Museum Hopping

Yesterday, Jay and I went to Nurnberg. We had a two fold mission, but accomplished only half of it. The first thing we wanted to do was go to the court house where the Nurnberg Trials took place at the end of World War II. We have been there before, but saw only the outside as we weren't able to get in. Just a few weeks ago, a memorial museum, including the actual court room, opened up for public viewing. Jay, being the history buff that he is, definitely wanted to see it. It was neat to see Court Room 600, see many pictures and video clips from the trial, and hear all the details. History isn't always fun when reading it out of a text book, but actually seeing these places and sitting where they sat, how can you not enjoy.

After hitting up the memorial, we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the car! Yes, we are lame, but we have to save our money for our trip to Kenya! I would rather buy a giraffe than eat at a restaurant!!

Our next mission was to head downtown and visit the world renowned Nurnberg Christmas Market. This market is huge and extremely overwhelming. Knowing this has scared me away the past two years. We've hit up a lot of smaller ones, but didn't have the desire to be so crowded that you can barely walk. But, this is our last Christmas in Germany and I know I would regret not going to the biggest market when it's only an hour away. So, we drove around trying to find a parking spot that was closer than two miles out. After nearly an hour of driving and trying to find a spot in a parking garage, we were both frustrated and gave up. Instead, we headed to the Hitler Documentation Center. We decided we would ride the train down some weekend and walk to the market. It would be much less hectic doing it that way!

We have been to the area of the Documentation Center many times. This is where Hitler's parade field is and some other big sites of his are. But we had never taken the time to walk through the museum. It was a lot of reading and we have heard a lot about it already, but it was still neat to walk through. No matter how many museums or concentration camps we walk through, I will never stop being amazed at the damage Hitler caused.

After finishing up at the museum and 130 pictures later, it was time to head back home. That was enough history for me in one day! Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we'll have a chance to get to the Christmas market. Actually, next weekend will be our last chance as we head for Africa the following week!!