Nürnberg

We were heading to Nürnberg for our Saturday trip, but we had to pause to take pictures of this most un-German car.  There are files stacked on the seats, mold and moss growing all over it, 4 flat tires and an awesome spider web on the bent antenna.  I have a feeling the kids will remember this car.  They love to comment every time we pass it.

This is Jess on the way.  The car is still like a sleep machine for her. 

I had a list of possibile things to visit, along with their coordinates for the GPS.  Parking was a challenge, as usual.  Above is a random statue we passed while walking.  I know I should be looking all these up, but there are SO many.  We were heading to the main town square where there is a famous fountain and the old Rathaus.  Supposedly you can tour the dungeons under the Rathaus, but we soon learned it's only open M-F, oh well.  What we never expected to see upon entering the square were huge piles of dirt, a huge tower and bike ramp.  We happened to be in town the same day as one of major mountain bike circuit tour.  They had turned several spots and streets in the old city into a crazy bike course with jumps and drops over dirt/cobblestone/ramps.  There was also a massive screen and speakers set up showing highlights from around the city.  This section was sponsored by Mini and Red Bull.

We watched several jumps.  No one crashed.  There were some flips, some spin the bike under.  (There is probably a correct biker term for these, but I am sadly undereducated.)  I took a few videos with my phone, but I like this one best because of the church bells ringing.  It was so surreal.  The ultimate blend of old and new.

Here we are in front of the old fancy fountain.  It still has running water coming out, but there is a decorative gate protecting it, so no filling up water bottles on a hot day.  All the other people are watching for the next biker.  Courtesy of Wikipedia: Schöner Brunnen (en:beautiful fountain) is a 14th Century fountain located on Nürnberg's main market next to the town hall and is considered one of the main attractions of the city's Historical Mile. The fountain is approximately 19 meters high and has the shape of a Gothic spire.

Can you see the biker?  He has a green shirt and is at the roof line of the building to the right of the church. 

Obligatory Ice Cream!

We found so many "pop out" windows that we loved.  Doesn't it look made for a princess?  And now T-Mobile has a store downstairs. 

Nürnberg is still a very pretty city, despite serious bombing by the Allies. 

I was trying to catch some of the huge bubbles the street performer was making.  There are some behind Matt, but they look small because of the perspective.  They are really big.  One happened to pop over me and it felt like I had my own soapy rainstorm.  

This house obviously wasn't hit.  So cute.  

We went to a toy museum sometime during the day too, but no cameras allowed.  It was interesting, but not fantastic.

Outside Albrecht Dürer's house.  

We walked through his bedroom (the floor has a definite slant to it).  This is the kitchen.  I had to take a shot of the temperature control for the pot--lower it or raise it.  You can see matt ducking to go out of the little door.  Where people that much shorter? Or did they just duck in and out of rooms?

 This is the sitting room where great thinkers, mathematicians, and astronomers of the day would gather and discuss new ideas.  We look awfully American don't we?  The audio guide was great.  It was narrated through his wife's eyes telling about daily life, Albrecht's travels, his work, his illness, the visitors, and more.  She mentioned the observatory they had in the attic to watch the stars, but it is not part of the tour.  Bummer.   

We spent the most time in the workroom.  It had the best lighting in the house, no surprise.  Above Makenna, you can see blocks of wood ready to be carved, maybe into another animal like his famous rhinoceros or rabbit.

The Rhino block.

Matt's favorite Dürer.  

Magic square. . . . He was an historical player in the Dan Brown's latest book.

I rather like his signature.  The kids found it on a couple of pieces of artwork later at another museum in another town.  

Inside his workshop.

Original glass windows.  They let in light, but you can't see anything through them.

Old printing press to make prints of his wood etchings.  

 This is a print of the block currently in the press.  

Once we went back outside, it was loud again.  There was another section of the bike event just around the corner.  The picture is just outside the Dürer house, right by the old city wall.  Notice the tower.

This is looking back towards the tower from the next street.  This biker had just gone over a ramp and did a trick.  Now he is racing down the cobblestone to...

Do another jump and careen down more streets.  It was a wild course.  Only one biker at a time.  I don't know if they were judged on speed as well as style/difficulty.  But it was pretty fun to watch.  While we hung out for a bit to watch several bikers go past, we had another funny surprise.  Most of the cast of Star Wars came by.  These weren't Walmart costumes and they didn't seem to be street performers.  They were walking along together, posing with people, but not asking for money.  Later we saw them (without a few masks) hanging out at a pub.  Coo-coo.  

Matt likes the matte black.

Pretty city.  Race section sponsored by Mini.

This isn't a great shot.  I'm just trying to capture the bike course and spectators jammed into the old streets between buildings so tall and close our GPS had trouble.  

I took a picture of this guy's name so we can look him up.  I'll add when I know. 

This is inside that church behind the statue. 

And then, the kids' favorite part of the day.  We drove by a park on the way out of town and stopped for fun.  The climbing was fun.  The slide was great.  But nothing compared to the bouncy swings!

You would never find this in America.  It has "lawsuit" written all over it.  But it was so FUN!  Three tires on separate ropes all connected to a wobbly center pole.  They act like a trampoline, in that you can bounce the others higher as you jump/pump yourself up and down.

Here is a video I took at the beginning, before we really got good at bouncing, but it gives the general idea.