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Jan 5th, 2017, 11:01 AM
#81
Dec 14 –
A few loads of laundry + quite a bit of online research on train tickets = delay in getting out the door this morning.
Thinking we had it sorted, we walked to Rothenburgerstrasse station to buy train tickets at a ticket machine, but we couldn’t find the option we were looking for, so we took the easy way – we bought a 7 day MobiCard for 24.10 Euro, which gave us unlimited train transport in zone 100 and 200, thus removing the daily hassle factor.
Well, maybe not so easy, it took us several attempts and many ‘sh**s’ to henpeck our correctly spelled names onto the computer screen, but we finally got it right. Local transport solved.
We caught a train to Plarrer, got off to change trains, boarded another train... going in the wrong direction...sh** again. So we got off at the next stop and reversed direction. Evidently it was going to take us a few days to conquer the Nuremberg underground.
We finally reached Lorenzkirche, which deposited us almost at the door of our destination, St Lorenz Kirche, where we were treated to a 30 minute organ concert (donation). St Lorenz is home to the largest organ in a German protestant church with some 12,156 pipes - we thoroughly enjoyed being blasted out of our pew.
We next caught a train to the Hauptbahnhof, got on S2 to Dutzendteisch station, and walked to the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände (Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds). Dukey had suggested we visit while in Nuremberg. I’d balked, but he was right, this is not something visitors should miss:
http://museums.nuremberg.de/documentation-centre/
We paid our 5 Euro per person admission, collected English audio guides and spent the next two hours walking through the exhibits. Had we known how big the museum is and how long it takes to listen to the explanation of each individual exhibit (lots of standing), we’d have visited twice, allowing two hours each time. As it was, we were tired about halfway through the exhibits, so had to skip through quite a bit of the second half. The Dokumentationszentrum is informative and disturbing - as is everything relating to Hitler - it left quite an impression. Thanks for the nudge Dukey.
After a long cold wait at Dutzendteisch station* (thankful we’d worn our lined pants and warm jackets), we returned to the Hauptbahnhof, and, being in Indian food mode, we sought out an early dinner at Red Curry. It wasn’t what we had in mind, in fact, not Indian at all, instead food court, take-away style Thai. But, we were starving, helpful explanations were given in English and it did the trick – perfectly edible, albeit dumbed-down spice-wise, fast and cheap - 11.20 Euro.
*Speaking of cold, it’s 4F here in CO as I type this!
Stomachs lined, we popped into the first quiet place we stumbled upon for drinks, Luma, not realizing until later that it’s a Japanese Restaurant. We advised we just wanted a drink; we were warmly welcomed to a table near the bar. The atmosphere was very quiet, relaxing and upscale. We were told they didn’t have a drinks menu, but they had, and could make, pretty much everything. We decided on Riesling, deferring to our entertaining waiter to choose, (me forgetting to specify Trocken, so the wine was a bit sweet for my tastes, 21 Euro for two .3 liter portions).
Then it was off to wander the Christmas market and shops, sample the Baumkuchen with cinnamon (tasty), and work our way over to St Klara Kirche for a 7:30 pm Unity Singers concert that I’d sussed out. We knew from experience that St Klara isn’t a big church, so we rocked up early and watched the rehearsal.
We had good seats and the concert was enjoyable, much of it in English, but boy those pews got hard in a hurry. The singers wore rainbow colored scarves; they and their director seemed to have a grand old time and it was fun to watch (donation).
After the concert we popped into Paulaner for a nightcap – it was absolutely heaving and people were still coming in with reservations at 9:30 – no room at the inn, so we sat in small alcove near the door, sipping wine and watching group after group get turned away.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57678781392715
A few loads of laundry + quite a bit of online research on train tickets = delay in getting out the door this morning.
Thinking we had it sorted, we walked to Rothenburgerstrasse station to buy train tickets at a ticket machine, but we couldn’t find the option we were looking for, so we took the easy way – we bought a 7 day MobiCard for 24.10 Euro, which gave us unlimited train transport in zone 100 and 200, thus removing the daily hassle factor.
Well, maybe not so easy, it took us several attempts and many ‘sh**s’ to henpeck our correctly spelled names onto the computer screen, but we finally got it right. Local transport solved.
We caught a train to Plarrer, got off to change trains, boarded another train... going in the wrong direction...sh** again. So we got off at the next stop and reversed direction. Evidently it was going to take us a few days to conquer the Nuremberg underground.
We finally reached Lorenzkirche, which deposited us almost at the door of our destination, St Lorenz Kirche, where we were treated to a 30 minute organ concert (donation). St Lorenz is home to the largest organ in a German protestant church with some 12,156 pipes - we thoroughly enjoyed being blasted out of our pew.
We next caught a train to the Hauptbahnhof, got on S2 to Dutzendteisch station, and walked to the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände (Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds). Dukey had suggested we visit while in Nuremberg. I’d balked, but he was right, this is not something visitors should miss:
http://museums.nuremberg.de/documentation-centre/
We paid our 5 Euro per person admission, collected English audio guides and spent the next two hours walking through the exhibits. Had we known how big the museum is and how long it takes to listen to the explanation of each individual exhibit (lots of standing), we’d have visited twice, allowing two hours each time. As it was, we were tired about halfway through the exhibits, so had to skip through quite a bit of the second half. The Dokumentationszentrum is informative and disturbing - as is everything relating to Hitler - it left quite an impression. Thanks for the nudge Dukey.
