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Having left the boat back in Regensburg we boarded a tour bus to Nuremberg. If you spend any time in Europe you’ll see these huge tour buses that somehow manage to navigate the narrow streets. I really have no idea how they do it.
Note that the fastest thing on the road in Iceland is a tour bus. We were once driving a winding road between Reykjavík and one of the tourist spots when we saw this thing in our rearview mirror. A huge tour bus heeling over in the turns like a three-masted clipper ship and then quickly overtaking us. NAFD- No Apparent Fear of Death.
It was maybe an hour and a half drive to Nuremburg but we still stopped at a truck stop along the autobahn. The rest stop was as clean and efficient as everything else in Germany. Since this was a Sunday, the trucks are not allowed to drive in Germany (yes really). The truck stop was full of trucks and cars full of what I assumed were families visiting the drivers. I even saw one or two trucks that had laundry hung out to dry.
One thing you need to remember about most German cities is that what you see was probably rebuilt in the years after World War II. Most of them got flattened by American and British bombs or by Soviet artillery. Because Nazis. More on them later.
Nazis! I hate these guys!
Indiana Jones
Nuremberg was no exception. According to one of our tour guides roughly 80 percent of the city was destroyed by Allied bombing. This is what Nuremberg looked like in 1945.
After the war some German cities were rebuilt with modern architecture while others were restored to their former look.
I’ve seen enough castles in Europe to last me a while but I did learn something interesting here. You can tell the original stones from the newer replacements by the holes where they used tongs to lift them into place. Also the “1946” is a dead giveaway.
The castle walls encircle a big part of the old city.
One of the castle towers in the background. It’s pretty common to see Mercedes taxis in Europe.
The tour has us staying at the Meridian Grand Hotel, which is right across from the main train station. The hotel was practically deserted due to Covid.
My conversation with the tour guide went something like this:
“I’m going over to the train station to get a cup of coffee.”
“Don’t go to the train station! It’s too dangerous!”
“I’m from Chicago. Exactly what kind of danger are we talking about?”
“Oh”
I’ve never had any trouble in a European train station although you do need to be careful of pickpockets. I also have found a bike lock is useful for securing my suitcase to something stationary so that someone can’t just grab it and run off.
The main station in Nuremberg is practically a shopping mall on the lower level.
Time to talk about the Nazis. Yeah, those guys. While Nuremberg is a beautiful city it comes with a very ugly past.
The first thing we toured was the Zeppelinfeld “Zeppelin Field” where the Nazi party rallies were held. It’s been called that since 1909 when Count von Zeppelin himself landed an airship there.
In the years since the war it has been used as a football field, a campground and a racetrack. You probably know it from the huge Nazi rallies that were held there.
Oops! I mean the other Nazi rallies.
There has been some controversy as to what should be done with the site, which has decayed badly in the years since. I think turning it into a gay synagogue would be nice touch but it will be preserved in its current state as a memorial and educational center.
This is how it looked back in 1938.
These structures that look like bunkers actually housed the bathrooms. 150,000 people have to go somewhere. The structures would have had flags on the roof as shown in the 1938 picture.
Here is some gratuitous footage of American troops blowing the swastika off the grandstands in 1945. It’s the feel-good movie of the year!
Nazi symbols destroyed (Source Wiki)
Next stop was the Kongresshalle (Congress Hall). Never finished, the Congress Hall was supposed to look like the Roman Coliseum but much larger of course. They had a weird size fixation along with all their other faults.
Today the building houses a museum depicting the crimes of the Nazis. The museum is definitely worth seeing, if you can stomach it.
I will admit that I had a very rough time of it. I became visibly agitated, fighting back tears of sadness, horror and blind rage. The tour guide (a very nice expat from the UK) actually thought I might be having a heart attack.
After assuring him I was in good health, I told him through clenched teeth: “Looking at this makes me want to climb into a B-17 or a Lancaster and bomb the f*ck out of those people.”
The story has a happy ending, however. After this we got to tour the courthouse where we tried the bastards.
Above the courthouse is a museum dedicated to the Nuremberg Trials. If you’re in Nuremberg it’s well worth the visit.
Note that the Soviets just wanted to hang all these guys and be done with it. Very practical bunch those Soviets.
I asked where they carried out the executions and was told that they set up a temporary gallows in a gymnasium, long since demolished. Now in general I am against the death penalty, but I’ll make an exception for crimes against humanity. If you ask me these guys got off way easier than a lot of their victims did.
We did get a rare privilege on this tour. Courtroom 600 was not in use that day so we were allowed to take a peak at it. The people you see standing there were rehearsing a play I was told.
So the good guys won, evil was defeated and the Nazis were never heard from again — oh wait.
I will say one thing for the Germans. They do a much better job of confronting their past than we do. I don’t recall seeing any memorials to the Wehrmacht or statues of Nazi generals in the town square. No pickup trucks with Nazi flags driving through the streets.*
*Yes I know, das ist verboten.
After seeing enough history for one day we did a little sightseeing and shopping.
Note the very tall “cherry picker” next to the cathedral tower. These historic buildings require constant upkeep.
Same church in 1945.
I quite enjoyed Nuremberg despite its dark past. Next stop — Prague.