Engulfed in German History

It certainly was sad to be leaving Switzerland, it was such a relaxing, layed-back place. However, the draw that Nuremburg had was something I just needed to see. This place has such a deep-rooted past in the National Socialist culture of Germany, that my educational interests could not pass up a trip here.

We arrived into Nuremburg Hbf to a scorching 32 degrees of sticky heat. We made our way towards our hostel which lay just inside the walls of the Old City which dated back centuries. Our first day was mroe or less spent shopping for food and preparing dinner.

We got settled and went out on a shopping spree for beer, meat, and breads - delicious gourmet cooking at its finest. The first night we again realized that the country of Canada travels in packs, and we were only 2 of nearly 10 Canadians staying at our hostel. We met David, a really nice guy from England, who likely will be hanging out with us tomorrow. We have also met a couple from Calagary, and another couple from Montreal ... all very nice people. After eating dinner, the notion was brought up to walk through the city, and experience some of the old town culture. To our amazement, Nuremburg has a Red-Light district only a few blocks from our hsotel ... nothing but window prostitutes trying to hock their wares. There were people there for every physical taste ... to put it mildly. Disgusting, yet funny, we walked past a row of windows on our evening stroll that had very senior aged women sitting in full lingerie, one wasw even knitting. Completely hilarious to our group of 4 guys just looking to walk around and see the sights.

We immediately returned to our hostel when we realized that the town didnt offer too much more to the youthful nightlife. We sat around with a room full of other travellers, speaking about our journey, drinking cheap Ger´man beers, and playing several card games that we have all picked up from our trips to the corners of the World. In hostels like this, there is usually a person who has been everywhere you can think of that people might live.

I have learned many new card games since beginning my trip, and look forward to learning even more. Morgan and I have decided to go our seperate ways for a while here, after Berlin he will be going to Dusseldorf, and I to Hamburg. Wether or not we meet up again for a lengthy period of time is still to be determined.

We spent our first full day in Nuremburg by first going to the Courthouse. The Nuremburg Palace of Justice is the location for the war crime trials of the Nazi perpetrators of the Holocaust and of the war crimes of the Second World War. The history this building has seen is remarkable. Relatively undamaged during the war, despite the surrounding buildings being obliterated, the courthouse stood to deal justice to the criminals of the war. The 4 charges that were dealt to the 24 Nazi defendants, would eventually lead to the sentence of death by hanging for many. Only problem on this day was that court was in session and we were not able to get inside the courthouse. Still a very interesting location with beautiful facades and architecture.

From the courthouse we moved on to the Nazi Party Parade grounds ... the location of the Nazi Rallies starting in 1934 and extending to the collapse of the Third Reich. Upion reaching this site, it became very apparent of the German governments will to seperate themselves from their past (purely speaking of the government of the 1950s and 1960s - Germany now is probably one of the msot anti-Nazi nations, and is doing very much to acknowledge their past and educate peeople so as the atrocities that were committed never happen again). The rally ground which at one point held upwards of 125 000 people and was purely a concrete jungle with grandstands and marching paths for the SS and elite armed units of the Reich, has since been transformed into a lavish park with green grasses, fountains, flowers and little more than small bulletin boards highlighting the past of each location. It was very surreal seeing the vague remnants, things that an untrained eye in the topic would glance over and not give a second thought to. Seeing the steps of the gallery, seeing the podium of the highranking officials, being able to visualize the scene witht he help of the pictures in the park was a very strange feeling I am glad I felt. It truly made me feel as though I was standing back in time ... a different feeling than when I have gone to the Holocaust camps. The only structure that still stands in the park that is identical fromt he war era is the monument to the fallen soldiers of Nuremburg from the First World War.

From the park, we moved onto the "Colloseum" and Zeppelin grounds. These sites were a little easier to distinguish as being from the Nazi era. There are lakes all around the site, the largest being made from the excavated site of Albert Speers National Stadium, designed to hold upwards of 400 000 people. The buildings in this complex really express the Nazi architectural designs and desires. The grandeur in the size and presentaton of these buildings in astounding. We moved arounnd the grounds, again a stifling hot day, and finally found ourselves at the Zeppelin site. This was a very strange feeling as well. The podium used by Hitler himself still stands in the place it did over 7 decades ago. Not to sound like a crazy neo-Nazi, but it was very strange from a historical perspective standing in the exact same place as one of the worlds worst people. The heavy, armed doors still adorn the building behind the podium overlooking the grounds. Wierd that now soccer fields are what lie in the grassy areas in front of the podium, and the Nuremburg soccer stadium is in the background.

The rich history of Nuremburg drew me to come here on my way to Berlin, the people are very helpful, and it truly is a place that with the right time and money, a person could be amazed with what they find.