After a long cold wait at Dutzendteisch station* (thankful we’d worn our lined pants and warm jackets), we returned to the Hauptbahnhof, and, being in Indian food mode, we sought out an early dinner at Red Curry. It wasn’t what we had in mind, in fact, not Indian at all, instead food court, take-away style Thai. But, we were starving, helpful explanations were given in English and it did the trick – perfectly edible, albeit dumbed-down spice-wise, fast and cheap - 11.20 Euro.
*Speaking of cold, it’s 4F here in CO as I type this!
Stomachs lined, we popped into the first quiet place we stumbled upon for drinks, Luma, not realizing until later that it’s a Japanese Restaurant. We advised we just wanted a drink; we were warmly welcomed to a table near the bar. The atmosphere was very quiet, relaxing and upscale. We were told they didn’t have a drinks menu, but they had, and could make, pretty much everything. We decided on Riesling, deferring to our entertaining waiter to choose, (me forgetting to specify Trocken, so the wine was a bit sweet for my tastes, 21 Euro for two .3 liter portions).
Then it was off to wander the Christmas market and shops, sample the Baumkuchen with cinnamon (tasty), and work our way over to St Klara Kirche for a 7:30 pm Unity Singers concert that I’d sussed out. We knew from experience that St Klara isn’t a big church, so we rocked up early and watched the rehearsal.
We had good seats and the concert was enjoyable, much of it in English, but boy those pews got hard in a hurry. The singers wore rainbow colored scarves; they and their director seemed to have a grand old time and it was fun to watch (donation).
After the concert we popped into Paulaner for a nightcap – it was absolutely heaving and people were still coming in with reservations at 9:30 – no room at the inn, so we sat in small alcove near the door, sipping wine and watching group after group get turned away.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57678781392715
Jan 5th, 2017, 09:03 PM
#82
<Speaking of cold, it’s 4F here in CO as I type this!>
We just hit 42C in my suburb, Mel, you know it's hot when you burn your hands on the car steering wheel, even though you protect it with a towel
We just hit 42C in my suburb, Mel, you know it's hot when you burn your hands on the car steering wheel, even though you protect it with a towel
Jan 6th, 2017, 05:20 AM
#83
St Lorenz is home to the largest organ in a German protestant church with some 12,156 pipes - we thoroughly enjoyed being blasted out of our pew.>>
sounds fun. We happened across organ recitals a couple of times the last time we were in Germany and the playing was excellent.
thanks for the photos!
sounds fun. We happened across organ recitals a couple of times the last time we were in Germany and the playing was excellent.
thanks for the photos!
Jan 6th, 2017, 06:18 AM
#84
Adelaidean - 42C - yikes! It's -5F here this morning, but cozy indoors. I don't even have to go outside, although we might go out for a walk later today, if the wind isn't blowing. We're so glad we have heated seats in the car. A heated steering wheel would be lovely.
Stay cool down there, if that's even possible. I feel you pain, I really do. We suffered through our seven Australia summers.
I burnt my hands on my steering wheel (and by inadvertently touching the car) a few times in Kuwait. My solution was to use one of those terry steering wheel covers, although you could still get burned opening the door. Maybe oven mitts?
We used to open all the doors of the car before we climbed in to 'let the heat out'. Never worked.
annhig - I was more organized this year - I didn't want to miss any promising concerts while we were in town, so I'd scoped out several concerts in advance and put them on the calendar, so we knew about the organ concert ahead of time. It was on every day through Advent at 1215.
I did make a few blunders though, thanks to my fine German skills.
Stay cool down there, if that's even possible. I feel you pain, I really do. We suffered through our seven Australia summers.
I burnt my hands on my steering wheel (and by inadvertently touching the car) a few times in Kuwait. My solution was to use one of those terry steering wheel covers, although you could still get burned opening the door. Maybe oven mitts?
We used to open all the doors of the car before we climbed in to 'let the heat out'. Never worked.
annhig - I was more organized this year - I didn't want to miss any promising concerts while we were in town, so I'd scoped out several concerts in advance and put them on the calendar, so we knew about the organ concert ahead of time. It was on every day through Advent at 1215.
I did make a few blunders though, thanks to my fine German skills.
Jan 6th, 2017, 08:21 AM
#85
Dec 15 –
The day began sunny, but didn’t last.
I wanted to buy some Christmas ornaments for family, so we did a wee bit of shopping on Konigstrasse, and wandered through the Christmas Market.
No trip to Nuremberg would be complete without three dainty Nuremberg sausages tucked into a roll and liberally smeared with mustard, so we shared one while watching a food vendor rotate skewered meat in a fryer, trying to guess what it might be (overhearing someone say ‘organ’ we assumed it was offal? Thanks, but no.)
