Great breakfasts are routine in good German hotels, but this one I just enjoyed in Nürnberg is a real prizewinner. As I say in this clip, I’m in no mood to be “on camera” before my morning coffee. But my hotel’s breakfast was so classy, I just had to share it with you.
Venturing Underground in Nürnberg
World War II exacted a toll not just on people and cities, but on great works of art — countless were plundered, and many were destroyed. I just toured an underground museum in Nürnberg that tells the story of some priceless masterpieces that survived.
Nürnberg’s Historic Art Bunker is a series of cellars used by the Nazis to store art plundered from conquered lands and evacuated from its own great buildings in anticipation of bombing. The only way to visit this claustrophobic underground space is with a tour (daily at 14:30, €5, 75 minutes, headphones for English-speakers). The theme of the tour is “How what was called ‘the treasure chest of the German Empire’ emerged from the devastation of WWII.”
Nürnberg was bombed only late in the war. As German officials saw it coming and knew how northwestern cities were devastated, they were better prepared, and more of the city’s treasures survived. (Many wonder why bombed German cities didn’t just relocate. Because the subterranean infrastructure of great cities survived the bombs of WWII — as you’ll see on this tour — it made sense to rebuild on the same footprint.) In this little video clip, I’m following my local guide deep under the city.
The Essential Elements of a German Castle
Nürnberg, Bavaria’s second city, is known for its glorious medieval architecture, its important Germanic history museum, its haunting Nazi past, its famous Christmas market (Germany’s biggest), and its little bratwurst (Germany’s tiniest…and perhaps most beloved).
Just an hour from Munich by train, Nürnberg may be Germany’s most underrated city. For a historian, the city is fascinating for its ties to both the First Reich (the Holy Roman Emperor’s castle) and the Third Reich (Hitler’s choice for grand spectacles and rallies). While here researching, I kept thinking, “I need to come back here on vacation and just enjoy its powerful museums” — both the Germanic National Museum and the Nazi Documentation Center.
Nürnberg was one of Europe’s leading cities in about 1500, and its large Imperial Castle marked it as a stronghold of the Holy Roman Empire. In this little video clip, my local guide uses the castle to explain his take on the essential elements of a castle.
Inviting Würzburg and the German Love of Pretzels
Picturesquely situated in a river valley surrounded by vine-draped hills, and boasting one of Germany’s most enjoyable palaces (the prince-bishop’s Residenz), the bustling little city of Würzburg is well worth checking out.
Many travelers zip from the Rhine directly to Rothenburg without considering a stop in Würzburg. But those folks miss out on a tourist-friendly town that’s easy to navigate by foot or streetcar. While the town isn’t quite “charming” (thanks to its unmistakable post-WWII-rebuild vibe), Würzburg’s old center is quiet and people-friendly, and filled with atmospheric wine bars.
While you’re here, be sure to stroll the city’s atmospheric old bridge. Lined with stone statues, surrounded by vineyard-laced hills, and with a stout fortress looming overhead, it feels like a low-rent version of Prague’s famous Charles Bridge.
A park-like, picnic-perfect stretch of riverbank stretches from the old bridge to the crane. There are plenty of benches and a long, inviting, concrete embankment to spread out your meal. It comes with beer-drinking students, the down-and-out collecting their bottles, and great views of the river, bridge, and castle.
While busily checking out restaurants for my guidebook, I had to pause and appreciate this amazing Würzburg view. While the view itself — with Würzburg’s river and fortress glowing in the setting sun — was striking, what capped it off was the conviviality of the people enjoying the setting.
The Germans really, really love their various breads and pretzels. And this is nothing new. In fact, in this Gothic church’s stained-glass window, when God sends Moses and the Israelites manna from heaven, it comes in the form of divine pretzels.
German marketing can be uniquely eye-catching. While most men find that this woman’s cleavage draws their eyes to the pretzels, many German men might say that the pretzels draw their attention to the cleavage.
The Wine Queens (or “Wine Witches”) of Oberwesel
I’ve long wished my favorite Rhine town, Bacharach, had a museum. I found the attraction I craved in the next village over: The Kulturhaus Oberwesel is the best museum of its kind along this part of the Rhine. You’ll learn how salmon were once fished here, and how timber traders lashed together huge rafts and floated them to the Netherlands to sell. You’ll also see dramatic photos of the river when it was jammed with ice, and — as seen in this clip — review three decades of local wine queens.