Nuremberg Zoo

What to do on a cold Sunday in December when you don’t have a car and and the Christmas Market in Nuremberg is overrun with weekend visitors? Turns out that one of the trams runs from the middle of the city and ends at the Nuremberg Zoo. The Zoo is part of a larger park or preserve which was my original intent. I thought to take a walk through the woods on a cold afternoon. But since I arrived here straight from church and didn’t have shoes suitable to unpaved trails, my attentation turned to the zoo. This is one of two statues leading into the zoo and as the other one was a topless woman, it being Sunday and all…

Zeppelin Field

In it’s past, Nuremberg was an Imperial city. Because of that the Nazi’s wanted to associate themselves with the historical significance of the city. Starting in the mid-30s they held annual week-long meetings here. On Saturday I went to visit what remains of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds south of Nuremberg. This is the grandstand where the Nazi leaders would have stood while the army and others paraded past.

Old Buildings Abound

Nuremberg Tower

Having been here about a month and half now, I am still struck by all the old buildings and medieval feeling of this city. This tower, depending on the route I take, is on the way from the center of the old city to the office where I am working while here.

Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt – Part 2

The Church of Our Dear Lady is on the East side of the main square in Nuremberg. Normally a wide open square, every year in December it is completely covered in stalls for the Christmas Market. This gives just a glimpse of the crowds and shows about a 10th of the size of market that is covering the square.

IKEA – Furth

To help me figure out how to use the public transportation in greater Nuremberg and in honor of IKEA’s recent announcement of a new store in Utah, I looked up the location of the nearest IKEA and set a goal to get there and back. As you can see, I was successful and it only required a tram to the subway and a bus to the store.

Medieval Furth

On Friday evening a colleague of mine from work helped me acquire a bus/trolley/subway pass. To figure out how the system works I set off on Saturday morning to get myself to Furth and back. Furth is an old medieval town about 20 minutes or so from Nuremberg. On their web site it says they will be celebrating their 1000th year as a city — founded in 1007.

Wandering through the old part of town I stumbled across this old house which has many angles which aren’t quite square. It also shows the traditional German construction made with timber and plaster. I also discovered that several buildings in Furth are covered with the tiles on the second floor of this building.

Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt

My first trip to Nuremberg ended on November 22 so that I could be home with my family for Thanksgiving. That same weekend, shortly after I left, the annual NÌrnberg Christkindlesmarkt (Nuremberg Christ child’s market) began its month long celebration. Approaching the market from the south, in the old part of Nuremberg, all visitors need to do is follow the signs “zum Christkindlesmarkt” (to the Christ Child’s Market).