After an ogle of the Schoner Braunnen (Beautiful Fountain) at the Hauptmarkt (the rings attached to the fence around the fountain are said to bring good luck to those who spin them - no, we didn’t), we walked up a rather steep hill to the Imperial Castle of Nuremburg.
http://www.kaiserburg-nuernberg.de/englisch/castle/
Wow. This is one impressive castle. It must be quite a sight when the gardens are in bloom. The large number of people discouraged us from going inside, but we thoroughly explored the exterior.
I’d read that the finest stretch of Nuremburg’s preserved circuit of walls is on the west side of town between the Spittlertor (one of four round main towers of the Nuremberg city fortification) and the former Maxtor, and that the best views of the walls, Old Town and Kaiserburg are from the Further Tor, so we set out to explore.
We walked a section of the north and the entire west length of the walls, wondering if the former moat (or what we thought was the former moat) might be the mysterious ‘between walls’ area where the prostitutes hang out. Today it was full of dog walkers.
A look at the map confirmed that we weren’t far from yet another Indian restaurant we’d scoped out – how convenient - so we made our way over to Taj Mahal Indische Spezialitaeten on Johannisstrasse. We were two of four customers and the service was glacially slow, but we had a nice meal, not our favorite, but nice enough – 40 Euro with drinks. Are you seeing a pattern here?
After a kip and a run to Lidl for more breakfast supplies, we returned to Old Town and the Christmas Market that evening - the police were highly visible with vehicles stationed at the entrances of the pedestrian zone. We shared a really good Falafel – who knew street food could be so good?
We poked through the walled Handiwerks Market and then went looking for a quiet, low key pub or bar away from the busyness. Bill spotted the promising Art + Business Hotel down a side street (Gleisbuhlstrasse), so we went to investigate and found the warm and inviting Art Bar – perfect. We settled in with some nice Gaudenz red and Ohne viel Worte, Silvaner white, which we sipped while gazing at three 50” plasma screens that displayed wood burning fires – hmmmm - it was oddly cozy, all that was missing was snow (and more comfortable furniture). We had the entire place to ourselves – lovely indeed - 13 Euro.
Then it was back to St Klara Kirche for a short concert, this time soloist Gabriele Schuh, Songs Aus Irland und Anderswo - soloist – beautiful.
Worn out, we retreated to our apartment in the Nuremburg Bronx. This big city was wearing us down. We’re not city people; neither of us can imagine a life of high density city living - too much togetherness.
While Old Town Nuremburg is well kept and well loved, some of the outlying areas (such as near the apartment) are not - practically every surface seemed covered in graffiti, walking to/from the railway station involved dodging overflowing trash bins and piles of litter. It was a bit disheartening.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57676870303732
The day began sunny, but didn’t last.
I wanted to buy some Christmas ornaments for family, so we did a wee bit of shopping on Konigstrasse, and wandered through the Christmas Market.
No trip to Nuremberg would be complete without three dainty Nuremberg sausages tucked into a roll and liberally smeared with mustard, so we shared one while watching a food vendor rotate skewered meat in a fryer, trying to guess what it might be (overhearing someone say ‘organ’ we assumed it was offal? Thanks, but no.)
After an ogle of the Schoner Braunnen (Beautiful Fountain) at the Hauptmarkt (the rings attached to the fence around the fountain are said to bring good luck to those who spin them - no, we didn’t), we walked up a rather steep hill to the Imperial Castle of Nuremburg.
http://www.kaiserburg-nuernberg.de/englisch/castle/
Wow. This is one impressive castle. It must be quite a sight when the gardens are in bloom. The large number of people discouraged us from going inside, but we thoroughly explored the exterior.
I’d read that the finest stretch of Nuremburg’s preserved circuit of walls is on the west side of town between the Spittlertor (one of four round main towers of the Nuremberg city fortification) and the former Maxtor, and that the best views of the walls, Old Town and Kaiserburg are from the Further Tor, so we set out to explore.
We walked a section of the north and the entire west length of the walls, wondering if the former moat (or what we thought was the former moat) might be the mysterious ‘between walls’ area where the prostitutes hang out. Today it was full of dog walkers.
A look at the map confirmed that we weren’t far from yet another Indian restaurant we’d scoped out – how convenient - so we made our way over to Taj Mahal Indische Spezialitaeten on Johannisstrasse. We were two of four customers and the service was glacially slow, but we had a nice meal, not our favorite, but nice enough – 40 Euro with drinks. Are you seeing a pattern here?
After a kip and a run to Lidl for more breakfast supplies, we returned to Old Town and the Christmas Market that evening - the police were highly visible with vehicles stationed at the entrances of the pedestrian zone. We shared a really good Falafel – who knew street food could be so good?
We poked through the walled Handiwerks Market and then went looking for a quiet, low key pub or bar away from the busyness. Bill spotted the promising Art + Business Hotel down a side street (Gleisbuhlstrasse), so we went to investigate and found the warm and inviting Art Bar – perfect. We settled in with some nice Gaudenz red and Ohne viel Worte, Silvaner white, which we sipped while gazing at three 50” plasma screens that displayed wood burning fires – hmmmm - it was oddly cozy, all that was missing was snow (and more comfortable furniture). We had the entire place to ourselves – lovely indeed - 13 Euro.
Then it was back to St Klara Kirche for a short concert, this time soloist Gabriele Schuh, Songs Aus Irland und Anderswo - soloist – beautiful.
