Storming the Castle

B: It's been said that everything in Europe is on the top of a hill. We agree. We headed up to the Nuremberg Castle located at the northernmost end of the Altstadt (Old Town) to take some photos on our fancy new cell phones (handys) we just got. The past few days have been downright wintry with temperatures in the 30's at night and periods of heavy rain during the days. So, when we woke up today and the sun was shining we bundled up, grabbed the camera phones and headed out.

We followed this great walking path along the Pegnitz River that led us directly into the Alstadt through a medieval arched door. Then it was up, up and up some more to the top of the hill. Thank goodness there were several wonderful Bierstubes along the way to quench our thirst if we had needed it.

G: While these shots are primarily of the Nuremberg Castle and its walls (they drained the moat; it's now a walking and biking path) we haven't stopped marveling at the fact that this is an old working city. By that, I mean that while parts of the castle date to the 1300's (and it was built on foundations that date back to the 1000's), there are plenty of houses in the Altstadt that were built in the 1600's and are currently being occupied, with satellite TV, internet- the works. This isn't some sort of hokey Colonial Williamsburg jive; this is everyday life.

This isn't to say all buildings here are old-- far from it. But this is a large city that respects its past, and where the very old and the very new coexist side-by-side.

These are just a few shots from today's adventure. More to come soon........**We're still learning how to format our pictures within the blog. Apologies for the hatchet job.