After Munich, Evan and Brian went to visit Evan's (actually Emily's) Aunt Laura and Uncle Norbert in Erlangen, which is in northern Bavaria. On our way there, we spent a wonderful afternoon visiting Nuremberg. Although in the States Nuremberg is most known for Nazi rallies and the War Crimes Tribunal, it is really a beautiful medieval town with over a thousand years as a cultural and economic center. (Hitler held his rallies there in an effort to link his regime with that historical tradition.) For example, this is the home of the famous medieval artist Albrecht Dürer. We thought it appropriate to visit after seeing the Wagner opera "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" in Munich the night before. Thanks to Norbert and his son Benni for being such great guides!

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A view of the Pegnitz river, which flows through town.	Flower boxes line the buildings along the river.	Another view of the Pegnitz	An odd statue called "The Ship of Fools"
A few of the church towers downtown under threatening rainclouds.	Norbert holds Benni on his shoulders so that he can turn the fountain's gold ring three times, which brings good luck.	A closeup of the gold work on the fountain.	The fountain and the town hall in the market square.
We hiked up the hill to the fortress.	City views from the fortress show the church, the red tile roofs, and the towers from the former city wall.
A view of the towers from inside the fortress.	Traditional German fachwerk architecture complete with flowerboxes.	The thick oak door in the fortress still has the coat of arms of the Austrian Habsburgs, the original residents.	Another tower at the fortress.
A statue of St. George shows him slaying the dragon with ease.	This mural is inscribed with the text "Nuremberg trade goes through all lands", which was quite true in the medieval days.	The facade of the opera house.	An unfortunately blurry picture of a medieval depiction of Nuremberg, showing the city wall, the church and the fortress on the hill.

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