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Germany, 2018: Nuremberg

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The final day trip we took was to Nuremberg. It was a pretty quick trip from Munich, and it was good we'd saved it for last, as we had tired ourselves out with the long trips to Berlin and Heidelberg. Nuremberg is a smaller, solid city. It's downright normal and charming, while also being very much a city. It's like Cincinnati in that way. We spent a leisurely day walking the cobbled streets, checking out the famous market space, wandering the castle grounds, and of course eating lunch at a delightful restaurant.


This is a view of the city skyline from a garden at the castle. We didn't spend a lot of time in the castle because much of it is rented out much like Burghausen. Also to go deeply into the castle requires money, and we spent this trip more in search of free experiences. Below, the top image shows the outdoor market, and the bottom image shows some of the architecture over a canal downtown.


Matt was really excited to get this photo of Albrecht Durer's house. This is a famous artist known for woodcuts and watercolors among much else. Matt's brother is an artist and was greatly influenced by Durer's work growing up. This is his house and possibly workshop, and it is the only surviving artist's home from the 15th century. Durer lived here from 1505 through the end of his life, which was only 1528.


I'll end this post with a snap of our meal. Matt discovered a wonderful place called Cafe Literaturhaus. It is a restaurant with some rooms for reading and meetings, as far as I can tell. It's not a bookstore, but there are some things that look like they could be for sale or at least for perusing. It was a lovely atmosphere and the staff were very kind to us. I ordered a delectable ratatouille and an organic tea. Matt had a more traditional German meal that I can't quite remember, but I know he said it was delectable. (Entertaining fact: when I first started this blog back in 2010, I was loathe to take a food picture and I said as much. Now, they are matter of course.)

On our way back to the station to return to Munich, we saw a group of people protesting nuclear power and weapons. It was a lovely nonviolent occupation of the square. They all wore unity symbols and flew pride flags as well. Matt felt a great sense of comfort, seeing this, being able to travel in Nuremberg as a Jew, and to see this, just over 70 years after the end of WWII. Life, for all of its mess and terror, can be beautiful.
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