Worn out, we retreated to our apartment in the Nuremburg Bronx. This big city was wearing us down. We’re not city people; neither of us can imagine a life of high density city living - too much togetherness.
While Old Town Nuremburg is well kept and well loved, some of the outlying areas (such as near the apartment) are not - practically every surface seemed covered in graffiti, walking to/from the railway station involved dodging overflowing trash bins and piles of litter. It was a bit disheartening.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57676870303732
Jan 6th, 2017, 08:33 AM
#86
Mel - I've not yet made it to Nuremberg though it is definitely on my "to do" list - your report will be very helpful if and when we get there. Staying in a town/city for a few days is definitely something we enjoy - it comes of living in the country I suppose.
I think I'd aim to stay more towards the centre though!
I think I'd aim to stay more towards the centre though!
Jan 6th, 2017, 02:34 PM
#88
Dec 16 –
We lazed in bed until 8, and then had to rush to get ready so we could catch the 9:24 train from Rothenbergerstrasse to the Hauptbahnhof and connect to the 9:34 train to Regensburg. We bought a Bayern-Bohman Ticket for 34.80, paying an extra 3 Euro just in case we wanted to add a side trip (which we didn’t do).
It took about an hour to reach Regensburg – we were greeted with a sea of bicycles at the train station. I’d barely arrived and I already liked it here, all the more so since the weather was perfect, sunny and cold.
We collected a map and walked through town, stopping at a random café, Orlando di Lasso, for heiße Schokolade and a shared slice of Käsekuchen. Fortified, we set out to wander through the UNESCO World Heritage site of Regensburg’s medieval Old Town.
We visited the beautiful Dom - St Peter’s Cathedral, which looms over the city and is hard to miss, as well as two other churches, the names of which escape me.
http://www.bistum-regensburg.de/bistum/dom-st-peter/
We explored the meandering narrow alleyways, surprised to find two Indian restaurants...and a sweater bombed tree. We worked our way down to the river and across a bridge – which one, I’m not sure – the city is situated at the confluence of three rivers, the Danube, the Naab and the Regen.
Regensburg is our kind of place - not too big, not too small, not too crowded, the architecture stunning. We poked along the cobblestone streets watching the locals go about their business, including a large group of school kids gathering for a bus. It was fun just being here, soaking up the atmosphere and taking it all in. I can see us staying here for a few days.
We ended up in the festive Christmas Market, the air filled with the smell of pine trees and sizzling meat. The ½ meter wurst and apple wine beckoned, as did a local sweet shop, where we bought butter cookies and white chocolate with pistachios.
Then it was back to Nuremberg, and back to Sangam for an early dinner. Although it was Friday night, we had no trouble getting a table, going early seems to be the key. The food was okay, but not as spicy as we’d have liked, despite one of us ordering very spicy – 36 Euro with drinks.
We ended the evening at our new favorite place - the Art Bar - where we had an encore of Gaudenz and Ohne viel Worte, Silvaner – the same waitress was on duty, and she was dumping bottle after bottle of wine down the sink. Huh. We asked her about it and she assured us the wine was unfit for human consumption – very old white. Well okay then.
It had been a very good day.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57675115326233
We lazed in bed until 8, and then had to rush to get ready so we could catch the 9:24 train from Rothenbergerstrasse to the Hauptbahnhof and connect to the 9:34 train to Regensburg. We bought a Bayern-Bohman Ticket for 34.80, paying an extra 3 Euro just in case we wanted to add a side trip (which we didn’t do).
It took about an hour to reach Regensburg – we were greeted with a sea of bicycles at the train station. I’d barely arrived and I already liked it here, all the more so since the weather was perfect, sunny and cold.
We collected a map and walked through town, stopping at a random café, Orlando di Lasso, for heiße Schokolade and a shared slice of Käsekuchen. Fortified, we set out to wander through the UNESCO World Heritage site of Regensburg’s medieval Old Town.
We visited the beautiful Dom - St Peter’s Cathedral, which looms over the city and is hard to miss, as well as two other churches, the names of which escape me.
http://www.bistum-regensburg.de/bistum/dom-st-peter/
We explored the meandering narrow alleyways, surprised to find two Indian restaurants...and a sweater bombed tree. We worked our way down to the river and across a bridge – which one, I’m not sure – the city is situated at the confluence of three rivers, the Danube, the Naab and the Regen.
Regensburg is our kind of place - not too big, not too small, not too crowded, the architecture stunning. We poked along the cobblestone streets watching the locals go about their business, including a large group of school kids gathering for a bus. It was fun just being here, soaking up the atmosphere and taking it all in. I can see us staying here for a few days.
We ended up in the festive Christmas Market, the air filled with the smell of pine trees and sizzling meat. The ½ meter wurst and apple wine beckoned, as did a local sweet shop, where we bought butter cookies and white chocolate with pistachios.
Then it was back to Nuremberg, and back to Sangam for an early dinner. Although it was Friday night, we had no trouble getting a table, going early seems to be the key. The food was okay, but not as spicy as we’d have liked, despite one of us ordering very spicy – 36 Euro with drinks.
