By 1:00 PM the Gefjon arrived in Nuremberg, the second-largest city in Bavaria. Although nearly destroyed in World War II, the remaining medieval city walls stretch some three miles and feature original gateways and 80 original watchtowers.
It’s history dates back to the 11 century, but it is most known for its role in World War II. This city was a prime target for the Allied Forces. It was Hitler’s headquarters and the site of the Nazi rallies because of its location and proximity to surrounding towns by railroad. As a result, almost all the buildings were flattened by the Allied bombers in January 1945. Of course, it was also the site of the war crimes trials at the Palace of Justice.
HItler’s Headquarters in Nuremberg
Hitler’s Parade grounds in Nuremberg
Hotel where most Journalists stayed during the Nuremberg Trials 45-46
Later, the painstaking reconstruction – using the original stone – of almost all of the city’s main buildings, including the castle and old churches in Altstadt, returned the city to some of its former glory.
At the Cathedral there are pictures showing the reconstruction, and one of the most poignant is Allied servicemen standing amongst the rubble of the church at a worship service. Eisenhower was very instrumental in using Allied forces to help rebuild this old historic church.
This is what Nuremberg looked like after the bombings.
Nuremberg is filled with the half-timbered houses traditionally considered Bavarian and is well known historically for its metal and toy craftsmanship.
Most important to foodies all over the world is the fact that Nuremberg is the capital of lebkuchen, the beloved German Spiced Gingerbread Christmas cookie. The history of this cookie dates back to the 14th century because of the trade routes that brought all the spices to this one convergent spot. Of course we found the oldest, most famous and left our offering. They even had Gluten-Free. Very different that we are accustomed to eating in the U.S. but non the less, delicious.
Before we left our short stop in Nuremberg, Carol and Jim were searching for some Iced Coffee and look what was delivered to them.
Other pictures from Nuremberg
Downtown Nuremberg
Cathedral in Nuremberg
Typical home in Nuremberg
Town of Nuremberg from Palace
Jewish Synagogue and Cemetery
The Palace is now the home of Government offices but garden is where the children sing Do Re Mi in the movie. When you watch the movie, which we did aboard the ship, its fun to see these places but you realize there was a great deal of editing done to make the locations gel.
It was built in 1661 of Italian marble and is the largest fountain in Austria. I remember seeing it in the scene after Maria leaves the convent to become a Nanny. Again, no logical reason why Maria was walking past that fountain in the movie other than it was a famous and beautiful masterpiece.
Just before the Port Talk, we were treated to some bathers on the river bank mooning us which you don’t see on an ocean cruise.
Even though the temperature had been in the mid 90’s all day, the air conditioning in the concert hall was turned off at the request of the performers. (Something to do with the air effecting their voices.) The performance was wonderful but the room was terribly hot. Most of us left some of our DNA in the form of perspiration in that concert hall. When we got back to the ship, the Chef had made a late night snack of traditional Hungarian Goulash Soup. Nice touch!
the largest city in Austria with over 25% of its entire population living here. It’s obvious the city is very interested in the arts with advertisements of famous opera singers appearing at the Opera House, and art museums having special showings and beautiful architecture. The city is filled with large palaces and elaborately styled buildings influenced by the Turkish rule for over 500 years. It is also filled with small city streets paved in old cobblestone rounded by the horse’s hooves.
After dinner we had a guest lecturer taking us through the Austrian history which was not only interesting but entertaining and fun. He defined Austrians as “an unsuccessful attempt to make Italians into a Germans”.
was erected in 2005 to remember all those people who died. What you see is rusted, cast iron shoes of all kinds (dress shoes, children’s shoes, workmen shoes, and women’s shoes all of that period) sitting empty on the bank.
The philosophy behind the church was that it should depict the stark difference between heaven and earth so the interior is very elaborately decorated with lots of gold and precious gems. You could not conceive the splendor in this church even seeing the pictures.
(gef-i-on) and it took me several days to remember how to pronounce the name. Like Viking’s other long boat ships, Gefjon is 440 feet long and narrow accommodating under 200 passengers. We were lucky enough to have only 182 passengers and 52 crew members which was very different from any other cruise we had been on. There were no children and a few young people and a few “really old” people but I would say the average age was around 60 years old. As in all groups, there was one group from Australia that joined with some Canadians to be the rebel rousers of the group who were always the loudest and most vocal.
and then on to Dahlonega to check out their stores and have a delicious dinner in one of their restaurants. By the time the weekend was over, we were all singing along with the Christmas songs on the radio and Carol was planning her decorating when she got back home. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
This home was originally a summer home for a slave trader from Louisiana and his young bride. There was a 28 year difference in their ages and he died when his wife was only 24 years old making her the wealthiest woman in the U.S. Her husband had taken great pains to be sure she inherited his business and money regardless of the laws of that day. She continued to run the business until she remarried and her new husband and he then ran the business until his death. Back in the mid 1800’s she was worth over $14 million.
Our guide must be an entertainer by profession because he kept us laughing for two solid hours and still managed to show us the high points in Nashville.
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