Nurnberg - Part the First
Nov. 29th, 2011 02:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
memelainaTerry drove us to the airport very early Thanksgiving morning. Our plane to Dulles was not too full. We had booked aisles across, but the person in Kent's window seat traded for my aisle seat so that we could sit next to each other with a seat between. We ate the meal that John had packed us - wonderful bacon and tomato sandwiches - on the way to Dulles. In Denver the service agent told us that the flight from Dulles to Frankfort was badly overbooked - he said 222 seats sold for a 197 seat airplane - and put us on the waiting list for a bump. But when we got to Dulles, and walked all the way down to C1 at the end of the airport, they said that they expected to seat everyone - including a bunch of standby passengers. We called Gerry and told her we MIGHT make it to her house for Thanksgiving dinner if we got a bump, but they did manage to seat everyone. We had center seats in the center section, but it was a 777 Overwater and the seats were actually large enough to be comfortable. I took some Dramamine, ate the last sandwich, and dozed and slept on and off all the way to Frankfort. Kent ate the airline meal (vaguely chicken) and was going to read, but his light didn't work and his seat-back TV didn't work, so he put on his Lone Ranger mask and also slept his way tor Frankfort. United did end up giving him a $50 credit for the non-working equipment.
In Frankfort we went through passport control, where the agent ( I thought it was a man, Kent was sure it was a woman ) told him he looked like Santa Claus and asked him where his hat was. Our bags went through to Nurnberg, so we just walked out, got some money at the ATM (geldautomat) and a nice agent told us to go to the PRM security entrance. Here Persons with Reduced Mobility go through security with no waiting. We didn't have to take our shoes off or anything. And they ran a wand over my knee and said, yep, that's metal. Our flight to Nurnberg had us getting on a stand-up bus to be driven to the plane, but the driver was clearly lost and circled the airport twice before coming back to our plane - quite close to where we entered the bus originally started. The plane, however, was less than half full so we each got a row to ourselves for the short flight to Nurnberg where we picked up our bags and walked out into the station. A taxi took us into the old city to the Holiday Inn, and when we opened the doors to get out, there were Robin and Fred, luggage in hand, just arriving from the train station. Joyous family reunion ensued.
We had chosen the Holiday Inn because Kent got a good rate on it through his company, but also because it was inside the old city walls and within walking distance (for normal people) from the Christkindlesmarkt. It was in what looked like an old building - or at least a building that looked as old as all the others - and turned out to be a very pleasant hotel with a nice mix of American-sized rooms with very comfortable European facilities and service. Our rooms weren't ready yet, which is not surprising as it was barely ten in the morning, but we stored our luggage and went off looking for lunch. There is an inn called the Golden Star (Der Gulden Sterm) just down the block which has been selling sausages since 1419. They told us we would have to wait until 11:30 so we went back and sat in the lobby and talked until it seemed they might be open. And sell sausages they did. Also potato salad, sauerkraut, and grilled pork. Oh, and beer. I'm told it was very good beer, but sadly even the best beer is wasted on me. I don't drink it, and think all beer tastes foul and bitter. Every few years I try a sip of one that someone insists is especially wonderful. It still tastes foul and bitter. But in Germany you can get (as well as various soft drinks) something called Apple Scholle which is just slightly fermented apple juice that is very pleasant and comes in big tall glasses and costs less than Coke (but usually slightly more than beer).Robin asked them for a "mangle" of sausages and they brought out this big metal platter with two kinds of sausage and grilled pork, along with plates of sauerkraut and potato salad. It was wonderful. I can see why they've been in business for almost 600 years. When you do something right, don't change it.
But when we had drawn out our sausages as long as possible, and got back to the hotel at one, we still had two hours to wait before our rooms were ready. Kent and I sat in the lobby and dozed and tried not to snore, and from time to time rose to the surface and chatted with Robin while Fred went out in search of a stationary store to procure folders for his paperwork for his new job. He begins his work as a courier this week and is very excited about it.
