May 29 2024 Nurnberg Germany

 Nurnberg Germany

May 29 2024

The water level in the river is very high and is forecast to rise even higher due to the heavy rain fall which they have been experiencing.  This means that the ship cannot get under some of the lower bridges.  So Viking arranged for us to exchange ships with one of their other ships which was headed in the opposite direction and was about to have the same problem as us.  Last night we packed our bags and this morning we were loaded on buses.  After a four hour bus ride we arrived in Nurnburg.  

We had two hours of free time to find lunch on our own so Agnes and I joined Jim and Sandra and the four of us headed off to find some of Nurnburg's famous sausages.  By luck we stumbled into one of the premier sausage houses in Nurnburg. The sausages, which were delicious, were accompanied with sauerkraut (DUH). 

After lunch we joined our tour group which included a bus ride out to see the Nazi colosseum and Nazi rally grounds. Along the way we drove past the Nazi SS barracks which escaped the bombing and were later used as head quarters the the American army.   On the right was the Hall of Justice where the Nurnburg trails were held but I could not get a picture as there were too may trees.  At least I get to say I drove by it.  

 The bus tour ended in the Nurnburg castle which was built in 1200.  A lot of the castle was destroyed by bombing but it has been rebuilt.  Under the castle are these huge catacombs which were used in the 1200's to store beer but during the war were used as bomb shelters and used to store a lot of the art treasures from the areas churches.  From the castle there is a fantastic view of the old town which was over 70% destroyed but has been rebuilt to how it looked prior to WW2,  So it looks like a middle ages city but all of the interiors are modern.  

From the castle we walked down into the old town and saw a lot of very interesting buildings, the highlight of which was the St.Sebald church.  It was originally built as a gothic Catholic cathedral in 1215 and then remodeled in 1309.  After the reformation Nurnburg became a Lutheran city and the cathedral was converted to a Lutheran church.   All of the moveable art and the stained glass windows were stored in the catacombs of the castle and so were not destroyed. 

Finally about 5:30 were we back on the bus and on the way to our new ship.  It is exactly the same as the other ship. So we are on our way to Amsterdam.  It was a long day and tiring day.

Terry