Road Trip to Germany: Part III

For our main sightseeing event in Nuremberg, we went to the Nazi rally grounds. We could have fit more sightseeing into the day, but the guys (who are experts at land navigation and certainly know how to read a map) led us in the completely opposite direction.  So what was supposed to be a quick subway ride turned into a subway ride, an hour of wandering through a random park wondering where in the world we were, asking a very nice lady (who spoke no English) for directions, eventually realizing we were in the wrong part of town, another subway ride, and finally a tram ride to the rally grounds.  All part of the adventure, and we had a nice little tour of the city along the way.

The rally grounds are actually quite extensive, although a lot has been destroyed or covered over.  We only looked at the Congress Hall, which was designed to hold 50,000 people.  It's a huge structure, and even though it was never finished, it is a powerful reminder of the events that took place.

With all the walking, not to mention all the extra walking we had done through random parts of the city earlier, we were more than ready for a lunch break.  Obviously, this meant bratwursts.  I got mine with the most delicious potato salad ever made, while Donovan chose the sauerkraut (and then sneaked bites of potato salad off my plate).

After we refueled, the guys decided it would be a good idea to round out our sightseeing excursion by paddle-boating around the lake.  Once out on the water though, we realized paddle-boating is actually sort of boring, but we did get some nice views of the outside of the Congress Hall (which is much nicer to look at than the inside) and some cute duck families.  Not the worst way to spend half an hour.

Road Trip to Germany: Part II

After our morning of wandering through the Weiden market, we packed up the car again and drove to the city of Nuremberg (or Nürnberg).  After checking into our hotel, which was conveniently just across the street from the old part of the city, and fueled by our delicious picnic lunch of pretzels, salami, and copious amounts of fresh fruit, we set out to see what the city had to offer.

St. Lorenz church

The river

Hospital of the Holy Spirit, where lepers where once kept

Don't let the blue skies in the photos above fool you, two seconds later it started pouring down rain.  Luckily we had a nice view of the river while we waited.

The rain

After the rain let up, and with a quick break to refuel with bratwurst, pretzels, and beer, we continued our exploration.

Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady)

The Imperial Castle, which overlooks the city

The guys.  And no, Darby is not smoking, she just likes to chew on anything she finds on the ground.  Silly puppy.

Overlooking the city

At dinner

Road Trip to Germany - Part I

This past weekend, a friend (Jessica) and I took an impromptu trip to Germany.  Both of our husbands are up there for training, and with a long weekend for them we took advantage and joined them for a few days.  Trading 95+ degree temps in Italy for the much cooler and much more enjoyable weather in Germany was just extra incentive.  Another perk was that Donovan and I got to spend a tiny bit of my birthday together for once.  He's been gone for most of the important days over the last several years, so getting to celebrate together was extra special.  All this to say, we had plenty of good reasons to make the drive.  And so, with Darby the puppy as our sidekick, we set out on a girls road trip.

What was supposed to be a six-and-a-half hour drive turned into more like eight or nine hours, thanks to rain and heavy traffic, but we made it with just enough time to pick up the guys from the barracks, check into our hotel, and grab some dinner.  After resting up from the long drive, we got up in the morning ready to go.  We stayed in the adorable town of Weiden, and we were lucky enough to be there the morning they had a market.  Unlike the crazy and chaotic markets of Italy, this one was calm, ordered, and lovely.  We wandered through, took a quick cappuccino break, and then bought food for a picnic lunch.  I couldn't have picked a better start to our Germany vacation!

Beautiful flowers at the market

Just a few examples of the many fruit options

No morning is complete without a cappuccino

Birthday apple strudel - best way to celebrate

All the windows had lovely flowers

The guys

Jessica and her husband (and Darby) in line for some salami