Greetings from Nuremberg!

June 24, 2010
Greetings from Nuremberg! Nuremberg is a large city about 1 hour and 15 minutes from where Kim lives. So, Thursday morning I decide to take a drive, with the navigator of course because I cannot go anywhere without it due to the language barrier and all. So I’m ready to go and do you think I can find the program in the nav (slang for navigator) to get to Nuremberg. That took about 10 minutes of pressing all kinds of buttons and waiting for something familiar to show up on the screen. Because those of you who know me well, this is just another version of the TV remote control and I will push any buttons until something happens. I was just getting ready to call Kim when obviously I pressed the right button and I was ready to travel (couldn’t do it again if I needed to).

So, I need to be in Nuremberg for a 1:00 tour of the city in English, otherwise forget the tour because I can barely figure out hello and good-bye. Well, honestly I have those two words down but not much beyond that. In fact, people just start talking to me and I’m sure I look at them with this blank face because I want to talk (everyone knows that) I just have no idea what is being said to me. Then I say something like “I only speak English” and they continue in German. I guess that’s my big clue we’re not going to have a conversation. Anyway, the neighbor lady “Oma” which is grandma (thanks Sheryn!) greets me often and asks for Kim. Now, she speaks fast German and knows I have no idea what she’s saying; by the way, she knows no English either. When she asks about Kim, I respond like she understands me and she continues talking! Like I get what she is talking about. And, they when I just stand there and look at her, because I don’t want to be rude and walk away (though I feel sort of rude because I have no idea what she is saying and I just sort of nod my head), she throws her hands up in the air and gets (what I would assume) frustrated. Now, this isn’t the first time it’s happened; at least the third, so who’s not getting here – her or me. Anyway, I think I’m going to run the opposite direction and lock the door the next time I see her; enough about my lack of the German language. Let’s chat about my driving skills. Okay, so far I’m not finding it too terribly difficult to drive on the autobahn. And yes, there are places on the autobahn with speed limits but far more without. I don’t find the drivers rude or reckless but they do like to drive fast! When I was driving to Nuremberg (remember that’s what this whole note is supposed to be about), it was very easy to keep up with the traffic and when I glanced down, I saw I was driving 135 k, which is a little over 80 mph.

Now, that’s a little fast for me but somewhere in my head I hear my sister saying “that’s slow, you can driver faster”. Germany does not have many rules when driving; however, if you are driving over 130 k and get in an accident, you will be cited for excessive speed, even if you didn’t cause the accident because “speed is always a factor in a car accident”. Anyone find this surprising? I didn’t think so. So, the average speed on the autobahn is 120 k, which is very workable for me. I don’t need to be driving faster than 70 mph. And, where it really makes a difference is everywhere else; the speeds are usually slower than would be expected; 20-30 mph and on some roads only 40 mph. Enough about the driving, let’s get back to Nuremberg. I arrived in the city shortly before noon, thinking I had plenty of time. The parking is difficult, mostly because I can’t read any of the signs that tell me whether or not I can park here! The first few places I stop, I’m thinking “no parking” for some reason; just doesn’t look like I’m allowed.

Finally I found a friendly looking person and said “Do you speak English?” Success! I’m thinking I’m in the ball park. She says I can park here, just get a ticket from the machine. Off to the machine I go, and surprise, surprise, I can’t read the directions because they’re in German. Once again, I add money, start pressing buttons to see what happens, amazingly there are some words I understand (you paid too much) and I continuing pressing more buttons and it refunds my money and no parking ticket. And then I notice, in teeny tiny font size 8, light green lettering in English! Yeah, I’m thinking. And then I continue to read and I’m at a 2 hour parking limit spot. Not going to work for me; I need at least four hours. No wonder it kept giving me my money back. No I’m armed and ready to find a parking spot because I now know what the signs say (thanks to the nice lady) and I can locate the ticket box and read the information! Several stops later I finally find a 24 hour parking spot. Off to the next task. Find the information tourist site before 1:00; I’ve got about 25 minutes so this should be no problem. Again, it would be so helpful if I could read the signs. At least this time I’m in the large market area with tons of people at my disposal. I choose a friendly looking person, who should be able to speak English and start with the question and answering again. Finally I locate the building and surprisingly I was not the far off base; less than a block. In the tourist information, everyone speaks English and I’m able to chat away, getting a ticket for the tour than now begins in 15 minutes. It’s amazing how difficult it is to find the simplest things when you don’t know the language. So, I joined this small group of 10 for a tour around Nuremberg, learning the history of the city, along with the new and old traditions. As with any city, there are always the facts and fables. We visited several churches, saw the city hall and commerce, as well as the hot spots to eat their famous little sausages. No joke, it’s now a law in the city that the sausages can be no wider than the little finger (whose I’m not sure) and no longer than 5 inches (I think). Anyway, this city is famous for their sandwiches that have six little sausages on them and they are yummy!Famous buildings were pointed out as well as monuments and their famous water fountain. We ended our tour with a visit to the local castle. I was a nice way to see the city and learn a little of its history. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Kim and I are leaving for Berlin tonight (Friday) and will return Sunday. Enjoy your weekend (I will).