Nuremberg Germany

Last Thursday I hopped on a train to Nuremberg Germany from Vienna. This trip was the second time I went to Germany during my time here in Europe. Unlike last time, during this trip I was able to experience and see more German historical sites as well as learn more about its history.  Here's a bit of the history background of Nuremberg before I go into the details of my trip there. Nuremberg was founded in the 11th century and was known for being the unofficial center of the Holy Roman Empire that encompassed Germany. It  has remained one of the largest cultural centers in Bavarian Germany. Also, it was the place where the Nazi Party originated from and was used as one of the major areas of Nazi power in the Third Reich. During the war most of the city was destroyed due to the bombings, however, some of the old city walls remained and were rebuilt. It is currently one of the only German cities to have its old city walls intact (some of them rebuilt) from Medieval times.


After a 5 hour train ride we arrived at night and went straight to the Christmas markets in Nuremberg. The Christmas markets (known as Christkindlmarkts in German) in Nuremberg are known to be one of the largest in the Germanic world. It encompassed a large square. I would have to say it was at least double the size of Vienna's main Christmas market. (I will write a blog about Vienna's Christmas market later this week) We first encounter a stand selling sandwich called the "Nuremberger bratwurst." This sandwich was made up of four freshly grilled small sausage links all on an nice crunchy bun. The sausages on the sandwich reminded me of our breakfast sausages back in the states. After a few rounds of the original Nurembergers I tried another one with sour kraut which intensified the flavor. It was a great mix between the sausages, kraut, and bun. Once we finished our street food we walked around the Christmas markets to see what they were like before we went to a beer tent. Inside the beer tent we bought the special Christmas Brewed beer. It was pretty good. No matter where you are in Germany you will receive high quality beers.( I learned this during my trip to Munich earlier in the semester) After an hour or so at the beer tent we went back the hostel to rest before the busy day we had ahead of us on Friday.

On Friday we had a large day in store for us. For most of the day we toured the Nazi Rally grounds and Nazi headquarters during the era of Third Reich. The background on the Nazi sites have to do with the rallies that took place there. They were held annually from 1927 to 1938. After Hitlers rise to power in 1933 the Nuremberg rallies became huge Nazi propoganda events. Nurember was the center of Nazi ideology for the most part. Most of us that have seen the rallies on the history channel come from the propaganda film called Triumph des Willen. In 1935 the Nuremberg laws were passed  at the sites under construction in Nuremberg. These laws revoked German citizenship from all Jews which began the slippery slope to the Holocaust in 1940.

The main sites we saw at this large compound were the large rally grounds, the large unfinished general assembly (which looks like the Roman Colosseum), and a very large granite roadway where the large Nazi military marches took place. Throughout my entire time walking around the compound I felt a bit of a creepy vibe from the place. It was hard to imagine that only 80 years ago this place was an active site for the Nazi Party. At one point of the tour, I was able to stand at the same platform Hitler stood where he gave several speeches during his rule of Germany. It was a weird feeling standing in those place, I could only visualize what the place would look with over 100,000 people partaking in the rallies.

After we finished walking around the main sites we went back to the General Assembly building and went and saw their main museum exhibit that gave a great in depth analysis of the Nazi Parties rise to power, Hitlers rise to power, the purpose of the Nuremberg rally sites, the fall of Nazism, and the Nuremberg trials. The entire experience through the museum gave me a better understanding and a good review of my Nazi Germany history. It was interesting to see historical pictures, artifacts, and signatures of Nazi officials. Overall, it was a good comprehensive trip around the Nuremberg Nazi grounds.

Once we were finished with the museum we went back into the old walled city where we had our group dinner. However, before dinner, I stopped by one of Nurembergs major gothic cathedrals. The cathedral had a vaulted rib ceiling with beautiful stained glass windows surrounding the entableture of the altar. It reminded me of Vienna's Stephanplatz cathedral but on a smaller scale. Once I finished my walk through of the cathedral it was time for a traditional German dinner! For dinner we decided to have a dish that had duck, pork knuckles, a variety of sausages, ham, sourkraut, potatoes, dumplings, and vegetables. It was an amazing dish, it had all the assortment of meats you'd expect to have in Germany. It was awesome, I was really happy with the meal. By the way, it was massive, it took 3 of us to finish it!

Since we didn't get to see the Christmas markets at night we went after our group dinner. We were able to see all the lights, ornaments, toys, candies, hot wine, and much more. At night it had a special feeling. It felt very unique and something that you do not see often. We walked around and saw all the stands/shops. I bought chocolate dipped strawberries on a stick. It was absolutely delicious! I loved it, I will have try and find it again at the Vienna Christmas markets (hopefully). Once we finished our way around the Christmas market we found our way to an Irish pub and had a night filled of conversation over a few drinks. Friday was a very busy day, I got to see most of city and got a great feel for the culture and history of Nuremberg.

Nuremberg was my last trip before I fly back home to the US. I enjoyed my trip to Germany once again, I will be returning again sometime in the future! I will write one or two more blogs about Vienna before I write my reflection blogs on my way home and when I get home from Europe. Stay tuned!