Nürnberg (Nuremberg), Germany

Nick & I were lucky to have visited Nürnberg twice within a little more than a year. While we didn't perform in this town, we couldn't pass up the chance to see this beautiful historic city. The first time, we just spent a summer afternoon (July 2016) exploring. The second time, we stayed overnight and walked the city on a cool October evening (2017) .

OVERVIEW & LINKS: 

We stayed at Hotel Drei Raben - a beautiful boutique hotel in the center of the city (Drei Raben means Three Ravens)
We had dinner at Bratwursthäusle bei St. Sebald (a traditonal German diner serving world-famous Franconian home-made bratwursts/sausages).
We explored Nürnberg (founded in 1050 AD, pop. 560,000, located in the Franconian district of Bavaria)

THE HOTEL

The more I travel, the more I value a good hotel. I fell in love with Drei Raben. It is a beautiful boutique hotel that is centrally located (and has valet parking!). It's extremely comfortable, very unique and full of local flavor. We even got to chat with the owner at the hotel bar and learned about his painstaking (but loving) renovation of this historic building. Here are a few pics:


The bathroom had heated floors, and (of course - we're in Europe!) both a toilet and a bidet:

Each room is decorated in the theme of a local fairytale/folklore story. There is a story book with these fairytales, half in German and half in English. 
Our room was themed after the Funnel of Nürnberg tale:



One of my absolute favorite features was the stand-alone bathtub. It was just AWESOME!! I took a bath at night (perfect after wandering in the cold rainy weather) but took this goofy photo in the morning:

The hotel bar was super cool, and we tried the local wine suggested by the hotel owner. Apparently, it's a typical Franconian wine bottle shape. I loved it so much I ended up buying a bottle to take home:

Then we tried a sip of a local liquor (notice the funnel on the label?).
Can't say I loved this drink (it was too Jägermeister-tasting for me), but it was exciting to try:


As most hotels in Europe, Drei Raben offered free hot breakfast and made to-order eggs (yum!):


THE FOOD
We asked three locals and all said we should go to Bratwursthäusle bei St. Sebald, an old German-style eatery serving locally made traditional delicious Franconian-style bratwursts and sausages. It was amazing! There were many tourists there, but we still felt like it was a special place. The food was very affordable and outstanding! Writing about it now is making me super hungry :)

This is what Bratwursthäusle bei St. Sebald looks like outside (Nick was taking a photo of St Sebald - a beautiful church next door):


Soup and local beer: 

We ordered 2 kinds of sausages: famous Nuremberger brats and the other ones (so sorry, forgot what they were). But they have only a few choices, ask them for their favorite when you order:
Nick really enjoyed his pretzel and local beer:


And look at this beautiful window:
This is the church next door (Sankt Sebaldus Kirche - St. Sebaldus Church):

THE CITY

There is so much to see. We just walked and walked, and saw a few landmarks recommended by the locals. Everywhere we looked there was something spectacular.

Frauenkirche:


One of the city wall towers:
Maxbrücke & Weinstadel (and infamous Henkerhause behind the trees on the very right - the former multi-century residence of the city hangman who lived on a tiny island - not even considered a part of the city in those days (they were too ashamed, I guess))
And this is the grim plaque outside of the hangman's house:


One of the city wall towers right by our hotel:
And here are a few photos from our summer afternoon a year prior. This is a delirious touristy shot of Nick at the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg (built between 1000AD-1200AD):


From the castle garden:

And this is the Frauenkirche church and Haupmarkt (view from Restaurant Oberkrainer - which we didn't love). But the view was great and the weather was perfect for an outdoor lunch!


And here is a goofy street sign:


I really and truly hope to return to Nürnberg before too long. I loved the city and the incredible vibe.

P.S. You can watch our videos from Nurnberg in our European Tour Documentary (free to watch if you sign up for our 2 Songs A Month Club at www.patreon.com/marinav )

 


A FEW NOTES: 

1) I try carefully research restaurants, places to stay, activities, historical sites, etc, taking into account reviews on several platforms as well as friend suggestions. But, I often just stumble onto places randomly. It is the beauty of traveling! 

2) While I see/do a lot more than I post, I choose to post only about my favorite experiences, unless something is so awful it deserves to be called out (which is rarely the case). 

3) One of my favorite and most useful tools while traveling is GoogleMaps. I follow many travel blogs and each time I see something I'd love to visit/experience, I mark it on GoogleMaps as "want to go". It's in green color and it's very helpful when planning a trip. 

4) Speaking of GoogleMaps. As always while I'm traveling, if I see something I like - I just walk over and check it out. If I ever get lost, then the good ol' GoogleMaps is my best friend! Asking the locals is part of the fun: being in a tourist/childlike-state of ignorance. Just be nice and cute and the locals will guide you. It is awesome. 

5) As much as I rely on Google reviews, their customer ratings don't always reflect the true nature of a business/hotel/restaurant. Many people who take the time to review are upset and they're letting the world know. One of the many reasons I started leaving reviews was the fact that some of my favorite places had (and only a handful of) negative reviews. I'd go to their Google or Yelp or TripAdvisor page and leave a 5 star review because I thought they deserved to have better ratings. So I take ratings & reviews with a grain of salt but do count on them as well. A little of both :) 

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Things to do in Nürnberg (Nuremberg), beautiful German cities, boutique hotels, travel tips, Bavaria