Spread the love

















In January, I made a trip to Scotland to go “castle shopping” for Bear and Blair’s wedding next year. After Blair had to head back for the start of a new semester, B and I had a few days before I came back to the U.S., so I decided to catch a cheap Eurowing flight from Glasgow to Germany. (I will be doing a full post later about budget airfare- the tickets cost us less than $50!) My brother is retired from military service, and he and his amazing girlfriend, Ebru live in Vilseck, in the Bavarian region of Germany. One of the things B and I love about Europe is that it is fairly easy to navigate through out the entire area. I took an easy small flight from Glasgow into Düsseldorf, and then on to to Nuremberg, where Ebru and Will met us.

Our plane in Düsseldorf

Since we were visiting mid-week, there was a day that both Ebru and Will were needed in the office, and we had a day to explore on our own. Ebru dropped us off at the small train station on her way to work, and we were off on our day’s adventures. I am one of those slightly crazy people who love the romance of trains and planes, (and ships!) because they can take you anywhere in the world. Frequently, I refer to my passport as my flying carpet, because “it can show me the world.” (Sing that in your best Aladdin voice.)

On the morning of our trip, Vilseck woke up covered in a beautiful layer of freshly- fallen snow, and we boarded the train for Nuremberg, with a beautiful Bavarian Winter Wonderland passing before our train window. I enjoy trying to make the journey as much fun as the destination, so we settled in for a short train ride, and enjoyed the scenery of the tiny towns and wooden areas we were traveling through. We got so caught up in the wonderful sights, that the hour- long ride passed very quickly.

Our view from the train window

We didn’t really have a plan of what we intended to do for the day, B and I tend to just let our feet decide which direction we are going to go. We love to explore the touristy things, but we also try to embrace some local treasures.Once we got to the train station in the center of Nuremberg, we walked out the closest exit, and headed toward a old stone building across from the station. Imagine my excitement when we realized that stone building was one of the towers from the old walled city. As we walked through the old stone arches that once held the gates to the city, we walked directly into the Handwerkerhof Nurnberg! This was the craftsman’s courtyard, a medieval market that holds quaint shops of traditional Bavarian wares, and lovely little rustic restaurants.

One of Nuremberg’s towers

Sign for the craftsman’s courtyard

Through the old city gates

In the Handwerkerhof Nuremberg

a picturesque little shop

As we walked through the cobblestoned streets, we discovered surprises at every turn, and had a blast just exploring the city together. At mid-afternoon, we ducked into the most amazing little place for a late lunch. Der Nassauer Keller is reached by going through an arched door at ground level, and going through a tunnel-like staircase that leads into a traditional Bavarian cellar! The restaurant is housed in the cellar of Nassauer Haus, the only remaining residential tower in Nuremberg. It was built into the wall of the medieval city in the 12th century, when many such towers existed. Der Nassauer Keller had a great old-world atmosphere, and served up wonderful traditional German sausages and Monchsfof bier! It was a great accidental experience!

A classic Bavarian beer cellar

Down stairs through the tunnel

In the cellar

Monchshof local brew

Are you hungry yet?

As we walked through town, we came across St. Sebaldus Church, which is covered with absolutely beautiful stone fresco work, protected by metal gating. The carving work is absolutely beautiful, and while parts of it we damaged during World War II, much of the artisans work survived. It always amazes me how intricate the stone carvings from medieval period can be, and how much care and time must have gone into their creation.

Beautiful Carving

Nuremberg is home to the world’s largest Christkindlesmarkt, or Christmas Market. From early November until Christmas Eve each year, the streets of Nuremberg’s Old Town becomes Christmas Central, with hundreds of shops and tons of traditional decorations. Even though we were past the traditional Christmas season, there were still remnants of the decorations in place throughout Old Town, and the giant Weinsnachtspyramide, or Christmas pyramid, was still in place in the square. This little holiday left-over put a big smile on my face, since it felt like it allowed Christmas to last a little longer for us. (There is never TOO much Christmas in the Bitencourt house.) I also took photos at one of Nuremberg’s popular Christmas stores, Kathe Wohlfahrts, with a giant Nutcracker, just for my grandson, Blayne, who is our family nutcracker collector.

Christkindlemarkt Square

A closeup of the weinsnachtspyramide

After taking pictures at the sight of the Christmas market, we decided to actually go explore the castle. We wound our way up the hill, and towards the large stone towers of Nuremberg’s Imperial Castle. This castle has been home to Germany’s kings since they were named as Holy Roman Emperors by the Pope at the time of their coronation. Construction on the oldest part of the castle began in 1025 AD, literally 7 CENTURIES before the start of the American Revolution. The city here still feels very medieval in many areas, and much like the castle itself, shows signs of new building and construction from several different periods in history.

Going up the hill to the CASTLE!

One of the castle gates

A bit of scaffolding, but still wonderful!

In the castle courtyard

Even though they were doing maintenance on portions of the castle’s walls, we were able to wander about and explore much of the castle grounds on our own. We saw lots of nooks and crannies, and enjoyed the wonderful views created by the fact the castle is located at the highest point, in the center of the ancient city. They even had viewing scopes located along the castle walls, to enable visitors to view different cathedral spires and buildings located all over the region. I love castles, so this was one of my favorite parts of the afternoon. We really enjoy getting to see the way that different regions and countries each have unique architecture, even if the castles are of the same period. I guess I’m a little girl at heart, because I can always imagine being at court in these beautiful old places.

A tunnel in Nuremberg Castle

After we left the castle, we walked back down the street, and headed back towards St. Sebalduskirche (St. Sebaldus Church) and went through the churchyard.The church was originally built as a Romanesque basilica in 1225. It has been a Lutheran church since the Reformation. It has had a pipe organ since the 1500’s and once hailed Johann Pachelbel as it’s resident organist. I LOVE this fact, since I walked down the aisle to Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”

St. Sebalduskirche

Another view of St Sebalduskirche

Since we still wanted to visit family back in Vilseck that evening, we chose to head back to the train station after exploring the church. We got to encounter Nuremberg’s Central Station at the height of rush hour, but even with lots of hustle and bustle going on, it was very easy to navigate to the needed track to return to Vilseck. After a quick train ride, we were back at Ebru and Will’s home (along with King Richard, their French Bulldog.) Our day in Nuremberg was much too short- we will plan for a longer visit next time!

King Richard