Saturday, 10 June (continued). When the guide turned us loose at 12:15, Jane and I checked out several of the stands in the square. But most of the square had been filled with rows of wooden chairs, all facing a huge television screen installed for the World Cup. Just before noon, when the Frauenkirche clock would strike and the many figures on its glockenspiel would begin moving, we rushed over there to watch. When the clock finished, we headed for one of the stands selling Nuremberg’s famous würstel (little sausages). Even though we would soon be eating a big lunch, we had to try them - three to a roll. (We had eaten them several times while living in Germany, but that was about 35 years ago.)
One of several sausage (würstel) stands | 
Clock figures perform at noon | 
Jane has würstel on a Brötchen |
Then of course, Jane had to buy a Lebkuchen (sometimes translated as “gingerbread, but really a unique spice cookie/cake). By then it was time for us to walk to the pickup corner to catch the 12:30 bus back to the ship.
At 14:15 there were buses back into the city. Jane went to the Documentation Center (2001) housed in a wing of the unfinished Congress Hall. It is intended to educate new generations on the causes, details, and consequences of the Nazi regime. I went back to the old city center. I walked from the Hauptmarkt to the Kaiserburg (Imperial Castle). It was developed by Friedrich Barbarossa and his successors, and from 1050 to 1571 all the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire stayed there at various times. (This was one of the reasons Hitler chose Nuremberg for the Nazi Party rallies.)
Kaiserburg from street below | 
Everyone must take this picture | 
Inside the Kaiserburg |
From the castle I walked along the city wall to the house of Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), famous engraver and painter. (He lived here 1509-1528. Then I followed the narrow streets back to the Hauptmarkt. Apparently a soccer game was about to get underway, and the square was really rocking, with singing, cheering, and oompah music. I continued south across the Pegnitz River and up Königstrasse on the other side. This entire area was pedestrians only, and it was jammed with people in a festive mood.
City wall from the inside | 
Albrecht Durer house | 
View of a bridge from a bridge |
Hangman's Bridge seen from Trödelmarkt |
St. Lawrence Church |
Soon I came to St. Lawrence (13th-15th century), the city’s largest church. There I turned west on Karolinerstasse, another wide pedestrian street, then south again on Farberstrasse. After a few blocks I was in sight of the southern (Frauentor) city wall, but I also had left the pedestrian area. So I headed back toward the
Hauptmarkt, crossing the Pegnitz at the Trödelmarkt, a tiny island with a view of Hangman’s Bridge, next over.
There were two buses back to the ship, and I hoped to take the first one (15:15) because that would also stop at the Documentation Center where Jane would be waiting. I got to the pickup point 20 minutes early, which turned out to be fortunate. By 15:00 there were already too many passengers (considering that about half the bus was reserved for those waiting at the Documentation Center, who would only have this one bus). So Jane and I arrived back at the ship together at 17:00. The ship sailed half an hour later.
Avast, ye maties! Aargh! |
At dinner there had been a different theme most evenings, and the waiters would be dressed accordingly. Tonight the theme was pirates. It’s memorable only because our waiter decided that Jane should wear his cap, eye patch and sword.
Entering one of the 82' locks | 
The Watershed Monument |
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From Nuremberg the ship passed through the four deepest locks of our trip (three of them 82 feet deep) and, just after dark, we passed the Watershed Monument (1340 feet above sea level). Water to the west flowed to the North Sea; water to the east flowed to the Black Sea. We passed through five more locks by morning. It was a tough night for sleeping because of the noise and vibration as the ship maneuvered.
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