May 1 Monday Nuremberg

May day!    Happy May day!    Hope you have sunny spring weather and the evil spirits have been scared away by all of the brightness!

Not so much .. here!   Internet problems and this dangfangled washer/dryer in our hotel 'apartment' is testing our patience and resolve.   It takes about 2-hours to take care of a load .. and the clothes are still not quite dry!   It looks like our place in Le Puy En Velay in France on last year's trip, with clothes hanging everywhere!

After another hearty breakfast in the hotel we headed out to discover more of Nuremberg with the goal to climb to the castle.  Here are a few sights we found interesting.

Since it was a holiday, the Bratwurst Museum was closed .. doggone it!

The chained suspension bridge is in the foreground of this picture :

Here's Joe waving to you from the bridge :

Nuremberg's old town, surrounded by immense walls, is known as 'Altstadt' in German, is divided into two parts by the Pegnitz River.   The walls were completed in 1452.   On January 2, 1945, more than 500 British and American bombers destroyed the city.   Much of the damage was restored or reconstructed.

A side note and thought .. the world experienced but a short period of pandemic .. Nuremberg experienced the deadly plague in 1405, 1435, 1437, 1482, 1494, 1520, and 1534.    Nuremberg's Jews suffered so many times in the town's history.    Hopefully this dark past will not be repeated!

We continue our climb to the castle complex.

As we made our way around another corner we see .. St.Sebaldus Church :

It was built between 1225 and 1500.   The following shrine to St.Sebald was built between 1508 and 1519.

Jan really appreciated the church's massive organ.

A couple of jogs and several stairs and we're getting closer to the castle.

This castle which dominates the skyline is .. HUGE !    Great views from the top!

Down the hill we hiked as many others were coming up.

One last close-up of the 'Beautiful Fountain in Haupt-Markt :

The rain was getting heavier.    We ducked into a cafe for lunch and a treat.   Afterwards we started back to the hotel and stayed under as much cover as possible.    It was time to rest and try to get the remaining dirty clothes clean and dry before embarking tomorrow on our river cruise.

We'll try to get in a late-morning and lunch-time walk to discover the SE part of the old town.

These first 9-days of our trip have been sight-filled!    The most steps I've taken in many years!    We tried lots of local culinary delights and beers.    We love the history and of course the magnificent churches!    The adventure continues.

Take care,    Jan & Joe