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July 14, 2007
Well, we were told when we agreed to stay with Hildegard that she works every weekend from 10am to midnight so we would have to day all to our selves. Which was great with us. We woke up early enough the next morning so that all three of us could get ready for the day. As soon as we were all ready to go, breakfast started. Now on the phone, she told us breakfast would be toast and some German meats. (Then again, dinner wasn’t supposed to be as big as it was either.) In reality breakfast was bread, about 20 different kinds of German meats, two different kinds of cheeses, some kind of ham salad, and the huge pieces of dessert from the night before that we didn’t get to. For a couple that usually only eats cereal for breakfast, it as overwhelming. After 10 minutes into breakfast Hildegard asked what was wrong with us and Mike tried explaining that we eat small breakfasts. This did not go over well. So we ate more, and more. By the time we were done I thought I was going to be sick again. If not sick, I certainly did not want to eat for another week. Then she made us 7 sandwiches to take with us for lunch. As neither of us were planning on eating until the next week, we were hoping on finding some homeless people to give our sandwiches to. Unfortunately, the old part of Nuremberg is too touristy and no homeless dwell there.
We finally left the house at 10am, took a driving tour around Nuremberg, and then were dropped off outside the Documentation Center that houses a lot of information on the Nazi Party and Nuremberg’s importance to it. We were given specific instructions to go explore the center and that she would pick us up outside of there is an hour and a half in her taxi. Then she would show us the rest of the grounds. We tried talking her out of it, but to no avail. We had hoped that we could so that we could go explore the grounds and skip the museum. Mike already knows most of the information provided given his area of study, and it was a beautiful day. Finally shorts weather again and we wanted to enjoy it. So, we sadly had to go to the museum. It was interesting, and Mike was able to get a few pictures for the class that he is teaching next semester.
We would have liked to explore more of the grounds, but unfortunately only got to drive by them. Mike was able to get out and take pictures though. Then we were taken on another driving tour of Nuremberg. As it was all in German, and Mike couldn’t translate – most of what we saw had no meaning until we left the car and Mike could explain what we saw. We were finally dropped off at 1pm in the old city. We had two hours before we were meeting old family friends. Mike’s Grandma babysat a woman way back when and now she has a son that is our age.
After being dropped off, we walked over to the St Lorenz Kirche. It was amazing inside, but sadly, you cannot take pictures inside without a special pass. The postcards were cheaper than buying the pass. The altar and stone work is definitely worth a look. Then it was off to the Trodelmarkt area. By now Mike “needed” a beer (it was technically vacation), so we forced ourselves to each eat a sandwich. Not that we were hungry AT ALL, but we knew that we would be if we drank a beer. So, we tried yet another Nuremberg beer. The Trodelmarkt area is very beautiful and was well worth the walk through. We even saw a gondola on our walk in this area. Right after I said that Nuremberg was the German equivalent of Venice. Weird. Then it was back to the old market to meet Stephan.
He took us back up to the castle and told us all about what we were looking at. We even got to hear a Nuremberg legend, which was spectacular. The castle was really pretty, but nothing like the Scotland castles, which was interesting. Then we went back to the Town Hall to see the crown jewels. They were really pretty and their story even more interesting. Then it was off to see Stephan’s parents at their house, which was about a 30 minute drive from Nuremberg. It was my first experience on the autobahn. Some parts do have speed restrictions, and we were on a few of those parts. We also went on a section with no speed restrictions. I am just glad that we were not in a really fast vehicle. I don’t think that I would have liked that, and even as is, it seemed like we were going fairly quickly. But we survived, and I can now say that I have been on it.
