We checked out of our Heidelberg hotel and headed towards Zweenfurth (My fathers birth town). Unfortunately the glorious weather we experienced yesterday was over...it was back to raining heavily.
To go to Nurenberg is not much of a detour and as this is a place we have been interested to see we went there first. This should have been a two hour drive, but with the weather, roadworks and whatever else it took us a little longer. This would eat into the time we had before we said we would be in Zweenfurth.
We parked in the Nuremberg Altstadt, in the main shopping area - the Lorenz Altstadt. Out here in the Lorenz area was relatively busy but we set off to walk the old town first. Just out of the main shopping bit most signs of life disappeared. It was raining pretty heavily.
It was lunch time by now, and a 'must do' in Nuremberg is to get some Nurnburger bratwurst sausages. We walked until we found a restaurant that was serving some that we could take with us. Three little sausages in a bun, 2.20 Euro each. They were tasty, though we had to eat them trying to shelter from the rain by standing next to a wall...not the way I envisaged eating Nurnburgers in Nuremberg. Oh well.
The Altstadt is divided in half by a river and we crossed over the river where there was hardly anything happening over here other than a market in the market square- with hardly any customers.
We wanted to get a gift for our hosts in Zweenfurth and decided to get some of the Lebkuchen Nuremberg is famous for. There was a shop that specialised in this so we got a nice tin full of stuff for our hosts. Usually I am cautious about asking to take photos of people but in this instance (considering I had made a purchase) I thought it would be okay if I asked the two shopkeepers if I could take a photo - intending to capture the nice tins of Lebkuchen and of course the shopkeepers proudly displaying their wares. I asked 'Can I take a photo?' They looked at each other and said 'Yes this is okay'. I got out my camera and both shopkeepers ducked under the counter out of sight as I took the photo.
Not what I was expecting. They were laughing as they were crouched and as I took the photo. I left the shop, saying 'Danke, Tschuss' and they reappeared as I left. Hmmm.
With the weather being so bad and nothing happening over this side we crossed back over and headed back to the Lorenz Altstadt.
We got a coffee to get out of the rain and the dog was allowed inside Starbucks, so we all had a rest. At Starbucks they write your name on your cup for when you collect your order. Nordine placed the order and spelt out her name 'auf Deutsch'. Nordine always gives me grief when I spell out my name in English, saying we should do it in German. The way her name came out on her cup was not quite what she expected. Homine / Nomine?
Of course, as we sat inside Starbucks, the rain stopped. When we went back out, it started to lightly rain again, but not as bad as before. We finished our time in Nuremberg Altstadt on the main shopping streets.
Nuremberg, from what we saw, has a nice Altstadt city centre however as it was so badly damaged during WWII bombing almost everything is a modern reconstruction. This is so different to Heidelberg, which was completely spared from allied bombing and why it is such a 'jewel' of Germany. Nuremberg is still nice and would be so much better if the weather was better and we had more time. Bloody weather.
The other reason we wanted to come to Nuremberg is to visit the Nazi Party Rally Grounds, the site of those huge theatrical Nazi events on the Zeppelin Fields - cinematically captured by Leni Riefenstahl 'Triumph of the Will'.
As we left the car park from the Altstadt it was really raining quite heavily. The rally grounds aren't far from the city centre and only about a 10 minute drive. The grounds are huge and I had expected to have a bit of a walk through them but as with the ever present shit weather and our limited time we truncated our visit.
At the rally grounds sits the 'Congress Hall', the biggest preserved Nazi building. This thing is very Colosseum like (and directly inspired by it). At the Congress Hall is a documentation centre which is a museum of the Nazi's rise to power and the terror they inflicted on the world. This museum is wedged into the Congress Hall in a modern architectural style.
We didn't intend to visit this museum and didn't have the time anyway. We have been to a similar museum in Obersalzberg so they only thing I wanted to know more about for relevance is about the Reichs Parade Grounds. Knowing we wouldn't have much time and weren't going to the museum I found out what I needed to know before hand. This didn't stop us getting a bit lost on our first approach by car as we bypassed the Congress Hall trying to find the Zeppelinhaupttribüne (The Fuhrers podium) as we drove through the Grosse Strasse, which is now a truck parking lot.
