Anecdotes, Antidotes, and Anodes

Nuremberg Part 5: St. Sebald

St. Sebaldus Church (St. Sebald, Sebalduskirche) is a medieval church  in Nuremberg, Germany.   It takes its name from Sebaldus, an 8th century hermit and missionary and patron saint of Nuremberg. It has been a Lutheran parish church since the Reformation.

The construction of the building began in 1225, and the church achieved parish church status in 1255.  It was completed by 1273-75.

The church suffered serious damage during World War II and was subsequently reconstructed. Some of the old interior did survive, including the Shrine of St. Sebaldus, works by Veit Stoss and the stained glass windows.

Along with Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church) and St Lorenz, it is one of the most important churches of the city, and also one of the oldest.

It was originally built as a Romanesque basilica with two choirs.

The sunshine, which was a welcome sight, added a different effect to the church, along with the steam that wafted past the choirs.

The two choirs can be seen from all over the city.  They stand here just past a glimpse of a Christmas Pyramid (Weihnachtspyramide) and the beautiful fountain (Schöner Brunnen.)

It is located at the Albrecht-Dürer-Platz, in front of the old city hall.
It is especially beautiful at night.

The following photos do not do the inside of the church any justice but worth posting. . .

Several important composers occupied the post of organist.  One of my favorites,  Johann Pachelbel, was there from 1695-1706.  His son, Wilhelm Hieronymus Pachelbel also played at St. Sebald.

I found it ironic that there were 26 candles burning here...the same number of those killed at Sandy Hook, the day we visited this church.

One of my favorite photos of St. Sebald is this one...theHansMan meeting a fellow Lions' Club member.

Nuremberg Part 4: Zeppelin Field

 

Entrance to Zeppelin Tribüne and Golden Hall
(photo taken from the street)

The photograph above shows the rear of the reviewing stand built in 1934 at the Zeppelin Field in Nürnberg, Germany for Hitler's Nazi party rallies. On the far right is the front entrance to the Golden Hall, which has been converted into a museum called Faszination und Gewalt (Fascination and Violence).

Also seen in the photo above is the modern sculpture, constructed out of salvage from World War II and spray-painted battleship gray, which stands in front of the Museum. Hitler favored classical art and deplored this kind of modern art, which he referred to as "degenerate art." It has often been said that the winners write the history of a war; the winners also build the monuments, so the memorial artwork at all the World War II historical places is the opposite of what Hitler admired.

The marble reviewing stand at the Zeppelin Field, shown in the photograph above, is the place where the Nazi swastika was blown up by the Allies in a symbolic display of victory over the Nazis on April 24, 1945.

These stands are where the Nazi dignitaries sat and enormous flags with the swastika emblem were displayed.  Now the former parade ground has been turned into a soccer field.

On the central promontory, which is the speaker's stand where Hitler used to give his speeches, you can still make out the faint outline of another swastika which was removed from the marble by the American military.

Inside the Golden Hall, a gold mosaic swastika has been left on the ceiling as a grim reminder of Germany's dark past.

It was an eerie feeling walking up these steps knowing that Hilter walked up them, too.

Standing where Hilter addressed the multitudes. 

 

You can see the stands over a quarter of a mile away.

This is what Hitler saw when he stood at the speaker's stand.

The field that stretched before him was filled with 100,000 marching soldiers and there was a capacity crowd of 340,000 spectators.

The door from which Hilter emerged and walked down the steps to his podium.

In the video below you can see where there was once a large swastika just above that door.

Evidence of previous Nazi symbols having been 'erased.'

The three divisions that fought in the battle of Nuremberg were the 3rd, the 42nd and the 45th Infantry divisions. The 42nd Rainbow Division and the 45th Thunderbird division went on to liberate the Dachau concentration camp on April 29, 1945.

The Battle of Nuremberg was given great importance by the American military because it "was in the eyes of the Americans nothing less than the sacred home of National Socialism."

 

 

The destruction of the hated Nazi swastika emblem, encircled by a gold-plated laurel wreath, took place four days after three divisions of the American Seventh Army had captured the city of Nuremberg on April 20, 1945, which happened to be Hitler's 56th birthday.

