Nuremberg

        Today is our first day in a long time not to have been on the bus at all, and I have to say it is a relief! Stevens gave us an extra hour to sleep in, so the morning was leisurely. This hotel has a great breakfast!  As a group we visited the two significant churches in the city, each dedicated to one of the important local saints, Saint Lawrence and Saint Sebald. They were both--like all of Nuremberg--heavily damaged in the WWII bombings, and one issue we have had to think about is the city as a rebuilt entity, trying to stay true to its medieval heritage while moving forward from the Nazi devastation. I think they have done a really great job; honestly you would never know what had happened now. Anyways in Saint Lawrence we looked at the hanging Anunciation of the Rosaries, another limewood sculpture but this time suspended from the ceiling in a way I have never seen before. Its setting and design are absolutely beautiful and came as a very pleasant surprise to me!

       In Saint Sebald we saw the Shrine of Saint Sebaldus which is a gothic monument with some very interesting attributes. Meg is stubbornly not telling us why until tomorrow, but the whole thing rests on the backs of snails, each individual and with a personality of its own. There are also cherubs playing with dogs, toads, mice, and mythical beasts and scenes along the bottom while sarcophagus is surrounded by apostles and topped with a heavenly cityscape--quite a piece!

 Clearly, I really liked the snails and this shrine in general... 

         When we were done with class, we got to go and explore the city! I sampled some delicious local cuisine (though they overcharged us for water and pretzels grrr), tried the famous Nuremberg gingerbread in the market, and saw the Albrecht Durer sights (I'll admit it, I'm a Durer fanatic) as well as the castle! All reconstructed but very honestly and lovely! We considered taking the bus to the Nuremberg Trials memorial but it was pretty out of the way and I may have had my fill of Nazi history for now. Tonight we have a group dinner YAYYY

 The city walls and Durer's rebuilt house!

Update: group dinner was delicious and so much fun! We went to a local wine bar type thing and got to order off the menu. I had a Frankish wedding soup with liver (i know I am brave) noodles and cut up pancake in it followed by wiener schnitzel! Also had a beer!