Our rooms, when we got to them, were large for a European hotel and fitted with very modern bathrooms. The bed was dense and firm and full of fluffy, soft, feather pillows. I would have opted for sleep, but Kent was hot to hear the angel sing. Apparently we had arrived on the opening night of the Christmas Faire and it opens at 5:30 sharp with a song and speech by the Nurnberg Christmas angel. Being the Christmas Angel is sort of like being Miss Detroit - you get to go around and open fairs and be in parades and talk to schoolchildren all year long. So we went to the markt at 4:30 and it was already shoulder to shoulder full. Kent found us a nice place close under the Frauenkirken where the angel was to speak, but my knees just don't hold up to standing still for 45 minutes so I wandered away. I ate a sausage roll and looked at a few booths, but mostly I found a bench (one of only three, I think, in the whole markt) and waited until some people left and then swooped down upon it and sat watching people for half an hour. And dogs. Very interesting dogs - mostly small ones in plaid coats being carried about in people's arms. At 5:30, with German precision, all the lights went out around the faire, and spotlights turned onto the steeple of the church and children's choirs began to sing. And people stood around, whether they could actually see the church or not, and sang along. The Christmas Angel sang her speech, and the choir sang again, and then the lights came on, everyone shouted, and went back to eating and buying and talking. It was impossible to find anyone. I sat for a while longer, hoping if I sat still someone would find me, but then gave up and found a taxi at the edge or the faire (which is a pedestrian zone) and went back to the hotel. I sat in the lobby by the front door and pretty soon Robin and Fred turned up, and then Kent huffled in, and we were all reassembled.
For dinner we walked a few blocks to a winehouse (Weiner) and had lovely German food that was not sausages. Robin and I drank wine and Fred drank beer and Kent drank diet Coke. Soon we wobbled back to the hotel and fell into our lovely bed and slept soundly, soundly. That was the the Friday.
I would have liked to sleep longer, but we got up at eight to shower in a very nice shower (with a half shower door and no curtain - not sure why Europeans are so set against shower curtains, but they definitely are) and meet Robin and Fred in the lobby at 9. Well, we met Fred in the lobby at 9 and Fred and I drank coffee while waiting for Robin, who was only about half an hour late. Today was our day for the Christmas Faire so we had breakfast in a cafe they knew that served both American and British and German style breakfast, and walked across the river to the faire. Now when told later that evening that I had walked across a river, I hotly denied it. There was a produce market set up on the street and bridge and I was busy looking at fruit and huge dark orange pumpkins and nuts and honey and missed the river and the bridge entirely. I don't know whether it was on the bridge, or before the bridge, but there was a horn quintet standing playing christmas music, and playing very well. They were from St. Petersburg and we not only contributed to their open music case, but bought a CD as our first souvenir of the trip.
The fair was busy when we arrived, and by the time we left about three hours later was almost as dense with people as at the opening ceremonies.
In Frankfort we went through passport control, where the agent ( I thought it was a man, Kent was sure it was a woman ) told him he looked like Santa Claus and asked him where his hat was. Our bags went through to Nurnberg, so we just walked out, got some money at the ATM (geldautomat) and a nice agent told us to go to the PRM security entrance. Here Persons with Reduced Mobility go through security with no waiting. We didn't have to take our shoes off or anything. And they ran a wand over my knee and said, yep, that's metal. Our flight to Nurnberg had us getting on a stand-up bus to be driven to the plane, but the driver was clearly lost and circled the airport twice before coming back to our plane - quite close to where we entered the bus originally started. The plane, however, was less than half full so we each got a row to ourselves for the short flight to Nurnberg where we picked up our bags and walked out into the station. A taxi took us into the old city to the Holiday Inn, and when we opened the doors to get out, there were Robin and Fred, luggage in hand, just arriving from the train station. Joyous family reunion ensued.
