October 11, 2015
Today is moving day. We needed to have our packed luggage
in the hall by our door by 9 a.m. when we head out for the day’s tour. There
was luggage stored in corners of the upper and mid-ship lobbies, waiting to be
transported to the Viking River Cruise longship, Magni, that has an identical
layout to the Baldur.
The temperature
was 6 C with a partly sunny sky.
The Nüremberg satellite Internet connection today is
relatively speedy.
We picked up our group assignment number and guest
passcards as usual from reception and will take the receivers with us to the
Magni. As we left the ship, we handed
in our keycards and will get new ones for the Magni, when we arrived in Passau.
The buses left just after 9 a.m. and the temperature was
9 C and sunny. Written records go back to 1050 for the first mention of Nüremberg,
but recent archeology has discovered older artifacts in the area from the mid 800s. Nüremberg is a major transportation center
with large railways yards today and has been for centuries. It is located in
the center of Europe in the Franconian region of the state of Bavaria. It was the headquarters of the Nazi Party
where major rallies were held in 1933 to 1935 on the parade grounds; where over
300,000 party faithful marched each September.
Nazi stood for the National Socialist German Workers Party. We passed
the SS headquarters and the Congress Hall, which was built on a plan like a
coliseum, but never completed. Congress
Hall was to be used by the September congress gathering only once in each year. The next building was the Documentation
Center. We drove to a large area that
was the Zeppelin Field where the large air ships had landed. At one end of the
field was the remains of a grandstand that held 60,000 people that has grass
sprouting from the steps and seats now. The town was bombed almost flat in
April 1945. There was an American
victory parade on April 20, 1945 and the Nazi Swastikas were torn down. Nüremburg was chosen as the capital of Nazi
Germany because of its central location for Germany, Austria, Poland and parts
of the Czech Republic. The Nazi Revolution was in 1933.
Nüremburg is built on a sandstone formation. Historically
it has been a mainly protestant city, since the Reformation. There are many
long distance trains that pass through Nüremburg and it is becoming a center
for conferences due to its European location.
Our first stop was the beginning of the walking tour at Nüremburg
Castle. The castle was half Emperor’s
residence, when he was not out checking his different regions, and the other
half was for city government administration. Nüremburg was a city state that
was under the protection of the Holy Roman Emperor of German Nationalities in
the middle ages. At the city wall entrance to the castle, we passed through
many security features of a medieval fortress. The walls had protrusions, so as
not to have 90 degree angles which are more vulnerable to cannon fire, the
entry is uphill and winds, not good for a battering ram, there was a drawbridge
(over a dry moat) to be raised up in the case of attack. Then there is long
tunnel which has openings in the roof for defenders to throw stones down on the
enemy; or the defenders could fill a cart with burning hay, set it on fire and
push it into the tunnel and let gravity pull it down the narrow opening,
setting the enemy either running, burning or both. If the enemy made it through the tunnel, then
from behind a closed gate in front, the gate behind the enemy would close and
they would be enclosed on four sides with arrows and cannon balls reigning down
on them. The castle was never captured
until the end of World War 2. People
lived within the walls and there was a tower which the hangman used, his house
was on a small island nearby, since people shunned the hangman. There is the
oldest timber house in Nüremburg, where the tannery was located, close the
river. Most of the buildings in Nüremburg
are reconstructions of the former buildings, since allied bombs destroyed most
of the old town in 1945.
A building, with large red tiled roof, can be seen above
the city and castle walls. It was where grain was dried and stored in case of
food storages and today is a youth hostel.
Although the original buildings date to 11th century, additions were made
in the 13th and 15th centuries. The building with the
white and red Franconian colours flag is the shed for the well, which was
hundreds of meters deep, so water was available if there was a siege. It was built in 1563. There is an original tower and a 13th
century one quite close to each other. From the ramparts, there is a good view
of the houses and churches of Nuremburg. Our guide, Feliz, pointed out the
boundaries of the old town. Next, the tour continued descending from the castle
to the streets of the old town. We came
to a square named after the famous Nüremburg painter, Albrecht Duhur, who made
money as a painter and marketed himself back in the early 1500s. Today his paintings are in collections around
the world. Further toward the river, which is not very wide or deep, we stopped
at St. Sebald church, started being built in 1225 with for Romanesque style
building; it was finished over 100 years later, but in Gothic style. There are beer vaults dug into to the
sandstone beneath the buildings in the old town. The deep vaults keep the beer
at a constant cool temperature. During
bombing, they were used as bomb shelters which reduced the number of lives
lost. Also the valuable paintings and
art objects of the churches and public buildings were moved in 1944 to the beer
vaults, as insurance they would survive the war. The Nüremburg Rathaus is a
large building of lime stone with coats of arms above its doors, built in the
17th century. In its basement
were the torture chambers of years past.