We ended the evening at our new favorite place - the Art Bar - where we had an encore of Gaudenz and Ohne viel Worte, Silvaner – the same waitress was on duty, and she was dumping bottle after bottle of wine down the sink. Huh. We asked her about it and she assured us the wine was unfit for human consumption – very old white. Well okay then.
It had been a very good day.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57675115326233
Jan 7th, 2017, 12:31 PM
#89
A note about Swiss train passes that might help future visitors:
Although we've been to Switzerland many times, we still torment ourselves over which train pass to buy, as each trip is different.
PRE-Trip
Before this particular trip, I’d crunched the numbers and found that the per person second class fares for our planned Swiss transport totaled 397 CHF, not including any cable cars or gondolas (a moot point as most were closed when we were there).
The second class 8 day Swiss Travel Pass is 363 CHF per person
POST-Trip
I just added up the actual cost of the train/bus transport we took on this trip – the total came to 449 CHF.
We bought the second class 8 day Swiss Travel Pass for 363 CHF, so we did okay.
However, had we purchased the Half Fare Card, we’d have saved 18.5 CHF per person. Half Fare Card 120 CHF + 50% of actual trips we took 224.50 CHF = 344.50 CHF
Had we purchased the Swiss Transfer Ticket/Half Fare Combo (146 CHF + 120 CHF + 50% of our transport, not including the trip from Zurich to Scuol and Scuol to Basel, which is where the “Transfer” part kicks in, our total cost of transport would have come to 411.40 CHF.
So, does this help? Probably not.
Because SBB has done away with the 15 day Swiss Saver Pass, and because our next trip will most likely be for at least two weeks, we’ll probably go with the Half Fare Card in the future. Maybe.
A question for anyone out there who might know – I assume that the Swiss Transfer Ticket works regardless of where one begins and ends their trip, as long as it’s at a border station, correct? So it would have worked arriving at Zurich Airport and departing at Basel SBB?
Although we've been to Switzerland many times, we still torment ourselves over which train pass to buy, as each trip is different.
PRE-Trip
Before this particular trip, I’d crunched the numbers and found that the per person second class fares for our planned Swiss transport totaled 397 CHF, not including any cable cars or gondolas (a moot point as most were closed when we were there).
The second class 8 day Swiss Travel Pass is 363 CHF per person
POST-Trip
I just added up the actual cost of the train/bus transport we took on this trip – the total came to 449 CHF.
We bought the second class 8 day Swiss Travel Pass for 363 CHF, so we did okay.
However, had we purchased the Half Fare Card, we’d have saved 18.5 CHF per person. Half Fare Card 120 CHF + 50% of actual trips we took 224.50 CHF = 344.50 CHF
Had we purchased the Swiss Transfer Ticket/Half Fare Combo (146 CHF + 120 CHF + 50% of our transport, not including the trip from Zurich to Scuol and Scuol to Basel, which is where the “Transfer” part kicks in, our total cost of transport would have come to 411.40 CHF.
So, does this help? Probably not.
Because SBB has done away with the 15 day Swiss Saver Pass, and because our next trip will most likely be for at least two weeks, we’ll probably go with the Half Fare Card in the future. Maybe.
A question for anyone out there who might know – I assume that the Swiss Transfer Ticket works regardless of where one begins and ends their trip, as long as it’s at a border station, correct? So it would have worked arriving at Zurich Airport and departing at Basel SBB?
Jan 7th, 2017, 12:35 PM
#90
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Yes, to your question re: Swiss Transfer Ticket.
The advantage of the Swiss Pass is - IMHO - that you have the convenience of just hopping on any train or bus that shows up without having to buy a ticket in advance.
Love Regensburg, btw. A very romantic city, large and well preserved old town. My friend was not too impressed with the Christmas markets, though, when she went in 2015.
The advantage of the Swiss Pass is - IMHO - that you have the convenience of just hopping on any train or bus that shows up without having to buy a ticket in advance.
Love Regensburg, btw. A very romantic city, large and well preserved old town. My friend was not too impressed with the Christmas markets, though, when she went in 2015.
Jan 7th, 2017, 02:02 PM
#91
Hi Ingo -
I figured as much with the Transfer Ticket, but thanks for clarifying.
The Swiss Travel Pass is definitely the way to go for flexibility - as you can tell, we did more than we had originally planned, and it worked to our advantage. Those fares can really add up.
I loved Regensburg too - it was my kind of place. I rather enjoyed the Christmas Market there, but you know me, a gluhwein and a wurst and I'm happy as a clam.
I figured as much with the Transfer Ticket, but thanks for clarifying.
The Swiss Travel Pass is definitely the way to go for flexibility - as you can tell, we did more than we had originally planned, and it worked to our advantage. Those fares can really add up.
I loved Regensburg too - it was my kind of place. I rather enjoyed the Christmas Market there, but you know me, a gluhwein and a wurst and I'm happy as a clam.
Jan 26th, 2017, 11:49 AM
#94
Dec 17 –
We knew Nuremburg would be a zoo on this last Saturday before Christmas, so we fled.
Taking the advice of a fellow Fodorite (sorry, I can’t recall who!) we bought a VGN Tages Ticket Plus from a ticket machine (18.70 Euro) and headed to the former free imperial town of Bad Windsheim, transferring at Neustadt an der Aisch.
