to death (ten were hung, one committed suicide the day before), seven to life in prison, and three were acquitted.

Looking back on it all, the city sees the trials as a good thing for its image. They are now not known as the “most German city of the world,” and instead their city name is connected with the Nazi Trials.

Victor was able to educate us on German schooling as well. He explained that most Germans today hold "burden and shame" for what their country did 80 years ago. In German schools, 8-12-year-olds are all taught about the war in history classes. Then during what we call our middle school grades, every school visits a concentration camp to acknowledge the horror with their students.

This way of atonement has turned the country into one of quiet reformation. Victor explained that the people don't have "German pride" out of fear of a rise in Nationalism. He says you can see this at their sporting events and in their soccer fans: after winning 3 world cups, you will never see the German people waving a German flag. They celebrate with beer but no flag-carrying in the streets like most countries. Germans also won't sing their national anthem, after Hitler used the first sentence “Germany above everything” to promote his optics. Instead, Germans will stand in silent solidarity during the playing of their national anthem.

Dürer-Hase Skulptur

Whew- ok with all that heavy information out of the way, it was time to head down from the castle and end our tour on a lighter note. In the last city square, we learned about the famous artist, Albrecht Dürer, who was born, lived, and died in Nuremberg, Germany. Known for being a father of the Renaissance, Durer is most known for his wood cuttings, but I know him best for his rhino drawing and his hare painting. (That's what I get for being the daughter of an art teacher!)

Victor explained that Durer was a bit rebellious for his time too because of his self-portrait. At the time, portraits never looked straight ahead- that was reserved for paintings of Jesus and the mother Mary, since they could look into your soul straight on. All other portraits were painted with sideways glances or looking off in the distance. Durer was a little cocky and flipped this standard on its head when he painted himself looking a little like the Son of God.

Unsurprisingly, Nuremberg is proud to claim this revolutionary artist, and there's a statue of his (quite evil-looking) Hare outside the home where he was born. As a slight jab at the man, the statue is of his famous rabbit, instead of himself. I don't think the artist would be proud to know his art is memorized instead of his own portrait, but don't worry, if you look closely you can see Durer's foot sticking out from under the statue- almost as if his work squashed him!

Wirtshaus Hütt'n

With our tour over, it was time to warm up with a nice lunch, and Bryan finally got his German meal! We split Schweinebraten (German Pork Shoulder) and each ordered a pint of Classic German beer! Y'all know I'm not a big beer drinker, but I learned that if I order a"Radler," I get a half-beer-half-lemonade drink, and it's delightful! This is how I will survive all future trips to Germany!

Bratwursthäusle bei St. Sebald

We couldn't leave Nuremberg without trying the famous Nürnberger Rostbratwürstchen (Nuremberg Sausages), so with another round of drinks we finished off our lunch/dinner at another restaurant for this classic dish!

St. Lawrence Church: Lorenzkirche

As the sun set, we popped into St. Lawrence Church for a look around. It was a pretty church inside, but boy was it FREEZING in there! (Remember, this is the church named after the "cooked saint" who is always depicted holding a waffle-looking BBQ grate.)

After this last stop, it was time to catch our bus to Prague! We headed to the train station, grabbed our luggage, and made it to our bus stop. As I opened the app to access our tickets, I saw that our 7:10 pm bus was delayed over an hour...

...our bad luck continues.

Not wanting to sit at the dark, sketchy bus station, we make our way to a nearby hotel, Novotel Nuernberg Centre Ville, and pretend to be guests as we plop down in the lobby to read our books and pass the time. This all worked splendidly until we checked the app again...and it's delayed over two hours...

This isn't going to work. By now I'm beginning to get nervous. There are no more trains headed to Prague tonight, our bus is barely moving in the app and all I can think is we are going to be stranded in this city another night. Bryan has the brilliant idea of seeing if there were other FlixBuses headed to Prague later in the evening.