On the day that the swastika was blown up, the victorius Americans held their third victory parade on the Zeppelin field.

Even though it was a memorable experience to visit this place, there was an ominous feeling surrounding me.

Even the clouds felt it.

Nuremberg Part 3: Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände

The Nazi party rally grounds (German, Reichsparteitagsgelände; Literally:Reich Party Congress Grounds) covered about 11 square kilometres in the southeast of Nuremberg Germany. Six Nazi party rallies were held there between 1933 and 1938.

The vast unfinished building complex in the southern part of town dates from the Nazi era, its construction began in 1933 and it was intended to be a venue for National Party gatherings. The building now house a historical exhibition and archive.

 

Must admit, museums tend to overwhelm me as I don't retain much information auditorily or visually. There's just too much there to process, so here are just a few pictures from the Documentation Centre in Nuremberg.

The outside walls resemble Rome's Colosseum.  H-m-m-m.

This photo gives an 'aerial' view of the place.

Entering  this long hallway . . .

. . .  was very disconcerting realizing that each one of those cards lying on the tracks represented 100 Jews who were killed during this time.

This is Charlie listening to the audio as we stood outside and. . .

looked down at the field.

As we left, there was a knot in the pit of my stomach.

That's about all I have to say about this.

 

Nuremberg: Part 2

Come on  along for some more sight-seeing in Nuremberg . . .

The Nuremberg Kinderweihnacht is the children’s market and has an old-fashioned carousel, ferris wheel and steam train. The Nativity scene trail runs between the two markets.

The Christmas Angel opens Nuremberg’s famous Christkindlesmarkt on Hauptmarkt square in the old quarter. Medieval charm surrounds you along with the aroma of gingerbread, Nuremberg bratwurst and glühwein. 

A Christmas Pyramid (German: Weihnachtspyramide) is a Christmas decoration that has its roots in th Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) of Germany, but has become popular throughout the country. It is suggested that the Christmas pyramid is a predecessor of the Christmas tree

Before we spend too much time sightseeing, don't forget to have plenty of Euros in your pocket just in case you need to visit the WC.

The Frauenkirche (in English, "Church of Our Lady") is one of the churches in Nuremburg. It stands on the eastern side of the main market. An example of brick Gothic architecture, it was built on the initiative of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor between 1352 and 1362.

 

Schöner Brunnen (beautiful fountain) is a 14th Century fountain located on Nuremburg's main market next to the town hall and is considered one of the main attractions of the city's Historical Mile. The fountain is approximately 19 meters high and has the shape of a Gothic spire.

The two brass rings embedded in the fence surrounding the fountain on opposite sides are said to bring good luck to those who spin them.

 

 

Lebkuchen has been mentioned in an earlier post, but it bears repeating !  Some has a cake-like texture but my favorite has a chewy inside with a crusty outside and a fondant-type icing on the bottom.  It is especially tasty when eaten warm and with a cup of hot Glühwein.(Pronounced "glowvine" . . . or something like that.)

 

As you can see in this photo, EVERYONE has a cup of Glühwein.  

Glühwein is a hot mulled wine, semi-sweet with lots of spices.

Some people, whose name won't be mentioned, but his initials are H.A.N.S., like his Glühwein with a 'dash' of rum.

 
It makes strolling around 100's of booths and through a crowd of 1,000's of people more tolerable.

In case you can't visualize just how many people are here, this photo might help.

Famous War at Nuremberg...aka: Snowball Fight with Pops

But first a question:  Nuremburg or Nuremberg ?  

Nuremberg Castle (German: Nürnberger Burg) is a historical building on a sandstone rock in the north of the historical city of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. It comprises three sections: the imperial castle ("Kaiserburg"), some buildings of the Burgraves of Nuremberg ("Burggrafenburg"), and the municipal buildings of the Imperial City at the eastern site ("Reichsstädtische Bauten"). The castle together with the city wall is meant to be one of Europe's most considerable medieval weir systems.