The Weih family has a beautiful house in a very small village outside of Hersbruck. Their yard is full of flowers, fruit, and veggies; it looks out over hills and forests and is very beautiful. They were very nice and took us to dinner at a small restaurant on a hill over looking Hersbruck. The food was very tasty – and was in normal person portions. It was the Hersbruck Sommerfest, so at about 10pm we were able to see a nice firework display. Mike was thrilled since we were not able to see them on his birthday. (The video was great though Becky!) Then it was off to a genuine German beer tent. Where they only sell liters of beer. Mike and I split one, and still had problems finishing it. The beer tent was a lot of fun though. There was a band, lots of people, and lots of waitress carrying around 6 or more liters of beer (and some of them were in their 60’s!). I can barely hold one – and most of the time need two hands to do it – let alone 6 or more! Amazing…
Well, we were told when we agreed to stay with Hildegard that she works every weekend from 10am to midnight so we would have to day all to our selves. Which was great with us. We woke up early enough the next morning so that all three of us could get ready for the day. As soon as we were all ready to go, breakfast started. Now on the phone, she told us breakfast would be toast and some German meats. (Then again, dinner wasn’t supposed to be as big as it was either.) In reality breakfast was bread, about 20 different kinds of German meats, two different kinds of cheeses, some kind of ham salad, and the huge pieces of dessert from the night before that we didn’t get to. For a couple that usually only eats cereal for breakfast, it as overwhelming. After 10 minutes into breakfast Hildegard asked what was wrong with us and Mike tried explaining that we eat small breakfasts. This did not go over well. So we ate more, and more. By the time we were done I thought I was going to be sick again. If not sick, I certainly did not want to eat for another week. Then she made us 7 sandwiches to take with us for lunch. As neither of us were planning on eating until the next week, we were hoping on finding some homeless people to give our sandwiches to. Unfortunately, the old part of Nuremberg is too touristy and no homeless dwell there.
We finally left the house at 10am, took a driving tour around Nuremberg, and then were dropped off outside the Documentation Center that houses a lot of information on the Nazi Party and Nuremberg’s importance to it. We were given specific instructions to go explore the center and that she would pick us up outside of there is an hour and a half in her taxi. Then she would show us the rest of the grounds. We tried talking her out of it, but to no avail. We had hoped that we could so that we could go explore the grounds and skip the museum. Mike already knows most of the information provided given his area of study, and it was a beautiful day. Finally shorts weather again and we wanted to enjoy it. So, we sadly had to go to the museum. It was interesting, and Mike was able to get a few pictures for the class that he is teaching next semester.
We would have liked to explore more of the grounds, but unfortunately only got to drive by them. Mike was able to get out and take pictures though. Then we were taken on another driving tour of Nuremberg. As it was all in German, and Mike couldn’t translate – most of what we saw had no meaning until we left the car and Mike could explain what we saw. We were finally dropped off at 1pm in the old city. We had two hours before we were meeting old family friends. Mike’s Grandma babysat a woman way back when and now she has a son that is our age.
After being dropped off, we walked over to the St Lorenz Kirche. It was amazing inside, but sadly, you cannot take pictures inside without a special pass. The postcards were cheaper than buying the pass. The altar and stone work is definitely worth a look. Then it was off to the Trodelmarkt area. By now Mike “needed” a beer (it was technically vacation), so we forced ourselves to each eat a sandwich. Not that we were hungry AT ALL, but we knew that we would be if we drank a beer. So, we tried yet another Nuremberg beer. The Trodelmarkt area is very beautiful and was well worth the walk through. We even saw a gondola on our walk in this area. Right after I said that Nuremberg was the German equivalent of Venice. Weird. Then it was back to the old market to meet Stephan.
He took us back up to the castle and told us all about what we were looking at. We even got to hear a Nuremberg legend, which was spectacular. The castle was really pretty, but nothing like the Scotland castles, which was interesting. Then we went back to the Town Hall to see the crown jewels. They were really pretty and their story even more interesting. Then it was off to see Stephan’s parents at their house, which was about a 30 minute drive from Nuremberg. It was my first experience on the autobahn. Some parts do have speed restrictions, and we were on a few of those parts. We also went on a section with no speed restrictions. I am just glad that we were not in a really fast vehicle. I don’t think that I would have liked that, and even as is, it seemed like we were going fairly quickly. But we survived, and I can now say that I have been on it.
The Weih family has a beautiful house in a very small village outside of Hersbruck. Their yard is full of flowers, fruit, and veggies; it looks out over hills and forests and is very beautiful. They were very nice and took us to dinner at a small restaurant on a hill over looking Hersbruck. The food was very tasty – and was in normal person portions. It was the Hersbruck Sommerfest, so at about 10pm we were able to see a nice firework display. Mike was thrilled since we were not able to see them on his birthday. (The video was great though Becky!) Then it was off to a genuine German beer tent. Where they only sell liters of beer. Mike and I split one, and still had problems finishing it. The beer tent was a lot of fun though. There was a band, lots of people, and lots of waitress carrying around 6 or more liters of beer (and some of them were in their 60’s!). I can barely hold one – and most of the time need two hands to do it – let alone 6 or more! Amazing…
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