We drove back to the Congress Hall / Documentation Centre and I got out to have a look around. Outside is a map of the area where I could get my bearings. I also went inside to have a quick look at the museum foyer area - good enough for me.
From the Documentation Centre it is a reasonable distance to get to the Zeppelinfield where the rallies were held, about 1.5 kilometres. It saved a lot of time by driving. Here you can park easily as this is not a regulated tourist area. People can stroll in here at will and walk all over the Zeppelinhaupttribüne. There appears that no effort is being made to conserve the structure. It must be a difficult and unpopular thing to preserve Nazi structures and perhaps this is the case here while the thing decays in limbo.
Like the few other people there, I took my turn to stand on the spot where Hitler gave his speeches to the crowd during those huge rally's. As stood on the diminished structure (the columns extending either side of the central podium are no longer there) and looking out on the Zeppelin Field I found it hard to imagine the atmosphere of that time, the cathedral of light and the thousands of people below.
This is because the place looks like a mess and directly in front of the Zeppelinhaupttribüne is part of a race track.
It is perhaps the wrong word to use, but the place and history seems to be 'disprespected' (I don't mean admired) and the city has moved forward to put the Zeppelinfield to use rather than save it as a monument.
Back in the car and on the way to Zweenfurth we had about 300km ahead of us and this could be driven in about 2 hours and 40 minutes. We had a fantastic autobahn all of the way, but got stuck in a 'stau' (traffic jam) for over half an hour. This was going to make us late. After the jam we had a pretty clear ride on the autobahn. The last 40km on another autobahn was the best drive we have had so far, being able to travel at 150km/h with ease.
We arrived in Zweenfurth about 45 minutes late but this was okay. We were greeted by Ute (who is the sister in law of my fathers uncle Egon...following me?) and her husband Jorg. We had some coffee, barney had his dinner and then we moved outside so that Ute could finish her honey spinning.
Amongst other things, Ute and Jorg are apiarists (bee keepers), and Ute was spinning the hives to extract the honey. Very interesting.
They also keep ducks, and their ducks had 9 babies today. We couldn't see the babies as they were tucked away in a cage but Barney got to meet the daddy 'Lasse'.
Back inside we went to see Egon, who lives in the house on the second floor in his own self-contained apartment. After chatting to him for a bit we spent the evening with Ute and Jorg, also spying on the ducks through the CCTV camera installed in their closure from the comfort of the couch.
Our time with Ute and Jorg is spent speaking mostly German. Our German abilities aren't good, but we now can see how far we have come compared to when we were last here two years ago and couldn't communicate without a translator. It of course helps that Ute and Jorg know a bit of English and together we can figure out what we are all trying to say.
To go to Nurenberg is not much of a detour and as this is a place we have been interested to see we went there first. This should have been a two hour drive, but with the weather, roadworks and whatever else it took us a little longer. This would eat into the time we had before we said we would be in Zweenfurth.
We parked in the Nuremberg Altstadt, in the main shopping area - the Lorenz Altstadt. Out here in the Lorenz area was relatively busy but we set off to walk the old town first. Just out of the main shopping bit most signs of life disappeared. It was raining pretty heavily.
It was lunch time by now, and a 'must do' in Nuremberg is to get some Nurnburger bratwurst sausages. We walked until we found a restaurant that was serving some that we could take with us. Three little sausages in a bun, 2.20 Euro each. They were tasty, though we had to eat them trying to shelter from the rain by standing next to a wall...not the way I envisaged eating Nurnburgers in Nuremberg. Oh well.
The Altstadt is divided in half by a river and we crossed over the river where there was hardly anything happening over here other than a market in the market square- with hardly any customers.
We wanted to get a gift for our hosts in Zweenfurth and decided to get some of the Lebkuchen Nuremberg is famous for. There was a shop that specialised in this so we got a nice tin full of stuff for our hosts. Usually I am cautious about asking to take photos of people but in this instance (considering I had made a purchase) I thought it would be okay if I asked the two shopkeepers if I could take a photo - intending to capture the nice tins of Lebkuchen and of course the shopkeepers proudly displaying their wares. I asked 'Can I take a photo?' They looked at each other and said 'Yes this is okay'. I got out my camera and both shopkeepers ducked under the counter out of sight as I took the photo.