We had chosen the Holiday Inn because Kent got a good rate on it through his company, but also because it was inside the old city walls and within walking distance (for normal people) from the Christkindlesmarkt. It was in what looked like an old building - or at least a building that looked as old as all the others - and turned out to be a very pleasant hotel with a nice mix of American-sized rooms with very comfortable European facilities and service. Our rooms weren't ready yet, which is not surprising as it was barely ten in the morning, but we stored our luggage and went off looking for lunch. There is an inn called the Golden Star (Der Gulden Sterm) just down the block which has been selling sausages since 1419. They told us we would have to wait until 11:30 so we went back and sat in the lobby and talked until it seemed they might be open. And sell sausages they did. Also potato salad, sauerkraut, and grilled pork. Oh, and beer. I'm told it was very good beer, but sadly even the best beer is wasted on me. I don't drink it, and think all beer tastes foul and bitter. Every few years I try a sip of one that someone insists is especially wonderful. It still tastes foul and bitter. But in Germany you can get (as well as various soft drinks) something called Apple Scholle which is just slightly fermented apple juice that is very pleasant and comes in big tall glasses and costs less than Coke (but usually slightly more than beer).Robin asked them for a "mangle" of sausages and they brought out this big metal platter with two kinds of sausage and grilled pork, along with plates of sauerkraut and potato salad. It was wonderful. I can see why they've been in business for almost 600 years. When you do something right, don't change it.
But when we had drawn out our sausages as long as possible, and got back to the hotel at one, we still had two hours to wait before our rooms were ready. Kent and I sat in the lobby and dozed and tried not to snore, and from time to time rose to the surface and chatted with Robin while Fred went out in search of a stationary store to procure folders for his paperwork for his new job. He begins his work as a courier this week and is very excited about it.
Our rooms, when we got to them, were large for a European hotel and fitted with very modern bathrooms. The bed was dense and firm and full of fluffy, soft, feather pillows. I would have opted for sleep, but Kent was hot to hear the angel sing. Apparently we had arrived on the opening night of the Christmas Faire and it opens at 5:30 sharp with a song and speech by the Nurnberg Christmas angel. Being the Christmas Angel is sort of like being Miss Detroit - you get to go around and open fairs and be in parades and talk to schoolchildren all year long. So we went to the markt at 4:30 and it was already shoulder to shoulder full. Kent found us a nice place close under the Frauenkirken where the angel was to speak, but my knees just don't hold up to standing still for 45 minutes so I wandered away. I ate a sausage roll and looked at a few booths, but mostly I found a bench (one of only three, I think, in the whole markt) and waited until some people left and then swooped down upon it and sat watching people for half an hour. And dogs. Very interesting dogs - mostly small ones in plaid coats being carried about in people's arms. At 5:30, with German precision, all the lights went out around the faire, and spotlights turned onto the steeple of the church and children's choirs began to sing. And people stood around, whether they could actually see the church or not, and sang along. The Christmas Angel sang her speech, and the choir sang again, and then the lights came on, everyone shouted, and went back to eating and buying and talking. It was impossible to find anyone. I sat for a while longer, hoping if I sat still someone would find me, but then gave up and found a taxi at the edge or the faire (which is a pedestrian zone) and went back to the hotel. I sat in the lobby by the front door and pretty soon Robin and Fred turned up, and then Kent huffled in, and we were all reassembled.
For dinner we walked a few blocks to a winehouse (Weiner) and had lovely German food that was not sausages. Robin and I drank wine and Fred drank beer and Kent drank diet Coke. Soon we wobbled back to the hotel and fell into our lovely bed and slept soundly, soundly. That was the the Friday.
I would have liked to sleep longer, but we got up at eight to shower in a very nice shower (with a half shower door and no curtain - not sure why Europeans are so set against shower curtains, but they definitely are) and meet Robin and Fred in the lobby at 9. Well, we met Fred in the lobby at 9 and Fred and I drank coffee while waiting for Robin, who was only about half an hour late. Today was our day for the Christmas Faire so we had breakfast in a cafe they knew that served both American and British and German style breakfast, and walked across the river to the faire. Now when told later that evening that I had walked across a river, I hotly denied it. There was a produce market set up on the street and bridge and I was busy looking at fruit and huge dark orange pumpkins and nuts and honey and missed the river and the bridge entirely. I don't know whether it was on the bridge, or before the bridge, but there was a horn quintet standing playing christmas music, and playing very well. They were from St. Petersburg and we not only contributed to their open music case, but bought a CD as our first souvenir of the trip.
The fair was busy when we arrived, and by the time we left about three hours later was almost as dense with people as at the opening ceremonies.
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Date: 2011-11-30 05:26 am (UTC)