Continuing the trend of travelling instead of studying, it wasn’t long before I was off on another adventure! Half of Sam’s family originate in Germany, so in early October we decided to head to Nuremberg to visit his Opa (grandad). We made a full weekend of it, spending the Saturday on a tour of the city with Sam’s Opa, and leaving the Sunday free to explore ourselves.
Nuremberg is a beautiful city in southern Germany with a complex history. It was severely bombed during WWII and was painstakingly rebuilt in the years that followed, to such a high standard that an unknowing visitor could easily assume that the buildings were original. The city was also closely tied to the Nazi party, with the old rally grounds on the city outskirts offering a sobering window into this dark period of recent history.
But Nuremburg in the modern day is also a charming city, famous for its Christmas market, walled old town and as the birthplace of the painter Albrecht Dürer, who is considered to be one of the greatest Renaissance artists. I’ve now been to the city multiple times and enjoy my visit every time I go – there is always something new to be discovered.
Saturday
We spent a thoroughly interesting first day being expertly tour-guided around Nuremburg by Sam’s Opa. It was a true test of my German speaking and comprehension, this being the first time I had met any of his German family in person, but I got by okay and had a really good day. Although with the challenges of the German language and desire to make a good impression, I didn’t take any photos this day, leaving that for the following day when I would be exploring with Sam on my own.
Sunday
We started our morning with a coffee and breakfast pastries at a cafe opposite the Ehekarussell (marriage carousel) fountain, a somewhat strange piece of artwork supposedly depicting the progression of married life. It’s a bit of a marmite installation – you either love it or hate it – but it’s impressive nonetheless, and it was nice to take a slow breakfast sitting outside in the autumn sunshine.
We were lucky to continue with this lovely weather throughout the day, with Nuremberg really looking at its best. At this time of year the crowds are few – being too late for the summer tourists and too early for the Christmas markets – and I thoroughly enjoyed this time wandering around the city.
Our first stop was the river Pegnitz and the Kettensteg – the oldest free-hanging suspension bridge in Germany, as the sign next to it proudly points out. During this particular visit we unfortunately couldn’t cross all the way to the other side using this bridge, as repair work was being done on the opposite bank. But I’m happy to report that they have since finished the work and the bridge has been fully reopened.
We then retraced our steps and headed across the Maxbrücke bridge seen in the photo (left) above. From here there is a nice view upriver to the small island of Trödelmarkt. Formerly a flea market trading area, this island now contains a number of small boutique shops and a couple of local restaurants. It is connected on both sides to the riverbanks by the executioners’ bridges, so named after the former house of the executioner which is located at the tip of the island.
On the north riverbank (and also visible from the Maxbrücke) are a 14th-century water tower and a beautiful red and white half-timbered building. Both have a varied history, with the latter most notably used as a wine storage facility in the late 1500s and then converted into student accommodation in the 1950’s. It remains a student accommodation today – this is definitely the coolest student halls I’ve ever seen!
From here we crossed onto the north side of the river and started walking uphill into the old town, towards the Kaiserburg – the imperial castle of Nuremberg which sits perched high above the city.
On the way we dropped into St Sebald’s church, an impressive building in the gothic style which dates back to the 13th century. Like most of the city, it was destroyed during Allied bombings in the war and was later carefully reconstructed back to its former glory. Most impressively, much of the stained glass windows are original as they were removed at the start of the war and kept in safe storage until the restoration.
Just up the road from the church there is a statue of the famous painter Albrecht Dürer, and slightly further up again lies Dürer’s house. This is a traditional red and white half-timbered building which is now a museum dedicated to Dürer’s life and work.
The area around the Dürer-Haus is possibly my favourite part of Nuremberg as it is also home to the Wanderer cafe/bar, which comes alive at night. It’s a tiny place, just large enough to house the bar inside. You go in, order your drink and then take it outside to sit on the cobblestones. They have some chairs but there are always more people than chairs, so most people sit on the cobbles. It really makes for a lovely atmosphere, especially on summer evenings.
Nuremberg also has old city walls, much of which you are able to walk on in the summer months (they were still open in early October). You can see part of the walls to the right in the photo of the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus above, which offer a picture-postcard view of the square and street below. These viewpoint sections of the wall aren’t continuous, but you can walk through the castle garden behind them all the way up towards the Kaiserburg.
The Kaiserburg is the old imperial castle, with a lovely little courtyard, a cafe and a terrace with far-reaching views out across the whole city. It is definitely the best place for a panoramic city view on a good day, and makes the climb up worth it!
After a morning of exploring, we decided to head for lunch and consulted a list of recommendations from Sam’s dad – local knowledge is always the best guide after all! We settled on the Alte Küch’n, located on a quiet corner down the street from the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus. Their speciality is Baggers, a type of potato fritter usually served with a sauce, salad or other additions.
The is a lovely historic and atmospheric restaurant which – with its styling, menu and waiting staff uniforms – really feels like a step back in time. We both decided to order the Baggers – mine with porcini mushroom sauce, and Sam’s with salmon, horseradish and salad. We received friendly service here and the food was excellent!
We spent most of the rest of the afternoon continuing to explore the old town and parts of the newer town in Nuremberg. One of the most notable sites here is the Street of Human Rights, which can be found just inside the city walls on the south side. This pedestrianised street is lined with 27 concrete pillars, which together with two ground plaques and an integrated oak tree makes 30 – the total number of articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One article is inscribed on each, written both in German and in another language.
The installation was opened in 1993, and is especially symbolic considering the context of Nuremberg’s Nazi-linked past. It aims to simultaneously recognise the horrors of the past whilst also looking forward to a new era of human rights activities in the city, something which I felt it really did achieve. Nuremberg also now has its own Human Rights office and the motto of the city is “Nuremberg – City of Peace and Human Rights”. We visited the Street of Human Rights at a quiet time in the evening and it definitely was a space for reflection.
From there it was time to make our way back to the station and catch the slow train home to Stuttgart. Having heard a lot about Nuremberg from Sam and his family before I went, I had relatively high expectations and I think it’s fair to say that the praise was worth it! I’ve since been back on numerous occasions and have really enjoyed it every time. So Nuremberg is definitely up there with my favourite cities in Germany.