Not what I was expecting. They were laughing as they were crouched and as I took the photo. I left the shop, saying 'Danke, Tschuss' and they reappeared as I left. Hmmm.
With the weather being so bad and nothing happening over this side we crossed back over and headed back to the Lorenz Altstadt.
Of course, as we sat inside Starbucks, the rain stopped. When we went back out, it started to lightly rain again, but not as bad as before. We finished our time in Nuremberg Altstadt on the main shopping streets.
Nuremberg, from what we saw, has a nice Altstadt city centre however as it was so badly damaged during WWII bombing almost everything is a modern reconstruction. This is so different to Heidelberg, which was completely spared from allied bombing and why it is such a 'jewel' of Germany. Nuremberg is still nice and would be so much better if the weather was better and we had more time. Bloody weather.
The other reason we wanted to come to Nuremberg is to visit the Nazi Party Rally Grounds, the site of those huge theatrical Nazi events on the Zeppelin Fields - cinematically captured by Leni Riefenstahl 'Triumph of the Will'.
As we left the car park from the Altstadt it was really raining quite heavily. The rally grounds aren't far from the city centre and only about a 10 minute drive. The grounds are huge and I had expected to have a bit of a walk through them but as with the ever present shit weather and our limited time we truncated our visit.
We didn't intend to visit this museum and didn't have the time anyway. We have been to a similar museum in Obersalzberg so they only thing I wanted to know more about for relevance is about the Reichs Parade Grounds. Knowing we wouldn't have much time and weren't going to the museum I found out what I needed to know before hand. This didn't stop us getting a bit lost on our first approach by car as we bypassed the Congress Hall trying to find the Zeppelinhaupttribüne (The Fuhrers podium) as we drove through the Grosse Strasse, which is now a truck parking lot.
We drove back to the Congress Hall / Documentation Centre and I got out to have a look around. Outside is a map of the area where I could get my bearings. I also went inside to have a quick look at the museum foyer area - good enough for me.
From the Documentation Centre it is a reasonable distance to get to the Zeppelinfield where the rallies were held, about 1.5 kilometres. It saved a lot of time by driving. Here you can park easily as this is not a regulated tourist area. People can stroll in here at will and walk all over the Zeppelinhaupttribüne. There appears that no effort is being made to conserve the structure. It must be a difficult and unpopular thing to preserve Nazi structures and perhaps this is the case here while the thing decays in limbo.
It is perhaps the wrong word to use, but the place and history seems to be 'disprespected' (I don't mean admired) and the city has moved forward to put the Zeppelinfield to use rather than save it as a monument.
After my time of reflection it was time to go. We needed to get back on the road to get to Zweenfurth on time and I was sick of standing in the rain. I have been disappointed by the weather and amount of rain we have had on our holiday. You could say that in regards to the weather I am Führer'ious. Inappropriate?, too soon?
Back in the car and on the way to Zweenfurth we had about 300km ahead of us and this could be driven in about 2 hours and 40 minutes. We had a fantastic autobahn all of the way, but got stuck in a 'stau' (traffic jam) for over half an hour. This was going to make us late. After the jam we had a pretty clear ride on the autobahn. The last 40km on another autobahn was the best drive we have had so far, being able to travel at 150km/h with ease.
We arrived in Zweenfurth about 45 minutes late but this was okay. We were greeted by Ute (who is the sister in law of my fathers uncle Egon...following me?) and her husband Jorg. We had some coffee, barney had his dinner and then we moved outside so that Ute could finish her honey spinning.
Amongst other things, Ute and Jorg are apiarists (bee keepers), and Ute was spinning the hives to extract the honey. Very interesting.
They also keep ducks, and their ducks had 9 babies today. We couldn't see the babies as they were tucked away in a cage but Barney got to meet the daddy 'Lasse'.
Back inside we went to see Egon, who lives in the house on the second floor in his own self-contained apartment. After chatting to him for a bit we spent the evening with Ute and Jorg, also spying on the ducks through the CCTV camera installed in their closure from the comfort of the couch.
Our time with Ute and Jorg is spent speaking mostly German. Our German abilities aren't good, but we now can see how far we have come compared to when we were last here two years ago and couldn't communicate without a translator. It of course helps that Ute and Jorg know a bit of English and together we can figure out what we are all trying to say.