We began our exploration of Bad Windsheim by crossing the railway bridge and walking through a massive park. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were in the Kurpark, evidently the largest spa park in Bavaria.
While rather bleak on this cold grey December day, it must be lovely during the summer, awash in color.
We then wandered through the quiet streets and alleyways, surrounded by lovely half-timbered buildings, many of them whimsically decorated for Christmas; Rapunzel and her golden hair a favorite.
Bad Windsheim is my kind of town, pretty and peaceful. We explored a church, and then sought out Brauhaus Dobler, family owned since 1867, a recommendation from the same unnamed Fodorite. Bill tried the generous beer ‘sampler’, four full glasses of beer (!). We thoroughly enjoyed this cozy and rustic spot, packed with locals on this gloomy Saturday afternoon.
We next located the tiny Christmas Market in the historic town center, deserted and sleepy, the whole town must have been over at Dobler’s.
Having misread the train schedule and with an hour to kill, we popped into the empty Gasthof Reue Belt near the railway station and shared an order of Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus (so-so), 11 Euro with two massive glasses of wine.
We joined a handful of others on the train platform; surprised at how cold it was; that ‘wet’ cold that gets into your bones and stays. We were surprised that the few people we saw weren’t particularly bundled up, just us wimps from Colorado.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57675669082353
We boarded a train, and were soon in the pretty town of Ansbach, situated on the Frankische Rezat, a tributary of the Main River, a recommendation of the same very helpful Fodorite mentioned above.
Sadly, Ansbach was also the target of a Syrian suicide bomber who injured 15 people during an attack on a music festival in July 2016.
Here we found yet another charming town with a fun little Christmas Market. We visited St Gumbertus church in the Alstadt, and then whiled away the afternoon people watching over a few mugs of gluhwein and a bit of Langos.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57675671983713
Back in Nuremberg, we took the U-Bahn to Lorenzplatz for one last Falafel. As expected, the Old Town was heaving with people, so we didn’t stick around long.
Bad Windsheim and Ansbach had proven to be the perfect escape from the Nuremberg holiday crush, it’d been a very good day.
The big city blues had set in. We were worn out, tired of the crowds and the pervasive smell of cigarette smoke. It was time to head to the hills.
We knew Nuremburg would be a zoo on this last Saturday before Christmas, so we fled.
Taking the advice of a fellow Fodorite (sorry, I can’t recall who!) we bought a VGN Tages Ticket Plus from a ticket machine (18.70 Euro) and headed to the former free imperial town of Bad Windsheim, transferring at Neustadt an der Aisch.
We began our exploration of Bad Windsheim by crossing the railway bridge and walking through a massive park. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were in the Kurpark, evidently the largest spa park in Bavaria.
While rather bleak on this cold grey December day, it must be lovely during the summer, awash in color.
We then wandered through the quiet streets and alleyways, surrounded by lovely half-timbered buildings, many of them whimsically decorated for Christmas; Rapunzel and her golden hair a favorite.
Bad Windsheim is my kind of town, pretty and peaceful. We explored a church, and then sought out Brauhaus Dobler, family owned since 1867, a recommendation from the same unnamed Fodorite. Bill tried the generous beer ‘sampler’, four full glasses of beer (!). We thoroughly enjoyed this cozy and rustic spot, packed with locals on this gloomy Saturday afternoon.
We next located the tiny Christmas Market in the historic town center, deserted and sleepy, the whole town must have been over at Dobler’s.
Having misread the train schedule and with an hour to kill, we popped into the empty Gasthof Reue Belt near the railway station and shared an order of Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus (so-so), 11 Euro with two massive glasses of wine.
We joined a handful of others on the train platform; surprised at how cold it was; that ‘wet’ cold that gets into your bones and stays. We were surprised that the few people we saw weren’t particularly bundled up, just us wimps from Colorado.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57675669082353
We boarded a train, and were soon in the pretty town of Ansbach, situated on the Frankische Rezat, a tributary of the Main River, a recommendation of the same very helpful Fodorite mentioned above.
Sadly, Ansbach was also the target of a Syrian suicide bomber who injured 15 people during an attack on a music festival in July 2016.
Here we found yet another charming town with a fun little Christmas Market. We visited St Gumbertus church in the Alstadt, and then whiled away the afternoon people watching over a few mugs of gluhwein and a bit of Langos.
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/melnq8...57675671983713
Back in Nuremberg, we took the U-Bahn to Lorenzplatz for one last Falafel. As expected, the Old Town was heaving with people, so we didn’t stick around long.
Bad Windsheim and Ansbach had proven to be the perfect escape from the Nuremberg holiday crush, it’d been a very good day.
The big city blues had set in. We were worn out, tired of the crowds and the pervasive smell of cigarette smoke. It was time to head to the hills.
Jan 27th, 2017, 01:05 AM
#97
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> he historic town center, deserted and sleepy,
Well, the town "closes" Saturday noon ... It's sleepiness is a long distance effect of the thirty years war. The region was almost completely depopulated during the long lasting struggles between Gustav Adolph and Tilly and it never recovered since it was affected by a series of subsequent wars in the 18 century.
