Day one -- Tuesday, June 30 -- We arrived in Germany by way of overnight train from Paris. We grabbed breakfast at our first stop, Augsburg station, before a series of connections in various cities and arrival in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Several of those connections were 5 minutes, which was a little hectic with 17 of us, but we made them all without incident. We had arranged for a walking tour (in English) with Harry of Toot Tours (www.toot-tours.com). He secured a place for us to store luggage right across from the train station. We then had a little time before our tour began and made our 15 minute walk to the %26quot;old city.%26quot; Some of the group enjoyed a coffee, while my son insisted on trying the local treat of schneeballen. Our walking tour was about 1 1/2 hours long and quite good. It was pretty warm that day, but the guide did a good job of stopping us in the shade along the way. His discussion focused on medieval life in the city, and he pointed out many interesting details. After the tour, our family ate at Gasthof Goldener Greifen (4 meals + drinks for 38 euro). This restaurant had an outdoor area in the back, making for a quiet lunch. It was here that the kids had their first drink of Spezi, which is now a favorite of theirs. From there we were off to St. Jakob%26#39;s church. The wood carvings inside this church are amazing. On the way back to the station, we stopped in at a well-preserved medieval craftsman%26#39;s house. It was interesting, but not worth the entry fee, in my opinion. We again had several tight train connections to make on our way to Nuremberg. We checked into our hotel (Lorenz Zentral) and headed for dinner. Tonight was a group dinner at Heilig Geist Spital of Schweinshaxe with potato dumplings and Spezi to drink. (My husband%26#39;s family lived in Nuremberg for a time almost 40 years ago, and this was on the %26quot;must-do%26quot; list.) After dinner we walked around the Hauptmarkt area and lingered in the beautiful evening before heading back to the hotel for the night. I was surprised to see how much of the city is pedestrian streets. A very nice feel, I think.
Day two -- Wednesday, July 1 -- We were met early this morning at our hotel by our tour guide for a 3-hour (English) walking tour. The tour was arranged through Doris Ritter (recommended by Rick Steves), but our guide this day was Anke. She provided a very enjoyable tour for us. She has a doctorate in art history, but was very well educated in general and is a life-long resident of Nuremberg. I recommend her highly. We walked all around the city, ultimately ending up at the Kaiserburg for a beautiful panaromic view before heading back to the Hauptmarkt in time for the glockenspiel. From there we walked to lunch of Nuremberg bratwurst at Bratwursthausle. We spent a little time at the craftsman%26#39;s market area before heading off on buses to visit the former neighborhoods and houses the family lived in. After that we continued on to the Dutzenteich and had an ice cream treat before heading back to the old town. We had dinner at Riverside Pizza Cafe, a cafe along the river (2 pizzas, 5 drinks, 1 glass wine for 38 euro).
Day three -- Thursday, July 2 -- This morning we headed off first to the Nazi Rally grounds and Documentation Center. We walked around some of the grounds -- Congress Hall and Colosseum -- while it was still cool before heading into the museum. The museum is laid out well and interesting, but we (especially the kids) eventually grew tired of the extensive audio tour and sped up the pace a bit for the second half. Back outside, we walked around the Dutzenteich to see Zeppelin Field and the parade grounds. We all stood in the spot where Hitler once addressed the crowd and marveled at the large size of the place. We found our way back on the S-Bahn to have a quick lunch (McDonald%26#39;s - 18 euro) before picking up luggage and heading to the station to continue on to Salzburg.
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Thanks for the report.
Its always interesting for me (born and raised in nürnberg) to know, what tourists think about my hometown and how they spent their time here.
It sounds like you enjoyed your stay here.
Michel
PS: See you next year in Cincinnati at Grat American Ballpark for a few Reds games.
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