On Dec 4th 2006 a group of ten ladies travelled with Air Berlin to
Nuremberg. Arriving late in the evening we took the
Underground to the very comfortable Hotel Fackelmann situated just
outside the city walls.
Our first full day was spent in the Old Town which, although very badly
damaged at the end of W.W.II, has been beautifully restored in the old
mediaeval style. We were particularly impressed with the
Marriage
Carousel (a fountain depicting the joys and pains of married life), the Castle towering above the city and the beautiful golden fountain in the Market Square.
We managed to pause for a rest in the Impressive Gothic churches of St. Sebaldus and St. Lorenz.
Shopping
was strictly "verboten" until we had sampled the local speciality
sausages during our lunch break. The Nuremberg
Market is
the oldest in Germany and
attracts about two million visitors each year. Its origins
can be traced back to a
custom,
introduced by Martin Luther, of giving
presents to children at Christmas.
The Market is opened on the Friday
before the first Sunday in Advent by the
Christkind who
is actually a young girl dressed as an angel. She makes many more
appearances in front of
the Frauenkirche during the three weeks of the Market.
There are about 150 stalls, including
one from Glasgow, selling
for example,
Christmas decorations, dolls made from prunes, spiced fruit bread
and
wooden figures as well
as hot
Nuremberg sausages and Gluhwein.
Our day in the town ended with wonderful
"Kaffeeund Kuchen" in
a cafe overlooking the
square.
The next day saw us going our separate ways to pursue our own
special interests. Five of us decided to travel to Bad Staffelstein to
enjoy the waters of this fairly new spa - a real treat for aching
bones. This was followed by a visit to the Kaiser porcelain factory
where we bought some Christmas bargains. Others stayed in Nuremberg and
visited the fantastic Toy Museum.
Eventually we all travelled to Forchheim, the small town which some of
us had visited last summer. There we were met by some of our German
friends who took us to their market, a much more small-scale affair,
but very picturesque with the illuminated mediaeval Town Hall as a
backgroound. It was St. Nicholas' Day so, dressed as a
bishop, he paid a visit with presents for the
children. Later that evening we
were invited for "refreshments" to the Adult Education
Centre. Our
hosts of the summer laid on an
Advent party for us, complete with Advent wreath,
music, singing and presents. It was a
lovely surprise and a totally
unexpected pleasure for all of us,
especially for those new to the
area. Our last full day was
gloriously sunny and once again we
went our separate ways. Fortunately there was
always at least one competent German
speaker in each group. Some of us visited
Nuremberg Zoo
described as the most beautifully landscaped in
Europe and which contains
approximately 2000 animals.
We went on to the Dokumentation Zentrum situated in the Party Rally
Grounds on the outskirts of the city where there is an exhibition called "Fascination
and Terror". This chronicles
Hitler's incredible rise to power and the causes and consequencies of the Nazi rule of terror.
Three of our group went by train to Bamberg, a gem of a city, a world heritage site, quite close to Nuremberg but totally
different in character and architecture. The rest visited the
Germanische Museum and attended an organ recital in one of the churches.
We were impressed by the integrated, clean and punctual transport
system which enabled us to travel all over the city and beyond at very
reasonable cost. What better way could there be to start the Christmas
festivities with interesting things to see, good food, good wine and
more importantly, good company.