Nuremberg or Nürnberg

When we first arrived in Munich I read and heard things about Nürnberg Lebkuchen (gingerbread).  In looking at different things I understood that it was north of Munich and near Nuremberg.  Well recently I finally realized not only was it near Nuremberg, it was Nuremberg.  Sometimes I forget that even place names are different in a different language.  I know Munich is München but it hadn't dawned on me that Nürnberg was the same as Nuremberg.   Anyway, after almost losing Charlotte at the crazy packed Friday-night Marienplatz Christmas, we decided that we should visit the Nürnberg market during the week to limit the crowds.  Nürnberg hosts the most famous Christmas Market in Germany.  

The castle has a city wall that extends around the Old Town.
Closer to the castle there were some interesting older looking buildings.  One even said 1648 on it.
At the very least it was a really charming section of the city.  

I wanted to visit the courthouse used during the Nuremberg Trials following WWII but we had to save that for next time.  Instead we visited the castle that looks out over the city.  It was a rainy and dreary day but we enjoyed walking through the castle.  It was really well done.

This was in the private chapel used by the Emperor or ruler depending on the time.

This two headed eagle was a motif we saw a lot of.
It is a symbol Empire and was used by the Holy Roman Empire.

After that we headed to see the Deep Well.   It is a well that is over 50 meters deep.   On the hour and half hour they have a demonstration.  We attended and it was really interesting.  The guide told us a bit of the history and then he lowered four candles into the well just above the water depth.  There was a camera attached to them so we could see the shaft walls and the candles as they descended.

This is a picture of the candles at the bottom of the well.

The stairs up Sinwell Tower.

After seeing the depths of the bedrock of the castle in the well we climbed up Sinwell tower.  The name means "extremely round" in High German.  It was a good climb.  This tower was one of two structures not damaged at all during WWII.  It was an interesting representation of a Germanic castle.  It was a stopping place for the court of the Holy Roman Emperor to preside over legal matters in the area.

Exterior of Saint Sebaldus Church.

After the castle, we visited Saint Sebaldus Church.  It was another great church to walk around in.  We enjoyed looking at the stained glass windows and reflecting on the Savior.  Ben is getting really good at picking our representations of Jesus where ever we are.

Then it was time for the Christmas Market.  We browsed a bit and bought a few souvenirs.  We laughed at the Prune People for which the Nürnberg market is famous.  Hyrum enjoyed a Nürnberg sausage sandwich and we shared our traditional Kinderpunsch and roasted almonds.  We slowly wandered back tot eh train station as it started to get dark.  We enjoyed the sights and sounds of Christmas and just  enjoyed being together.

Charlotte was taking in all of the different Prune People.

I love these wood carved scenes. These are a German decoration.
They are historically lit by candles but now they were all wired for electric lights.

The kids enjoyed this Playmobil display.  We couldn't tear Ben away!

There are hundreds of stalls each with something a little different.

We stopped at several store windows on our walk to catch the train.

After our awesome dinner at Burger King, We couldn't find seats on the train so we hung
out in an open section and provided entertainment for everyone stuck beck there with us!