FlixBus Shop Nuremberg

Lucky for us, after a miserable 45 minutes chatting with tech support, we were able to change our bus to the 8:40 pm departure that was on time. We left the hotel lobby and made it on the bus, where crowds of others were still waiting for the 7:10 bus to arrive.

With a bottle of water and a few candies to snack on, our 4-hour bus ride began! Halfway to Prague, Bryan checked and our earlier assigned bus was just leaving Nuremberg- over 3 hours late. Whew. I'm so happy we were able to change our tickets!

ibis Praha Old Town

At 12:30 am we made it to Prague and booked a Bolt (European version of Uber, similar to Grab in Southeast Asia) to our hotel. Something about walking through a city park at night had Bryan willing to splurge on a $4 rideshare! This hotel was much better than our Nuremberg hotel and it's located right off the center of town, making it a perfect location for the rest of our week!

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Thursday morning came early, and lucky for us I had planned our farthest day trip first, knowing it would be good for a morning nap! We stopped at the mall next door for a quick McDonald's breakfast before reporting to the train station at 10 am to meet our guide for the day!

State Castle and Chateau Český Krumlov: Státní hrad a zámek Český Krumlov

Two-and-a-half hours later, we arrived in the southern city of Český Krumlov (pronounced Chest-key Crumb-lav) to begin our day of exploring this medieval town! Our bus driver was nice enough to drop us off up behind the castle so we took a short stroll past the gardens to admire the city's views from up high!

We then toured the castle, and both agreed this was not worth the time or money to go inside. While our guide sat outside we spent 30 minutes walking through the castle's main living area and climbing up the tower.

Cool thing we saw: a skeleton of a rich guy in a glass coffin.

Cool thing we did: played a game of "Would you buy that at a flea market?" (Pretty self-explanatory, but there wasn't much we would buy.)

Cool room in castle: a movie theater, though it didn't have a heater so it was freezing.

Český Krumlov Castle Tower: Zámecká věž Český Krumlov

During our 30 minutes in the castle, we also climbed up the castle tower for another view of the city. This was a pretty view, but again, we would have gone without this lovely view and saved $20 on entrance tickets if we could do it again. Just FYI in case you plan a trip to Český Krumlov in the future.

As we left the castle grounds, Bryan and I were both blown away by the engineering feat holding this castle on the side of the cliff! The bridge was breathtaking and the cliffside reminded us of Dracula's castle (but that's in Romania, which we hope to visit in the future!)

Travellers restaurant

We were given free time to explore, and we started with a true Czech meal at Travellers Pub! Built into a cliff itself (look at that stairwell down to the bathrooms) this restaurant served traditional goulash and honey-glazed ribs. Bryan also branched out and tried a local Krumlov beer that is brewed right around the corner!

Knihkupectví Expedice

As we explored with full tummies, we stumbled upon a local bookstore, so you know I had to get my TWENTIETH Harry Potter book! Woohoo!

Fountain and Plague Column: Kašna a morový sloup

As we continued around Český Krumlov, we visited their main square to do some souvenir shopping! Lucky for us, we found a pin for the city to add to our pinboard at home!

Seminární zahrada

We also stumbled upon a nice park with a good photo op!

Church of St. Vitus: Kostel svatého Víta

With more time to kill in this small town, we went inside the Church of St. Vitus, where we found some locals sitting and praying.

At 3:30 pm, we met back up with our tour guide and began the 2.5-hour journey back to Prague!

La Republica Restaurant

Come 6:30 pm we were hungry for another bite to eat, but also half-asleep from our long journey, so we split a meal at La Republica Restaurant right across the street from our hotel! The schnitzel was delicious, but I was really craving a nice, long night of rest!

While our week-long winter trip got off to a bumpy start in Nuremberg, we did learn a lot about Germany's medieval history and the famous city. Now that we made it to Prague, it was nice to spend the day learning about Prague's medieval past in the quaint town of Český Krumlov.

Stay tuned for Bryan's post about the rest of our stellar time in the Czech Republic! It's coming soon!

--Katie