On Dec 4th 2006 a group of ten ladies travelled with Air Berlin to Nuremberg. Arriving late in the evening we took the  Underground to the very comfortable Hotel Fackelmann situated just outside the city walls.
Our first full day was spent in the Old Town which, although very badly damaged at the end of W.W.II, has been beautifully restored in the old mediaeval style. We were particularly impressed  with the
Marriage Carousel (a fountain depicting the joys and pains of married life), the Castle towering above the city and the beautiful golden fountain in the Market Square.
We managed to pause for a rest in the Impressive Gothic churches of St. Sebaldus and St. Lorenz.
                                                   Shopping was strictly "verboten" until we had sampled the local speciality sausages      during our lunch break. The Nuremberg Market is the oldest in Germany and                attracts about two million visitors each year. Its origins can be traced back to a              custom, introduced by Martin Luther, of giving presents to children at Christmas.          The Market is opened on the Friday before the first Sunday in Advent by the                Christkind who is actually a young girl dressed as an angel. She makes many more        appearances in front of the Frauenkirche during the three weeks of the Market.            There are about 150 stalls, including one from Glasgow, selling for example,                  Christmas decorations, dolls made from prunes, spiced fruit bread and wooden              figures as well as hot Nuremberg sausages
     and Gluhwein.
     Our day in the town ended with wonderful              "Kaffeeund Kuchen" in a cafe overlooking
     the square.

The next day saw us going our separate ways to pursue our own special interests. Five of us decided to travel to Bad Staffelstein to enjoy the waters of this fairly new spa - a real treat for aching bones. This was followed by a visit to the Kaiser porcelain factory where we bought some Christmas bargains. Others stayed in Nuremberg and visited the fantastic Toy Museum.
Eventually we all travelled to Forchheim, the small town which some of us had visited last summer. There we were met by some of our German friends who took us to their market, a much more small-scale affair, but very picturesque with the illuminated mediaeval Town Hall as a backgroound. It was St. Nicholas' Day so, dressed as a
                                                                 bishop, he paid a visit with presents for the children. Later that evening we     were invited for "refreshments" to the Adult Education Centre. Our hosts       of the summer laid on an Advent party for us, complete with Advent wreath,     music, singing and presents. It was a lovely surprise and a totally                     unexpected pleasure for all of us, especially for those new to the area.
    Our last full day was gloriously sunny and once again we went our separate     ways.  Fortunately there was always at least one competent German                 speaker in each group. Some of us visited Nuremberg Zoo described as the     most beautifully landscaped in Europe and which contains approximately         2000 animals.

We went on to the Dokumentation Zentrum situated in the Party Rally Grounds on the outskirts of the city where there is an exhibition called "Fascination and Terror". This chronicles Hitler's incredible rise to power and the causes and consequencies of the Nazi rule of terror.

Three of our group went by train to Bamberg, a gem of a city, a world heritage site, quite close to Nuremberg but totally different in character and architecture. The rest visited the Germanische Museum and attended an organ recital in one of the churches.
We were impressed by the integrated, clean and punctual transport system which enabled us to travel all over the city and beyond at very reasonable cost. What better way could there be to start the Christmas festivities with interesting things to see, good food, good wine and more importantly, good company.

June Gibbs.
Marlene Brookes.
Margaret Mc Dermott.
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