Today you will experience a much less intense battle than what was fought here at Nuremberg Castle years ago.

A snowball fight . . .

Pops positions himself here.

The grandchildren (allies of Pops) climb up the slippery slope to launch snowballs at those of us down hill.

Loading up with arsenal.

Incoming.

Charlie fires first.

Pops takes aim.

Misses.

And . . .

 

. . . reloads.

Harrison fires a shot while Reese helps Pops. 

Charlie is ready to fire next.

Appears to be a mutiny taking shape. 

Pops is down.

Charlie attacks and dismantles Pops headgear.

Reese is laughing herself silly.

Harrison appears to be getting more ammunition.

Memo #1 to Ben:  You need gloves.

Memo #2 to Ben:  Your vantage point at the bottom of the hill is not ideal.

Pops and allies surveying their damage.

Pops appears to have sprouted red antlers.

Ben fires a shot . . . uphill.

Reese appears to have changed sides.

At this point, it's very difficult to know who's on whose side.

Ready.

Fire.

Aim.

This is what happens when mutiny is declared on Pops.

*********

After the snowball fight, it was time to try and take a "phamily photo."
 
Come on, kids.

Come on, Charlie . . .

Come on, Charlie . . .

Come on, Charlie. . .

Eins . . . !

Zwie . . . !

Drei !!!!

(Now excuse me while I go Photoshop Harrison's boot out of the foreground.)

 

Nuremberg: Part 1

Ida's father, Madison's friend, greeted us when we finally found our way through the Frankfort Airport.  A person could spend days there aimslessly wandering around trying to find the ausfahrt.

We parted ways as Madison headed north on the train to see Ida, and we headed south to Landstuhl.

We were up early the next morning and drove to Nuremberg to wait on a friend at the bahnhof.

Nuremberg is a city in the German state of Bavaria,  in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz River and the Rhine-Maine, Danube Canal, it is located about 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city.

Christkindlesmarkt Nürnberg (Christmas Market Nuremberg)

Every year, people from all over the world visit what is probably Germany's most famous Christmas Market on Nuremberg's Main Market Square. On the Friday before the first Sunday in Advent, the Nuremberg Christmas Angel opens the market with her solemn prologue spoken from the gallery of Our Lady's Church. The Christmas Market with about 180 wooden booths deliberately restricts itself to traditional Christmas goods: spicy gingerbread, Zwetschgenmännle (little prune people), roast sausages, mulled wine (Gluhwein), toys, Christmas decorations and arts and crafts attract about 2 million visitors to the market every year. (I think all 2 million were there when we visited.) All around the world-famous Christmas Market, a huge variety of other things get visitors in the Advent mood. This is why the German Tourist Office chose Nuremberg as Germany's "Number One Christmas City."

Come along for the first part of our trek through the Christkindlesmarkt.

The gingerbread is great if you like the taste of fruit cake batter without all the fruit. It's gooey in the middle, crusty on the outside, and on the bottom has a hardened icing much like fondant.
I liked it !

Most of their ornaments are made from something natural.

Our friend, Alfred Oest, who lives in Germany met us in Nuremberg and was a wonderful tour guide.

The fam.

The fam plus Pops and Gammy.

Our first experience with Gluhwein !  theHansMan chooses Alpenpower which has a shot of rum in it.  Maybe he'll drink me pretty.

Alfred explaining all the choices on the Gluhwein menu.

Hans and Alfred.

 

We'll end this post with . . .

 

Are we having fun yet ?

Germany will never be the same.

 

 

New York City: Day 4

Our last day meant riding the Staten Island Ferry and spending it with friends there. 

Yes, the photo of Manhatten is blurry but not bad considering it was taken from an aisle seat with an itty bitty camera. 

 

When we woke up from the eight-hour flight . . .

. . . this  and . . .

this was our view :  Frankfort, Germany.

New York City: Day 3

Day three in New York City went something like this . . .

We started out in Bryant Park and had a Belgian Waffle smeared with Nutella and Caramel.  There was something call Spekuloos, not to be confused with Sploosh out of "Holes," so we passed on that flavor.  However, the taste-test proved to be a combination of salty peanuts. Not bad. My taste buds were balking because they remembered the awful  Vegemite, and were not willing to stomach that awful paste that was like biting into a salty liquid vitamin.