We walked to Hamptmarket where there was a Farmers Market
and children’s activites were going on. The medieval fountain was undergoing
renovation and was shrouded in fine netting, over scaffoldeing, that had a
picture of the fountain is prior years. St. Mary Roman Catholic Church was
pointed out, across the square and directions given on how to get to the restaurant
for lunch in 90 minutes. We were on our
own and walked back by a different route to St. Sebold’s church to look inside
at the renaissance artworks and altar. It
had a huge pipe organ and the saint’s bone relics that were preserved in a
golden sarcophagus by the altar. We
found our way across the different bridges, one of which was covered and contained
a museum, which was closed on Sunday mornings.
There were not a lot of stores open, because there is a German law that
does not permit many businesses to open on a Sunday. Returning back down hill, there was a view of
the castle from a distance of 1.5 miles, with both the Franconian and Bavarian
flags flying from its towers. Steps 5,467. Then, we walked along the pedestrian street
and saw Starbucks and McDonalds, but no Dunkin Donuts today. We passed the
Barfurber restaurant and from across the street, the building was 7 storeys
high with a sloping red tile roof on the top five storeys. There were lots of small windows peeking from
under the tiles. We stopped at Sankt
Lorenz protestant church, which was started in 1439 and finished in 1518, to
watch children playing in floating bubbles that a street performer was creating
from a large bubble hoop. Then we walked back to Heilig Geist Spital, which was
a former hospital, for our lunch. Steps 7,490
The meal began with lager beer and Riesling or Pinot Noir
wine for the group. There was potato salad
and bread sitting on the table. The meal was sausage and a sweet sauerkraut
followed by vanilla ice cream with preserved cherries in a sauce. With everyone
fed, it was time for the five minute walk to the buses. We were on our way just after 3 p.m. On the drive to Regensburg, we passed many
wind turbines, agriculture land and smaller towns. There was a bathroom stop at
90 minutes to allow the driver a mandatory 30 minute break. Since there were
several more buses holding 45 or 50 people, there was a long line for the toilettes. Another 75 minutes and we were in Passau, for
a two night stay. Due to the low river
water levels, the ships cannot navigate the waterway up river from Passau, so
an adjustment to the itinerary has been made. We will not be cruising the Main
Danube canal from Bamberg to Passau, but should be on the Danube River from
Passau to Budapest.
The crew of the Viking Magni, greeted us with cheering
from the Kitchen and Restaurant staff and a large Welcome banner was flying
from the top deck. We were welcomed with
warm towels to wipe our hands and glasses of champagne or glasses of apple
juice mixed with champagne. We all had
the same accommodation and deck as before, our luggage was waiting on the bed
to be unpacked. After unpacking we went
to the lounge for 7:15 for the daily briefing where Claus introduced us to the
hotel manager and restaurant manager then told us about Monday’s agenda.
Dinner was at 7:30 p.m. due to the later arrival from Nüremburg.
We sat with our regular group of 8. For dinner we all
started with a minced chicken liver and mushroom ball on cucumber then, the appetizer of warm mushroom salad or
beef capriccio next for entrées, Tuna and sweet potatoes or Pork
Medallions wrapped in bacon with beans, accompanied
by the special Heinrich Vollmer Altum St Laurent Trocken Barrique red wine chosen
for this evening’s house wine. Then for dessert, we had Black Forest Cake or a
Rhubarb Custard with coffee or tea.
At 9:30, the pianist, Jerszoy was playing, in the lounge.
There were about 20 people in the lounge and some were dancing. We left after the first set and went back to
the cabin to complete today’s journal. Final
steps total = 10,532, about 9.5 km.
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