Day 8. Nuremberg

      During the night we continued to have low bridges we slowed for and locks we stopped in. Unknown number because we slept through most of them. Not all, but the sounds were swooshes and gurgles. Not too loud unless you were already awake. Then you heard them but were not kept awake by them. 

     Just before we arrived at Nuremberg we were in a lock that lowered the ship. I wasn't sure if we had passed the high point of our voyage but a fellow passenger said we started descending after midnight. We tied up in a very industrial area that is a 20 minute bus ride from the city center. Soon after breakfast we took the bus into town for about 2 hours of free time. We went into 3 churches and did some shopping. 

     Above two show debris from WW2 destruction of the church. 

     Above six: St. Sebold

     Above: St. Klara 

 

     Above 5 photos: St. Lawrence Church. A lot of anti-semetic imagery. 

     Fresh foods in the central market.

     This is a water fountain. Spared by WW2 bombs. 

     Contempory artwork. Dangers of technology.

    Small river dividing Nuremberg into north and south. 

     After lunch we bussed back to the city for our official tour. A guide was another foreigner, our 3rd in a row. He was from Scotland but he recent became a German citizen. Unfortunately it was raining so we didn't see as much as we could have. Hard to look upwards into the rain. We did go by some of the historical sites of the Nazis: rallies, speeches, etc. One of the stadiums has not been used since the late 1930s. We went into the one church we missed in the morning plus the famous castle. Most of Nuremberg (97%) was destroyed in WW2, 93% percent of that was in one British daylight bombing raid. Seems they were upset about London being targeted and they wanted to hit the center of Naziism, Nuremberg. The towers of the castle were spared but everything elso was leveled. Some locations were rebuilt in a few years but some not until the 70s. A lot of the raw materials for the rebuilding was all around them, the rubble from the destruction. Stained glass windows and ancient church objects were saved by hiding them in an underground bunker. See the story of 'Monument Men'. 

     We did a little bit more shopping and then stopped for a hot chocolate at a cafe. As many times I have had hot chocolate in my life, including dozens of times on this voyage alone, I have never had hot chocolate. This was so thick, rich and very slightly bitter to be other worldly. The spoon nearly stood up by itself. Carol said she had a similar experience in NYC but this was extremely rare. Deee lish.  

     When we got back to the ship it was about time for dinner and the ship got underway for Bamberg. At 9pm (boaters midnight) we had a concert of 3 local musicians which was interesting. A bit classical. A bit jazzy. And not too long. Overnight we will be doing a lot of locks. Hope not to hear them.