NUREMBERG: CITY WALK

Spending two days in Nuremberg was just the right amount of time to explore the city and grasp its history, which dates back to the Middle Ages and gained further significance as the location of the Nuremberg Trials.

We stayed at The Grand Hotel/Meridien, part of the Marriott group, which is ideal for those who collect points. The hotel, originally built in 1894, has been updated and maintains a classic style. It is situated directly across from the train station on the newer side of the city, opposite the Old Town. This hotel served as the base for the US team during the Nuremberg Trials from 1945-54.

During our visit, we had a wonderful guide named Gabi. She grew up in Nuremberg, and her father was a pilot in the Luftwaffe during the war, but she mentioned that he never really spoke about it despite much encouragement. Our observation about Germany and its people is that they continue to work on healing from the atrocities of Nazi Germany while not forgetting their role. Everywhere we visited, students were being educated about the impact of Hitler's 12-year rule and the upheaval it caused worldwide.

On the first day, we wandered through the old city, admiring its churches, timbered buildings, and cobblestone streets. We particularly appreciated that the old city is essentially car-free, making it a pleasant place to enjoy the sights without worrying about bicycles or speeding cars like Benz, BMW, or Porsche.

Although Berlin was lively, it didn't have the street cafes that are common in the post-Covid era; Nuremberg, on the other hand, is much more relaxed, with numerous cafes and people making the most of them.

The churches and buildings were more modest and lacked embellishments, reflecting the Lutheran influence, as they disapproved of any display of wealth.

Here again, many of the town structures were destroyed towards the end of WWII and subsequently rebuilt. 

While we really had not seen many homeless people in Germany, there was a handful of them here and I felt a bit like I was back in San Diego. Oh well….