Schuele und Stadt

This post has more than 30 photos. All from the first day.

My host family lives in a suburb of Nuremburg called Roethenbach. It's normally very traditional in appearance, but there are many modern buildings as well. This is a bank and cafe that I saw on the way to the train station.

The Bavarian education system (it's different in each Bundesland) is composed of three stages. In Grundschule--analogous to our elementary schools and going up to fourth grade--all students learn together. After taking a big test, students are grouped by academic performance into one of three schools: Hauptschule (lowest 1/3), Realschule (middle 1/3), and gymnasium (top 1/3). The third stage consists of trade school, general college, or university education. This school, Melancthon-Gymnasium, was founded in 1526 (!!!), making it the oldest school in the city.

Melancthon-Gymnasium has a great focus on classical studies, providing intense focus on the study of foreign languages. Upon leaving this school, a student will be fluent in German, English, Latin, and ancient Greek. I wish my school did that! The wolf sculpture on the roof represents Romulus. Remus is out of shot.

It's a very pretty school (far nicer than our slab of concrete). This is the view from the newest construction, a recreation and technology center called the Box. The students have access to the courtyard during either of the two free periods they have each day. It's a nice, refreshing break, though it rained today.

Nearly all the students go to school using public transportation. It seems like everyone else does too--otherwise the shopping malls they call train stations wouldn't stay profitable. This is the Roethenbach stop.

The old inner city of Nuremberg (from when the city was founded in the Middle Ages) was enshrouded by a fearsome city wall. Its many gates were overlooked by these towers.

The trains are surprisingly clean and roomy.

The new construction of the modern art and design museum is juxtaposed with the centuries-old structures elsewhere in the city.

Inside the St. Lorenz cathedral, my first European church. It's pretty awe-inspiring. St. Lorenz is the biggest and most famous church in Nuremberg.

Just outside St. Lorenz, overlooking one of many market squares. This city is dominated by people, not cars, and  most of the cars I saw were either parked or being used as advertisements in a big display from Hyundai. The Germans pronounce it Hee-oon-die. They're probably closer to the original Japanese than us.

One of St. Lorenz's two towers.

Looking down the street at St. Lorenz.

Inside the cathedral. It's a really incredible sight.

Looking up at the organ and stained-glass window.

An angel, poised to fight the forces of Hell.

My first true Fachwerkhaus! This style is pretty much ubiquitous in Germany (especially Bavaria, where I am), but since it's the first one I saw it was worth the photo.

The Pegnitz River that divides Nuremberg. On one side is St. Lorenz cathedral and on the other is St. Sebald.

A very old building we toured near the river. It is the social court, not the famous Palace of Justice where the Nuremberg Trials were held. I'm touring that one later.

This is the most well-known bridge in Nuremberg. It's called Fleischbruecke ("Meat Bridge") because in medieval times when it was built, it led into a long market street where meat products were sold. The bridge still leads to a market, only now they sell iPods there.

The intricate bas relief above the massive entrance to the St. Lorenz cathedral. The cathedral is under  renovation, so it's covered in a net. I don't know how that's supposed to protect it...

The above picture is located at the bottom of this one.  Here the beautiful window and twin towers are majestically visible.

This is a tourist attraction. At this fountain (der Schoenerbrunnen -- "Beautiful Fountain"), a single gold ring is hidden in the cast iron frame. The story is that anyone who touches the ring or spins it around once (depends on who you ask) will have good luck.

Of course, the fountain itself is nothing to sneeze at!

The Hailands say the real luck comes from this less well-known and far harder-to-find ring. The people who were touching it looked like Germans, not tourists, so it's possible that this ring really is the good one.

Inside Nuremburg's other famous cathedral, the St. Sebald on the other side of the river, closer to the Kaiserburg.  We stepped in in the middle of an open concert. The music sounded like a high school band, but it was free.

The most well-known Nuremberger of all time, Albrecht Duerer. Duerer is one of the most important figures in this city; he has pretty much every kind of public institution imaginable named after him here.

A picture looking up at the Kaiserburg, one of the Kaiser's many castles spread throughout Bavaria. More to come tomorrow!

Yet another church, St. Egedien's.

Yes, you can get Skittles in Germany, though the Hailands had never heard of them before.

German Word of the Day / Deutsches Wort des Tages
die Kirche :: church
Heute sah Kapitaen drei verschiedene Kirche.
Today, Kirk saw three different churches.