Stadtfuehrung und Burgermeister

As you know, I've been sick, and I haven't had time to post these. They're actually from Tuesday.

I noticed on the way to school that Nuremberg has a very nice computer store. I asked Jonas if there's an actual Apple store in the city, considering the enormous Apple-store influence on this reseller; there isn't.

Don't be fooled by the apparent "low" price of gas here. First, it's in Euros, so the price in dollars is about half again as high. second, it's measured in liters, not gallons, so the actual price is about $7.56 per gallon. And we think our gas is expensive.

Considering the huge amount of walking I've been doing here, I was not looking forward to wearing my dress shoes. 

You wouldn't think this is the same school, but it's still Melancthon. This is a view taken from the Box. 

The Box itself. It contains computer workspace as well as a nice gameroom with Foosball and billiards tables.

The first stop on our tour of the city. Tucherschloss isn't really a castle per se, but rather a mansion built by the family Tuch in the Middle Ages. Even though the Tuchs were rich, they still would not have been able to afford the amount of land it took to build their mansion within the city. So in a bit of medieval Gerrymandering, they bought the land slightly outside the city for not much money, then used their influence on the city council to expand the borders of the city to include land that "coincidentally" included their newly-purchased (and now infinitely more valuable) property.

The most castle-like part of the Tucherchloss, a small tower.

This little car has a story behind it. In the DDR (East Germany), citizens were only allowed to have one of two different cars. This is a Trabant, the more common of the two. It has a pitifully inefficient and environmentally deplorable two-stroke engine and can only reach a maximum speed of approximately 65 mph, making it barely suitable for use in the United States and worthless on the Autoban. In order to obtain the better car, the Wartburg, one had to obtain a place on an 18-year waiting list, which was further prolonged due to cronyism within the Communist party. Despite all the car's shortcomings and failure to meet post-unification emission standards, it is still used with affectionate derision today, an exception on emissions having been made out of simple convenience; there were over 3.5 million made.

A statue of the Kaiser, Wilhelm I.

This is Phillip Melancthon, the founder of the school. His statue is standing in front of the original school building, located about a click from the one Tobias and Jonas attend. After many years, it was deemed too small and the school was moved; the statue was not. Melancthon's left hand, you will notice, is made of copper (it has oxidized and become green, like the Statue of Liberty). The replacement was necessary because people walking by would shake his open hand. Eventually, it broke off, and a replacement was cast. It wasn't as obvious then because oxidation hadn't set in yet.

All the license plates in the EU are identical in design. The D on the far left under the EU flag denotes a German car. The N means it was registered in Nuremberg. The two symbols are an inspection sticker and the coat of arms of Bavaria. The last five characters are the variable ones. They can be changed, but the two letters/three numbers format is static. Fanrkly, I don't see much point in a vanity tag when it's going to look the same anyway, but whatever. The teacher changed his to read NYC.

Back at the Kaiserburg. I would have taken more pictures, but you've all seen it already. This is a view you haven't seen.

A closeup of the tower (that's where the big, sweeping view of the city you saw earlier were taken.)

The Kaiserburg has some wonderful gardens. This ivy-covered trellis was difficult to photograph without getting tourists (or the group) in the shot, but I managed it.

I asked a couple different people, and apparently there's only one street in Nuremberg named for its most famous and beloved inhabitant.

The city wall has been almost totally restored to the way it looked pre-WWII. The causeway above the wall was the vantage point of the photo above.

This street had the good fortune to survive the war in its entirety, and it's a good look into the past. Much of medieval Nuremberg would have looked like this...but with a lot more feces in the street.

A lovely view of the river. The waterfall is clearly man-made, but it seems to have been done for aesthetic reasons only.

Looking up at one of the many towers in the old city wall. They are named with letters of the alphabet, not numbers, and the naming wraps around three times.

The only picture of me thus far, revealing just how badly in need of a shave I was. It was a spur of the moment shoot-and-pray photo that somehow came out very artsy. Go me?

The Maxbruecke is another famous bridge in the city. The lane markings seem a little out of place next to the cobblestone, but it's necessary.

The Henkelturm and the bridge that leads to it. In medieval times, the city executioner would live here. It's one of the most famous sights in the city.

I was surprised to so see Homeopathic quackery advertised along with legitimate medicine at this drugstore. I can tell what it means, but can anyone tell me how the "oeo" combination is supposed to be pronounced?

The very impressive Frauenkirche, the only Catholic church in the inner city. At noon , as the bells toll, servants dance around the figure of the king for a minute or two. It's similar to Munich's famous Glockenspiel, but (I'm told) far less charming.

Inside the Rathaus. The paintings on the ceiling were hidden away in bunkers during the war, and survive to make this building a great sight.

Two shields: Bavaria and Franken.

A collection of flags. Disappointingly, there was no flag of unified Germany, but only of the EU.

Some students talking with the Burgermeister during the reception.

Another view of St. Sebald's cathedral.

The whole reception. All the Nuremberg students are here, along with officials from the city, the teachers, and the Burgermeister himself.

An incredible alto-relief on the wall outside the reception room.

The Rathus isn't only a functional city hall; the first floor is a small museum of the building's history.

And now, a joke:

My photoshop skills combined with a very silly idea and a picture of the Rathausplatz.

German Word of the Day / Deutsches Wort des Tages
der Burgermeister :: Mayor
Der Burgermeister ist meister Burger-koch.
The Mayor is a master burger chef.