Nuremberg and the Christmas Markets. December 2012.

December 2012. Spouse and I head off for Nuremberg
Germany and the Christmas Markets that we've heard so much about. We got a flight out of Atlanta to Paris (CDG) Business class, cool. At CDG we jumped a KLM Cityhopper to Nuremberg. A short train ride to the main station and a short walk to our hotel. the hotel was located about 3/4 of a mile from the main markets. It was a pleasant walk despite the cold. Actually, we both thought the markets in Stuttgart and Berlin were better. Nuremberg was good, but did not live up to the expectations. Nuremberg itself is a beautiful city. It took quite a beating during World War II, but has managed to build itself out of the rubble. The medieval center is the showcase of the city. That is also where the Markets are located.

We visited the toy museum. It was rather interesting, kind of a sleeper. I thought it would be just a good way to get out of the ice and snow for a while, but it was well worth the price of admission.
Eating was a real trip. We hit a Tex-Mex place one night. Well....it was good but I've never experienced anything like it in the states. Italian is always a good bet. Can't screw up pasta too bad.

The weather was fabulous. It snowed very hard several times. We love the snow and were very happy to watch it plundering the city like Barbaric hoards from the North. (huh?). One night we got hopelessly lost (as we often do) around the outside of the old walled city. As we stood alone under a street light looking at a map trying to figure out where we were at, an elderly German couple approached us sensing that we needed assistance. In broken English they gave us impeccable direction to our hotel. As we started walking I looked back to see them slowly melt into the darkness and then reappear in the dim glow of the next streetlamp through a misty deluge of fine snow only to disappear into the cold night. I thought about how sometimes the best travel memories are born out of the most subtle moments. Joni said "What's up?"
"That was really cool, wasn't it?"   "Sure was" She replied. We both silently gazed in their direction for a moment and then turned and walked arm in arm through the snow toward the quiet glow of the next streetlamp and our hotel.

Took a little side trip to Rothenberg. A short train ride from Nuremberg.
It was a small well-preserved medieval Village with a


Rothenberg

Market of it's own. A nice
day-trip for a stroll through
the town and of course a hot chocolate or café au lait.


Headin' Home.
The Paris - ATL flights looked like crap. Joni thought Delta had a Dusseldorf - ATL. I checked and they did, AND it had 13 open seats in Business class!!! We got a flight to Dusseldorf, Air Berlin if I recall. It was snowing pretty hard. We boarded a bus that took us to the tarmac where we boarded the plane. Much to my surprise it was a small (Maybe 50-60 seater) twin turbo-prop. I was a pig in shit. Love props.
We got to Dusseldorf to find out that due to a prior cancellation, there were no Business seats left. Coach all the way to ATL. Ahh the joys of Non-Rev travel. It's not always a bowl of cherries. It wasn't bad. A daytime flight heading west is bearable. We were the only two in a center coach row so we had a little room to spread out (Not enough to join the 5-mile high club though :}). The rest of the trip was uneventful. Next trip, back to Negril, Jamaica for a chillout week in May, 2013.