Bratwurst, bratwurst and more bratwurst!

Sunday, November 20, 2016
Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany
Two very full flights but pretty uneventful. With a 45-minute delay out of BWI, all it meant was a shorter layover in Newark.

On the flight to Munich we had a nice dinner, movies, and Brennan got over three hours of sleep . G&G, not so lucky. Brennan slept through breakfast but we saved a couple of yogurts for him which he ate on the drive to Nuremberg.

We got into Munich about 30 minutes early, before 7:00. We had not checked our bags so we were through immigration, customs and car rental really quickly and on our way by 8:00.

The Budget rental agent asked if we wanted a GPS for 60 euro, and we opted for it. We would have found Nuremberg without it, but probably not the Jacobmarkt Hotel! As it turned out, the car had a navigation system, but it was all in German, so in the end we are happy we have the portable English version.

Being daylight, we had a pretty drive through the 150 kilometers of rolling hills through forest and farmland. One of the most obvious cash crops is hops. They had been harvested, but still the all long ago harvested, the 30 foot high trestle racks were impressive.

The 8-lane autobahn was pretty empty on a Sunday morning and at 70+ mph we made good time on the speed-limit-free highway, those that whizzed by at 100 mph, did better .

We were in Nuremberg and the Jacobsmarkt by 9:30, much too early to check-in. With free parking at the hotel, we left the car and headed into this beautiful walled city. This was kind of like a coming home after spending over two years here back in the 70's. The sights of medieval churches, arched bridges, and castles, had not changed. What caught us a little by surprise was that most of the shops and restaurants were closed on Sunday. We had not remembered that.

By noon, the many pedestrian streets and walks were full but all just window shopping. The restaurants that were open were very busy. After pictures and a stop at the Visitor Information, our first sit down was for some food and a hot drink at a pastry/sandwich shop.

As planned, we went to the Toy Museum. Nuremberg has been a center for toy making since toys were first widely manufactured back in the 18th century. This museum had four flours of every type of toy . The earliest ones, all handmade of natural material, wood being the most common.

After about two hours, we were toyed out and we went on a search for the famous Nuremberg bratwurst. Up near the Castle and the Albrect Durer House, we found and settled on the Altstadthof.

What a great choice! We ordered a plate of 12 bratwurst w/bread, a kids spƤtzle and a couple of dark beers. We had arrived! Brennan had water but did try a sip of beer -- not a fan.

Despite the shops not being open, the street entertainers were out. There was a puppeteer who was great (he played great music while the marionette played the violin and danced). There was also a guy who was blowing gigantic bubbles with a rope-like contraption. Brennan chased the bubbles all over the pedestrian street. We were also serenaded by several street musicians.

With jet lag and no sleep, we headed to the hotel for a nap . The three hours did wonders and we were back into the old city before 7:00. While walking in the afternoon, it was clear the city was getting ready for the Christkindle Market that would kick off on Friday. In the afternoon, booths were being set up and Christmas lights and decorations were everywhere. Going out at night we expected to see everything lit, but, unfortunately, not til Friday.

It didn't stop us from having a bratwurst sandwich and a gluhwein and hot kinder punch. We had dinner at the Barfuber. This is a huge basement beer hall that we visited with Sue's parents, Dorothy and Leander, back in 1975. We shared dinner orders of wiener snitzle and rouladen; of course, washed down with a dark beer and a Fanta orange soda.

By 10:00 we were back at the Jacobsmarkt for a FaceTime call to Bligh and Dan. The jet lag had us in bed pretty quickly after.

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