...really enjoyed Nürnberg.

At noon on Saturday, our train stopped again. It had taken off about a half hour late, and wasn't making up lost time very well. This was one of those moments that, back home, would be at least boring and probably very annoying. Here, it was an opportunity for me to reflect on where I was. Briefly, I was on the train to Nürnberg. Thanks to the 28EUR Bayern-Ticket, which is a ticket that covers up to five people anywhere in Bavaria (and a little further), I was loosely affiliated with four others on the train: one girl studying in Munich who was up for the weekend; a second girl, studying in Regensburg, going to play handball near Nürnberg; the fellow who had found us all; and a fourth fellow who was in the nearby section, along with the other healthily-imbibed fans, off to watch the fußball match. (The match ended up being a notable one -- the underdogs, FC Nürnberg, ended a 13 game wining streak of Bayern München.)

I didn't know what to expect but Nürnberg ended up to be a great spot for a day-trip. What struck me most about this city was that it was so unexpectedly pretty -- I mean, mention Nürnberg to anyone outside Germany and the first thing they think of are the trials. I learned that it's also infamous as a favourite city of Hiter, and was the location of some major Nazi parties (or whatever the correct historial term is, propaganda fests?). Most of the city was flattened by Allied bombing, but the old city centre was thankfully spared.

The pedestrian area starts at the train station and leads around up to the river. It's not far to the castle on the north of the river, which itself was conveniently close to a little brewery -- Hausbrauerei Altstadthof. This place makes not only their own beer, but their own beer-liquor as well. The rouge and the wheat beer were my favourites -- the helles was fine, and the dark beer was a dark beer, but nothing to write home about. (A note to beer-drinkers visiting: there is another brewery near the Hauptbahnhof that is much larger and looks more touristy. Beer is worse there.) Needless to say, I have fond memories of olde Euro architecture and beer, so I think I'll end up seeing Nürnberg again.