Glad to read that you liked it nontheless and that you called at Doebler's!
Well, the town "closes" Saturday noon ... It's sleepiness is a long distance effect of the thirty years war. The region was almost completely depopulated during the long lasting struggles between Gustav Adolph and Tilly and it never recovered since it was affected by a series of subsequent wars in the 18 century.
Glad to read that you liked it nontheless and that you called at Doebler's!
Jan 27th, 2017, 12:51 PM
#98
Dec 18 –
We left our Nuremberg digs and caught the 10:02 train to Berchtesgaden via a very busy ICE train to Munich. As with Freiburg-Nuremberg, we’d booked these tickets online a few weeks before we left home, 48 Euro for both.
In an effort to make our lives as easy as possible while toting luggage from train to train, we’d done our homework and selected routes with the fewest train changes, paying a bit more to use ICE trains. It was a wise decision, but we still had to negotiate entirely too many stairs at railway stations – not a single one of those luggage conveyor belt thingies worked, and only large railway stations have elevators and ramps. And before someone jumps in to say they only travel with a carry-on bag, so why can’t we...getting our various and sundry winter clothing, hiking boots, hiking sticks and the like into a carry-on bag, just doesn’t work.
With 50 minutes between trains, we popped into Coffee Fellows in the Munich Hauftbahnhof for some caffeine and people watching - good coffee, interesting chai latte – 6.70 Euro.
We boarded a train to Freilassing, where we arrived ten minutes late. Fortunately, they’d held the connecting train to Berchtesgaden, so we raced down the stairs with our luggage and then back up another set of stairs to the platform. Whew!
Some 4.5 hours after leaving Nuremberg, we arrived in the small town of Berchtesgaden a.k.a. Berchtesgadener Land, a slice of alpine heaven surrounded by Austria and home to several ski areas, the Salzbergwerk salt mine and the Eagle’s Nest (the diplomatic meeting house of Hitler).
We’d last visited Berchtesgaden in December 2001, mere days before Germany switched over to the Euro. It was one of our most memorable trips; we practically had the town to ourselves and snow up to our eyeballs. We were anxious to see if Berchtesgaden held the same allure for us 15 years later.
The map we’d printed proved completely unhelpful, we couldn’t find a path...any path, so we enlisted the help of a taxi; ten Euro well spent, as our hotel was quite some distance via a meandering steep hill from the railway station.
As we got settled into our room, the peace was suddenly shattered with the sound of...cannons? We soon discovered that every day at 3 pm from December 17 to Christmas Eve, the Chirstkind (Christ Child) is ‘shot in’ to the sound of large saluting guns. The “Weilnachtesschuetzen,” a holiday custom of shooting black powder pistols, has been observed in Berchtesgaden since about 1100 AD.
Although Berchtesgaden is still a small town, it took some doing to find a quiet hotel; recent reviews for the hotel we’d stayed in on our first visit mentioned road noise, as did several others, so I looked further afield, settling on the Alpenhotel Kronprinz.
We were given room 57, a nice big room, but it faced a parking lot with a light sensor that went on and off all night. This could easily be solved with room darkening shades or shutters, but there were none, just a sheer red plaid curtain that bathed our room in red light.
It was uncomfortably warm; no way to lower the heat, so we opened the windows. Unfortunately, the snow plows and trash trucks rolled in around 6 am making a ruckus and sending the light sensor into a frenzy. The front door of the hotel was kept wide open even late at night, so evidently they have a heating problem.
After one sleepless night, we asked to move and were offered room 61, but it had the same issues as room 57, so we tried again and were told there was nothing available in the same category (although the hotel was pretty empty). They finally offered to move us to room 117 for an additional 10 Euro a night, which we gladly accepted.
Weirdly enough, #117 was cold (we’d rather be cold than hot though) and the room was smaller. Evidently, the price difference was because it had a balcony (not of much use in December) and a partial view, but we were happy.
After getting settled we walked down a series of hills to the historic town center, which was quite busy on this 4th Sunday of Advent – there were even a few tour buses. We wandered the Christmas Market, listened to a band decked out in traditional Bavarian dress and soaked up the festive small town atmosphere while sampling the raclette (this version a very mild cheese served with speck on brot) and gluhwein.
When we tried to return our gluhwein mugs, we were told to keep them – in Berchtesgaden the 1 Euro you pay when you order a mug is the purchase price, not a deposit, which explained all the people we saw toting mugs to/from town.
Dinner was at L ‘osteria al Parco Italian, where we shared a lovely Caprese salad and a Daviola pizza (36 Euro with wine and coffee). Our young waiter seemed slightly uncomfortable with us and our garbled attempts at German and Italian, embellished with a healthy dose of English. Poor guy.
As we walked back uphill towards our hotel it began to snow – the first snow we’d seen in three weeks!
We left our Nuremberg digs and caught the 10:02 train to Berchtesgaden via a very busy ICE train to Munich. As with Freiburg-Nuremberg, we’d booked these tickets online a few weeks before we left home, 48 Euro for both.
