November, Nuremberg...
So, it's Novemeber. One is slowly grasping the fact that Christmas is inevitably getting closer and as the air grows cold, I end up remembering last year and a very spontaneuous trip to Nuremberg in Germany. Here's a little Throwback Sunday.
The premise of the trip was simple: me doing a course to be a tourist guide + my sister being a teacher overseeing a school trip to Nuremberg and having a free spot on the bus. I thought it would be fun to spy on the guide who would be taking care of us and comparing if they are doing all the necessary things we were being taught at the course :) I will try to keep this short and picture friendly.
What I enjoyed the most about this trip was that I got to travel and see things without any responsibility whatsoever. Everything was taken care of and organized by somebody else. It felt very free and liberating :) not unlike London, to be honest. Just enjoying the present moment and what it has to offer, not worrying about the past or the future.
I won't go on about the sights too much. Hit the internet, if you want to know more. From the medieval times, through the WWII, up until now, it has been an important political and cultural centre. I particularly enjoyed the medieval side of Nuremberg's story, because it is very much connected with history of Bohemia. Charles IV., arguably the greatest sovereign of our history, was the emperor of Holy Roman Empire, as was his son Sigismund, and Nuremberg was of the centres of imperial politics. Naturally, the town is rich with history, both glorious and troubled. Both of those aspects reflect in the architecture, which I seem to understand and appreciate a lot more ever since I've studied it on the course.
Haha, didn't I say I would keep this short? And I start talking about history. Silly of me, really.
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| The uncommonly empty main square. |
Nuremberg is renowned for its Christmas markets, Christmas tree decorations and everything Christmasy. Luckily for us, we were there just before the market on the main square would be installed, otherwise it would be a hole another crowded experience. A lot more confusing and generally trickier not to lose a group of teenagers.
However, if big Christmas markets are your thing, I do recommend pre-Christmas Nuremberg. I am certain the atmosphere is downright magical :)
Me and my sister accidentally popped into a crafting store and spent a great deal of time (and money) there. But to honour the Christmasy-ness of the town I bought a really cute box for Christmas cookies. And a Starbucks hot chocolate to fight away the chill.
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| simple pleasures :) |
The advantage of visiting a place like this with a group of school kids is that you get into a lot of places for a good price. If I was a lonesome adult, all of the musems and places we visited would have cost me a a lot more.
The disadvantage of visiting a place like this with a group of school kids is that they do not share your interest in history/architecture/art... They go through the exhibitions much faster and you cannot really hang around and catch up with them later. I kind of want to go back and spend some proper time there.
Anway, here's a little list of the places we visited:
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| View from our bedroom. Not too bad, eh? |
- Documentation Centre - Nazi Party Rally Grounds (eerie place, but definitely worth visiting)
- Germanisches Nationalmuseum (German culture and art throughout history. Could've spent the whole trip just there.)
- churches: St. Laurence's, Frauenkirche, St. Sebald's (Oh, gothic architecture, how I love thee!)
- Toy Museum
- The Imperial Castle
- House of Albrecht Dürer
- Medieval Prison (A definite favourite for the 14/15-year-olds.)
- Neues Museum (modern and comntemporary art and design)
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| This is the place we stayed at. Does it look like a castle to you? That's because it is. Some of the service buildings of the castle have been turned into a youth hostel. If you're travelling with a group, I do recommend it. Very comfortable, good facilites. Awesome location! |
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| Charles IV, replica of a statue from the Old Town Bridge Tower in Prague :) |
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| Is it sad that my happiest memory from this trip is browsing through a digitalized version of Charles IV's Golden Bull, a very important document from 1356,... |
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| which, among many other things, secures a certain level of independence for the Kingdom of Bohemia within the Empire. Thanks, Charlie :) Many thanks! |
What do you think? Does Nuremberg sound like the kind of place you would like to visit?
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