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| I have a feeling poor Jes is going to meet an untimely death at some point. Poor little fella almost dropped to his doom during this photo. He's like a stuffed tiger Mr. Bill. Oh...that just gave me a whole fresh batch of ideas. |
Greetings from Deutschland! Since arriving on Wednesday, I've managed to embarrass myself countless times with my
wee stuffed tiger. Thankfully, my
real traveling companions have been great sports and have done an excellent job of pretending that a grown woman snapping photos of a flattened cat is the most normal thing in the world. It's probably a good thing I don't understand a lick of German.
I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite photos of Jes in the beautiful town of
Nuremberg. This is the second largest town in Bavaria (that's a southeastern German bundesland or state). It dates back to 1050, if you can imagine. We began our trip at the Kaiserburg which consists of three castles that tower over Nuremburg.
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| Yeah, so they don't have elevators to the top of this view. Which is probably a good thing for the two-gelato/three-pretzel/five-German-chocolate-bar diet that I'm workin on. |
During the Renaissance, this town was the hot spot for artists, craftsmen and those intellectual types. Kinda like the Soho of the day, so to speak. And with views like these, who wouldn't be inspired?
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| Several buildings just like the one above are apart of Kaiserburg. One of the things I've loved about being in Germany in the summer is seeing all of the beautiful flowers in bloom. It seems nearly each home has a window box bursting with color. |
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| Who needs an alarm system when you've got a lock like that? This door leads to the castle grounds. |
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| If I don't drop Jes to his doom, he will most assuredly be stolen by tourists. Not only is he popular with the kids (who think he's a free toy they've discovered when I set him down to take his picture) but adults alike as they've also began taking his picture. I can only imagine what their facebook caption would say: "Freak show American with stuffed tiger -- only in Europe!" |
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| At the base of the castle is the home of one of Germany's most famous artists, Albrecht Durer. During the Renaissance era, Durer was best known for his prints but was also an incredible painter and draftsman. I cannot wait to share photos of his home and studio with the kids this fall. |
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| "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," Albrecht Duer, 1471-1528 |
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| Dunno Durer? Recognize these hands? Well this is one of his many masterpieces. You can check out more here. |
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| St. Lorenz-Kirche or church. This beautiful church was built pre-Renaissance. It sits very close to some of the most amazing shops known to man where I may or may not have stuffed Jes into my purse and spent way too many euros. |
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| Jes spinning the ring at Schoner Brunnen in Hauptmarkt. It's said that if you spin the rings at this 14th century fountain in Nuremberg's main market, you'll have wishes granted and good fortune. Wishing for more beautiful days, adventures and hoping hubs doesn't find all of the shopping bags I've stuffed in my suitcase. |
Well, that's all of Nuremberg for today! Stay tuned for Jes' adventures in Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Bamberg...if he makes it that far. Thanks for reading.
