Janingalina

sheila and i took the train to nuremburg today. the RE train took about 35/40 minutes, it was 25 for both of us on the bayern ticket.

we started towards the christmas market, enjoying the scenery, goofing around with the civic artwork.

We got to the most famous Christkindlsmarkt, Сhrist Сhild market, in the world. I tried on a great hat, but delayed purchase indefinitely.

we started drinking the gluehwein from fancy boot mugs. the puppets were scary.


but i liked the fruit people.


sheila spent some time with the nutcrackers.


and a technology ignorant passerby took this great pic for us in front of the crazy talking santa.


we climbed to the top of a hill and wandered around the castle.


we watched the sun set over Nuremburg, and took some touristy photos. the bright spot in the background is the xmas market.




we walked past one of the old city gates on our way to a traditional german dinner at a pub that Albrecht Duerer used to hang out at. George Washington slept here. really.

we spent a few hours indoors, warming up. so when we went back outside we FROZE!
so we just had to buy some wonderful whale hats.

i think it was the combo of brand new whale hats, and our souvenir boot mugs. but we were geeked. nuremburg's a party! at least when we're there.



then we got the warm fuzzies listening to a brass band play christmas carols in the square, in front of the big church. white christmas lights like candle flames on all the trees and some of the buildings. mitten-muffled hands clapping. it was very christmassy. we enjoyed.

i got here. the flight was far from uneventful, though. i sat next to this silent, old, shiny bald german guy. i was asleep before we left the tarmac and woke up in time for the first beverage service.

halfway through my movie i paused because there was a woman in the front of coach talking to the stewardesses. she was pretty pissed off, wearing a white headscarf, a longsleeve tshirt and jeans. well, she kept not getting what she wanted. i could tell because she got louder and unpeeled the headscarf and shook it at them.

there was a passenger guy up there trying to mediate. at first she was yelling in another language, and then in english. something about she loves saudi and wants them to get along better with america. well, this went on for about an hour. and i get a little sensitive to things like that, so mostly i just stayed put and paid attention.

the flight attendants announced there was a bit of a disturbance, and asked us to all stay seated.

a little while later they led her down the aisle with her hands ziptied behind her back. we could still hear her shrieking from the back of the plane, but at least she was bound. :D they didn't give us as much beverage service, though, because of the security problems.

after she quieted down there were several unhappy babies.

all told, i was pretty exhausted when i got to Frankfurt. so i loaded my massive bags into the rental car (Ford Focus CMax, it's basically the Focus wagon) and tried to figure out the navigation system. I got to Bamberg, so it didn't go too poorly. i also figured out how to hook up my ipod, so i wouldn't have to listen to Germany's horrific radio stations.

it all worked out. i got to bamberg just in time, i was starting to fade out. i'd driven ~2 hours and it was around 10:30am (4:30a my time). the navigation system got me lost in the city, but my forays in July got me found again.

when i got to the hotel, i found that they'd expected me a day earlier. so they'd charged my card and given up my room. but they called the more expensive hotel across the street and got me a room for 2 nights there. the lady at the desk there said i could have the 85€ room, if i'd just come back around 2. lucky for her, there was a 95€ nonsmoking room available immediately. i brought in my behemoth bags and slept for a couple hours.

i'm not doing great with the adjusting to the time zone. i slept 11a-3p, went for a walk and got dinner, and slept again from 7p-12a. I was then awake until about 4a. and got up again at 9a. today's going better. i read my book and lingered over breakfast. i went for a walk through the town, and went up to the Altenburg (Old Castle). it was a long walk uphill. i checked out all the views from the different turrets and walked back into town. i found a nature path with some signs on it, so i learned that an Amsel is a crow. Then i walked to the Bishop's Residence. In this area the Bishops were both secular and political leaders up through the 1800's or so. I took the tour of the Residence, they have some beautiful tapestries that i couldn't get close enough to, and some amazingly painted rooms - one reception hall was deemed not large enough for the current fashion, so it was painted with all kinds of stonework and angels and stuff, but in perspective, so if you stand in the middle of the room it looks a lot larger. heh.. some people had too much free time.

then i checked out the galleries. they have some 15-17century euro art and some special "old german" galleries that have a lot of religious art going back to the 1300's or so. it was neat, because with what i learned reading about the symbolism in the Unicorn Ttapestries, i was able to pick some symbolic stuff out (strawberry plants, violets, herons). i geeked out a little. :D

after touring the Residence i stopped for some bratwurst in the christmas market and drove into the office for some connectivity.

Yesterday on my walk I spent a little time in the Christmas market, and tried to get into a new restaurant. It was feeling really foreign to me, so I bailed and went to the restaurant in the hotel I normally stay at. I had hot gluehwein (with an orange slice in it), tomato soup (their cup=our tureen) and some noodles baked with ham and onions (yummy and very typically german). tonight I'm not sure where i'll eat, but I'm going to spend more time in the christmas market. i think i'll get a cup of hot wine and walk around.

yesterday i was just a little too timid with my german to actually buy anything. today i've done a little talking, though. it's going better. so i might just get some nuts and xmas cookies. :D

i took some pictures today and i'll take more tonight. the town's all lit up and decorated for christmas. it'll be a little while before i can get them downloaded and put up, my power/connectivity situation being a little sketchy.

Labels: germany