 

After Madison did a bit of shopping at H&M and Steve Madden, we headed on a walk that included seeing The Chrysler Building, Grand Central Station which houses a huge Apple Store, a brief glimpse of The Empire State Building, and the sun shining on 6th Avenue which is a rare sight.

It also included lunch at the Ipanema Brazilian Restaurant with good friends.

Looking one direction . . .

. . . and then the other.

 

As day turned to night, we continued our trek past the Christmas tree again.  No, we didn't go to see David Letterman, but that is on the list of things to do in a future trip.  We did see The Jersey Boys for the third time !  Yes, we love Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons' music.  Ever wondered why he spells his name with an "I" instead of a "Y?"  It's because "Y" is a confused letter and doesn't know if it's a vowel or a consonant.  Then to Carnegie Deli for about ten pounds of meat and cheesecake.  While heading to the subway back to the hotel, we had one more glimpse of Times Square.

 

Goodnight !

New York City: Day 2

Our day started by meeting good friends from Staten Island and visiting Freedom Tower.

The misty fog just added to the surrealness of the day.

If you do not know the story of Stephen Siller, you should.

There are names here whose families we have met . . .
So many people have rubbed their fingers over Todd Beamer's name, the finish has worn off.

Jeremy Glick . . .

Tom Burnett

THE TREE  is a symbol of hope . . . it survived.

Our friend, Angela !

Hans & our friend, Bill.  A retired NYC policeman/firefighter !

Still pumping water from Hurricane Sandy.  Many places are running on generators.

George Washington gave his farewell speech to his troops here.
We had bangers and mash and beer here.

Hurricane Sandy devastation.

Seaport.

A Zagat rated restaurant that still has water in it.

New York City: Day 1

 

Come on along with us on our first day in The Big Apple.

 It starts with riding the subway . . .

 

 

 
Figuring out which subway to get on first requires knowing where one is going. 
It helps to have a young person do that for you. 
In this case, our 17-year old granddaughter.

Our subway 'dropped us off' at Bryant Park.

We stayed long enough to watch the National Debt increase by about two-million dollars.

We were only there about 30 seconds because we were headed to Toys "R" Us.

 

There is a three-story ferris wheel inside the front door. 
Can you name all the 'cars?'

At first, this man was embarrassed because he was riding . . .

. . . in a pink Barbie car. 
But, after the whoops and hollers and cheers from the crowd, he decided it wasn't too bad after all.

There are huge Snickers Bars in this store.
It would take a gallon of milk to get this one down.

 

After playing in the biggest toy store of all, we found this place.

We each headed in different directions once we were inside.
Guess where we found Pops ?

This was the view from our seats which we considered the best in the house.
(First row of the mezzanine)
No  one walked in front of us and we had plenty of leg room.

Someone couldn't wait to put on his 3-D glasses.

Even though our seats were great, we were quite a distance from the stage, so this photograph of Santa with his **ah-hem** reindeer isn't the best.

Santa is always the star of the show.

Well, so are the Rockettes who appear to be quite pale in this photograph.

It won't be difficult to tell which is my favorite part of the show !

I absolutely LOVE the Dance of the Toy Soldiers.

The next few photographs need no captions . . .

Merry Christmas to all . . . and to all a good night !

No trip to NYC would be complete without a little bit of shopping.

It's a really big tree ! 

And there are really tall buildings here.

Just being in St. Patrick's Cathedral . . .

. . . gives one a feeling of peace, calm, serenity . . .

Chestnuts were roasting on open fire.  The smell is divine.

Crystal trees are everywhere.

Any guesses what store we are in now !

A little MAC makeover is good for the soul.

Times Square never sleeps.

Our evening ended here with Simba, Mufasa, Sarabi,  Scar and the rest of the characters from The Lion King.

I loved all the characters, but my favorites were Timon and Zazu.

It was a long day . . . BUT, it was a fun day.