Our Second Trip to Nuremberg

(Above: Shöner Fountain--"Beautiful Fountain" and Church of Our Lady)

Today we decided to take another trip to Nuremberg, now that we have a better idea of the lay of the land, and also know some basic words & customs. We grabbed a taxi to the train station at about 11am and we were off!

The train from Vilseck to Nuremberg was actually pretty entertaining. From what we could tell, there was some sort of sporting event happening that day in Nuremberg--soccer?? So there were some rowdy (but fun) fans cheering and drinking on the ride. Then the second we got into the Hauptbahnof (main train station in Nuremberg) there was so much cheering and yelling that it was echoing down the tunnels. The station was a happening place! It actually put us in a great mood, even though we had no idea what they were even saying.

We then headed out into Old Town and took some photos, went into little souvenir shops (look at the cuckoo clocks below, they were everywhere!), and tried to find a place to eat. Our German classes have taught us the basics on food names and restaurant etiquette so we wanted to test our skills.

We decided on Paulaner Im Pillhofer (pictured below), a small restaurant that also has a Gasthaus (hotel) above, which I guess is pretty common here. It was a little nerve-wracking, but since we knew the basics (seat yourself, etc) we did fairly well. The menus were 90% in German, so we picked out items that we recognized from class and hoped for the best. I opted for Bratwurst and Eric got a pork dish with a potato dumpling.

We also both got Radler beer, and before you react to the description let me just say that it was delicious! Radler is actually very popular here in Germany. It is half beer and half lemonade (lemonade in Germany is actually more like Sprite). What it does is makes the beer taste super light, very refreshing, and really sweet. It tasted like a much sweeter, less carbonated version of Ginger Ale. If that's not too confusing. According to Frau Ray (our German teacher), Radler was actually created because German bicyclists wanted a refreshing beverage to drink while they rode, but also wanted something alcoholic. And thus, Radler was born! Seriously though, we both were shocked with how great it tasted. Neither of us are beer drinkers at all, but now we are hooked. (Below: The delicious Radler!)

After the meal we shopped til we dropped. Well I shopped, and made Eric carry my backpack. There are dozens upon dozens of women's' clothing & shoe stores here, and everything was really inexpensive. I ended up getting a peacoat and a blouse. Poor Eric. Maybe next time it will be his turn, haha.

After about 4 hours in Nuremberg, we were frozen solid (another 23 degree day) and pretty exhausted. We hopped on a train...which ended up being the wrong one...then back on the right one, and ended up safely at home with plenty of time to Skype with mom & dad Holland.

Great day.

(Above: Us over the river Pegnitz)

And now, a couple fun facts!
1. Waiters and waitresses in Germany get paid very well and even receive full benefits. Also, the price of your food includes a gratuity for them. Therefore, most Germans hardly ever tip. We gave a Euro to our waiter and he couldn't have been happier.
2. Dogs are welcome pretty much everywhere here. We saw countless dogs around town, in clothing stores, on the train (without a leash!!), anywhere! But, the German people are known for being very punctual and law abiding, so their dogs are very well-behaved. I love it, so point out every single dog to Eric. Him, not so much.