A Cathedral, Castle and Rally Grounds

Waking Up

I only had one night to spend in Nuremberg, so I had to be up early to squeeze in everything I wanted to accomplish. The hotel served breakfast until 9:30, so the plan was to be up, packed, and out the door by that time. I was looking forward to the complimentary breakfast, the reviews of the hotel suggested it was good and included hot items. The breakfast ended up being okay. I stuck to my basics of cereal, milk, and bread. 

St. Sebaldus Church

 

Exterior of Cathedral, Alter of Cathedral

 

Cross section of Cathedral

After dropping my bags off at the car (no parking ticket!) I decided to take a walk in the enormous cathedral that is St. Sebaldus Church. The cathedral is impossible to miss  since it towers over all other buildings and is in the city center. The church was originally build in the 1200s, but underwent expansion in the 1400s. Sometime around the 1500s it became a Evangelical Lutheran Church. The detail and overall architecture of the cathedral is stunning.  I spent around a half hour walking around the church when some bells started to ring. I wasn't certain if the bells were simply hourly chimes or the start of a service so I moved on. 

Nazi Party Rally Grounds

 

Nuremberg was used as the rally ground for the Nazi movement.  The Nuremberg rallies were amongst the largest of the Nazi rallies and held on the grounds. There are a number of structures that make of up the former Nazi rally grounds. The Documentation Center Museum is build around the former Congress Hall. Congress Hall is actually the largest preserved socialist structure. The museum's modern architecture contrasts with the building, but the design works. Unlike other museums, the text surrounding each exhibit is only in German. An audio guide is available and does a good job explaining each exhibit - although using the audio guide is much slower than reading placards.

Walking around the museum was surreal. The facility was designed to be the congress center for the Nazi party. Upon entering, a video is shown showing two college kids skateboarding through the various grounds. The video flashes back to contrast what the grounds were used for back in the 30s and present day. The film does a good job helping visitors understand the grounds without using spoken words.  I spent several hours walking around the grounds. After I left the museum I drove around Zeppelin Field and walked around the park surrounding the museum. Some of the old structures of Zeppelin Field appear to be used for intramural sports.

 

Several levels were build around the huge congress hall

 

Entering the Museum

 

Entering the museum

 

Me, inside Congress Hall

 

Exiting Congress Hall

 

Congress Hall, as viewed from the surrounding park

Nuremberg Castle

 

Nuremberg Castle

Finding Nuremberg Castle was not hard at all, the castle is visible from almost anywhere in Nuremberg. The premises of the castle stretches throughout the town as well. Finding parking as a different story. The only parking I could find appeared to be zoned, requiring a special permit. Since I only anticipated being at the castle for a couple of hours I figured I'd chance it. I got to the castle around 4pm and still wanted to see the Nuremberg Courthouse, so there wasn't much time to waste. After parking nearby what I thought was an entrance, I started walking around the grounds looking for a formal entryway. I'd pass the gardens and walk around almost the entire castle before finding it. The walk around the castle gave a good idea of just how large it was and gave the opportunity to see what appeared to be the moat and drawbridge. After about 45 minutes of leisurely walking the grounds I found the entrance. The man working the door mentioned that the castle was under refurbishment - all that was viewable from within the castle was a single empty room! His recommendation was to check out the garden and walk around the castle, just as I had already done. I was probably away from the car for 2 hours. When I returned, I saw two officers writing tickets and they had just finished issuing one for my car! I asked politely for amnesty and they were kind enough to cancel the ticket. Whew.

 

Guard tower

 

Entryway via enormous tunnel

 

View from the castle

 

Castle Gardens

Palace of Justice

The Nuremberg Courthouse, or Palace of Justice, is where the Nuremberg Trials took place following the end of World War II. It was here that the former Nazi leadership was brought to justice for their crimes against humanity. The trials took place in Courtroom number 600, which to this day is just as it was during the hearings. Unfortunately, the museum is closed on Tuesday so I'd only be able to walk around the exterior of the building. The process used throughout the trials would serve as the model for the International Court at the Hague. The accused Pan Am 103 bombers as well as Slobodan Milosevic would be tried at the Hague under the same principles.

 

Palace of Justice

Drive to Nuremberg

After walking around the Palace of Justice I got some food and filled up the tank. The next stop was Wernigerode, Germany. The drive was planned to take about 4 hours. I'd be visiting and staying with a friend that both was raised and lives in the small mountain town. During the drive I would encounter heavy rain, requiring me to drive slower than normal. Since I was on the autobahn, cars cruising at speeds exceeding 120mph is not uncommon. Every time a car jetted past I would feel the wake shake the car. To make matters worse the autobahn is not lit, meaning the only illumination available is whatever the headlights of the car can create. The median does not block the headlights of ooncoming traffic, so using bright lights is not an option since it impacts oncoming traffic. Throughout the drive I'd encounter fog restricting visibility to about 500 feet in front of me. The rain and fog forced me to drive at very slow speeds, adding a couple of hours to the drive. 

Arriving in Wernigerode

It was around 1am when I finally entered Wernigerode, about 1-2 hours later than I expected to arrive. Tobi had to be up the next morning for work, so I felt bad for keeping him waiting. When I arrived we caught up over a quick drink and called it a night. Tobi had to work the next day, but planned to catch up more completely over dinner the next day. Plus, Thursday was a federal holiday in Germany so we had the entire day than to hang out. 

 

 

Tobi's apartment 

(taken next morning)

 

Tobi has a large apartment spanning to levels. I'd sleep in the attic bedroom.

  

Tomorrow  

Tomorrow would be a free day for me to wander around Wernigerode. Since I got in late I had no plans to wake up early, so I expected to sleep late. Wernigerode is a small town, but there was still a lot to see.