In an effort to make our lives as easy as possible while toting luggage from train to train, we’d done our homework and selected routes with the fewest train changes, paying a bit more to use ICE trains. It was a wise decision, but we still had to negotiate entirely too many stairs at railway stations – not a single one of those luggage conveyor belt thingies worked, and only large railway stations have elevators and ramps. And before someone jumps in to say they only travel with a carry-on bag, so why can’t we...getting our various and sundry winter clothing, hiking boots, hiking sticks and the like into a carry-on bag, just doesn’t work.
With 50 minutes between trains, we popped into Coffee Fellows in the Munich Hauftbahnhof for some caffeine and people watching - good coffee, interesting chai latte – 6.70 Euro.
We boarded a train to Freilassing, where we arrived ten minutes late. Fortunately, they’d held the connecting train to Berchtesgaden, so we raced down the stairs with our luggage and then back up another set of stairs to the platform. Whew!
Some 4.5 hours after leaving Nuremberg, we arrived in the small town of Berchtesgaden a.k.a. Berchtesgadener Land, a slice of alpine heaven surrounded by Austria and home to several ski areas, the Salzbergwerk salt mine and the Eagle’s Nest (the diplomatic meeting house of Hitler).
We’d last visited Berchtesgaden in December 2001, mere days before Germany switched over to the Euro. It was one of our most memorable trips; we practically had the town to ourselves and snow up to our eyeballs. We were anxious to see if Berchtesgaden held the same allure for us 15 years later.
The map we’d printed proved completely unhelpful, we couldn’t find a path...any path, so we enlisted the help of a taxi; ten Euro well spent, as our hotel was quite some distance via a meandering steep hill from the railway station.
As we got settled into our room, the peace was suddenly shattered with the sound of...cannons? We soon discovered that every day at 3 pm from December 17 to Christmas Eve, the Chirstkind (Christ Child) is ‘shot in’ to the sound of large saluting guns. The “Weilnachtesschuetzen,” a holiday custom of shooting black powder pistols, has been observed in Berchtesgaden since about 1100 AD.
Although Berchtesgaden is still a small town, it took some doing to find a quiet hotel; recent reviews for the hotel we’d stayed in on our first visit mentioned road noise, as did several others, so I looked further afield, settling on the Alpenhotel Kronprinz.
We were given room 57, a nice big room, but it faced a parking lot with a light sensor that went on and off all night. This could easily be solved with room darkening shades or shutters, but there were none, just a sheer red plaid curtain that bathed our room in red light.
It was uncomfortably warm; no way to lower the heat, so we opened the windows. Unfortunately, the snow plows and trash trucks rolled in around 6 am making a ruckus and sending the light sensor into a frenzy. The front door of the hotel was kept wide open even late at night, so evidently they have a heating problem.
After one sleepless night, we asked to move and were offered room 61, but it had the same issues as room 57, so we tried again and were told there was nothing available in the same category (although the hotel was pretty empty). They finally offered to move us to room 117 for an additional 10 Euro a night, which we gladly accepted.
Weirdly enough, #117 was cold (we’d rather be cold than hot though) and the room was smaller. Evidently, the price difference was because it had a balcony (not of much use in December) and a partial view, but we were happy.
After getting settled we walked down a series of hills to the historic town center, which was quite busy on this 4th Sunday of Advent – there were even a few tour buses. We wandered the Christmas Market, listened to a band decked out in traditional Bavarian dress and soaked up the festive small town atmosphere while sampling the raclette (this version a very mild cheese served with speck on brot) and gluhwein.
When we tried to return our gluhwein mugs, we were told to keep them – in Berchtesgaden the 1 Euro you pay when you order a mug is the purchase price, not a deposit, which explained all the people we saw toting mugs to/from town.
Dinner was at L ‘osteria al Parco Italian, where we shared a lovely Caprese salad and a Daviola pizza (36 Euro with wine and coffee). Our young waiter seemed slightly uncomfortable with us and our garbled attempts at German and Italian, embellished with a healthy dose of English. Poor guy.
As we walked back uphill towards our hotel it began to snow – the first snow we’d seen in three weeks!
Jan 28th, 2017, 10:55 AM
#100
Hi annhig -
Berchtesgaden has grown a bit since our first visit, and the hotel we liked back then (Hotel Bavaria) is now in a rather busy traffic area - busy by Berchtesgaden standards anyway - which is why we avoided it this time. Traffic noise outside my window drives me mad.
Most hotels in Berchtesgaden seem to be situated on a steep hill above the train station, and noise probably isn't an issue at most of them. The drawback of course is that they're not within walking distance of the station, but a taxi is a small price to pay for peace and quiet as far as I'm concerned.
We were fine at Hotel Kronprinz once we found the right room!
Berchtesgaden has grown a bit since our first visit, and the hotel we liked back then (Hotel Bavaria) is now in a rather busy traffic area - busy by Berchtesgaden standards anyway - which is why we avoided it this time. Traffic noise outside my window drives me mad.
Most hotels in Berchtesgaden seem to be situated on a steep hill above the train station, and noise probably isn't an issue at most of them. The drawback of course is that they're not within walking distance of the station, but a taxi is a small price to pay for peace and quiet as far as I'm concerned.
We were fine at Hotel Kronprinz once we found the right room!
