Train to Nuremberg: Franconia Freedonia, where's the duck soup?

April 4, 2009

The picture says it all: Nuremberg - Bike Friday - Early Spring - On Tour

For our trial tour with our new folding bikes, Bike Fridays, we decided to cycle in Franconia. Franconia? Sounds like a place from a Marx Brothers film. Remember "Duck Soup" and the land of Freedonia? For me at least the German name for the region, Franken, sounds more like a German place on the map than the anglicized name Franconia.

The train from Munich takes a couple of hours to Nuremberg, known for the Nuremberg Trials, but also for its big Christmas market in December. Now, a week before Easter, it seems they are intent on establishing an Easter market, too. This holiday also lends itself to kitsch.

Tins of Nürnberger Lebkuchen, usually sold at Christmas time: The gingerbread-like cookies are said to improve with age

Nuremberg was almost entirely destroyed in World War II, yet I find it hard to believe that the city walls and towers in red sandstone are reconstructions. They look convincingly old. The center of the town, an extended pedestrian zone with limited motorized traffic, is pleasant to walk around in. You can also pedal around most of the time, not allowed on Saturdays however when the streets are filled with people out shopping.

City walls of Nuremberg - reconstructed after the war

Nuremberg on a Saturday afternoon: Reconstructed historical buildings and new ones, side by side

A contemporary fountain sculpture in Nuremberg (That's how hungry I feel after a day of cycling, I hope I don't end up looking like that)

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