German and Austrian Tour: The Most German of all German Cities (Nuremberg)

Due to our recent adoption of what I would describe as a "very casual" policy towards sightseeing, we each arose at different times (Mum, Annabelle - then me...) and had breakfast separately. By 9:30, I felt ready that we could perhaps venture out into the world - having been able to struggle through the self-diagnosed morning seasonal affective disorder (not a real thing technically - but a variation of something real that describes my symptoms (being grouchy in the mornings) adequately). Alternatively you could just say I'm not a morning person...but I digress.

Nuremberg is known for several things - both good and bad. Home of gingerbread and the German toy industry, as well as being the home of Staedler (a fact not lost on Annabelle or I - but was lost on Mum), as well as being the seat of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire. Nuremberg is also known for the infamous Nuremberg Rallies, Laws and the trials at which several high-ranking Nazi officials were indicted and convicted.

This morning we headed to the site of the Former National Socialist Democratic German Workers Party (NSDAP or NAZI) Rallies - the Nuremberg Rallies. We boarded a train after taking approximately 5 minutes to purchase tickets (and annoying all the politely queued Germans behind us), then hopped on a train to the grounds. They were essentially deserted as we not only visited in Winter, but also early in the morning on a weekday.

This photo shows the Zeppelinfield, the area where a large majority of the rallies took place. The main part located behind Annabelle was inspired by the Pergamon Altar. Nuremberg was supposed to be the new Pergamon of Germania. Less "impressive" than it used to be - the flanking columns are no longer there, and the enormous swastika was blown up at the end of the war - symbolically signifying the end of National Socialism. The arena is now crumbling - and despite the photos showing that it was still used for rock concerts - I found it hard to imagine anyone wanting to do anything even remotely resembling celebration at these grounds. You can probably see in the photo a ledge - off which there are some railings. It was from there that Adolf Hitler looked over the Wermacht and inspected his followers. This is the view he would have had over the 200,000 people that fit into the stadium

Also at the grounds is the enormous Kongresshalle, inspired by the Coloseum in Rome, but was never finished. Located across the lake - it still cuts an imposing figure even today.

At the base of the Kongresshalle is the Dokumentationzentrum, a museum that chronicles the rise of the NSDAP and the Rallies themselves - as well as some information about their crimes. It was interesting to have a museum that focussed less on the crimes of the Nazi Party, and more about the reasons as to why they came about - and how they influenced public opinion.

Heading back into town, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a cafe, before heading to the Nuremberg Justiceplatz - the home of Courtroom 600 - where the Nazi Party Leadership was trialled in 1945.

While the Courtroom is still a functioning court - we were lucky that no trials were being held today, and were granted access to the very room in which sat war criminals like Hermann Goring, Albert Speer and Rudolph Hess - the Kommandant of Auschwitz. While the courtroom no longer looks the way that it did during the trials (it has been converted back to its original form after the temporary works conducted on it to fit the enormous space required for the trials) it still retains the sense of atmosphere that must have been there during the trials.

An excellent museum located one floor above covered how the Court came into being - how it conducted itself - the fate of those indicted - as well as a history of international law in itself. As someone who has harboured ambitions of perhaps becoming an international criminal lawyer (despite recently accepting a place to study medicine...) it was intensely fascinating to see all of this right in front of me. For Mum - who never studied any of this in history - it was probably all slightly overwhelming to digest the amount of information presented at the museum, but I found it a thoroughly engaging and thought-provoking experience. Most interesting I found was the arguments that the defence counsel made, which I don't have time to explain here - but I would strongly recommend that you do some research on your own (again - once Wikipedia is back up and running!!).

We headed back into the Altstadt of Nuremberg and began to explore the town. I'm not really 100% sure of the things we saw - but we saw a church...

A town square with another church...

The Flagship store of Staedler - which is manufactured in Nuremberg! How exciting!!!!

An old folks home on the river...

We then walked up the hill to the castle - which unfortunately is mostly closed in winter - but it did offer an amazing view over the city.

We then bought some gingerbread (how touristy!) and some toys and clocks (how even more touristy!!!), before enjoying an Italian meal looking over the town square.