Nurmberg

In the spirit of my Father, yesterday I did something a little crazy. I had been in Leipzig for about 2 weeks, and had one day left on my rail pass. My options were to use it to go straight to my last Bach destination--Potsdam--or, to go the opposite direction and then to go at night to Berlin. I chose option 2. I woke up at 5 am and grabbed a 5:45 train to Nurmberg, arriving at about 10 am. It is an amazing city! The written word of Rick Steves guided me through old town where I saw the castle, three old churches, a market, and Albrecht Durer's house. The town decided that it would be a good idea to turn one of his wood prints into a sculpture, so there is a giant hare bigger than me being eaten by rats. Awesome. Also ate the mini-sausages that are apparently the tradition of Nurmberg. I also toured the Nazi Documentation Center that is at the site where Hitler led enormous propaganda, as well as see Zeiplin field. It is astounding how many people came to these events. Walking around that same area now I saw families stolling and daddies and sons headed to a soccer match. The old stand where Hitler stood now seems an absurd relic of the past--the poem Ozymandias comes to mind. The field has been replaced by a stadium that was apparently used in the 2006 World Cup. Got on a train at 6:30 last night, made it to Berlin at about midnight, and bumbled over to a nearby ghetto hostel that was a stark reminder that people who work nightshifts sometimes work there for a reason. Overall, Nurmberg is fantastic.