Nürnberg: die Altstadt

We got a double-dose of Nürnberg tourism, thanks to Viking's generous welcome. 

Which actually followed an initial disappointment with them. We couldn't get them to ferry us from the Nürnberg airport to the boat. You see, we'd  made a "diversion," in flying to Milan instead of directly to Nürnberg, where our cruise began. We understood from the outset that we'd be on our own getting to the start of the cruise. But after receiving prompt, courteous, and very helpful replies to my emails regarding where to find them in Nürnberg, I thought I'd asked if we could just hitch a ride from the airport with some of our fellow passengers. 

Well, we could, but it would cost us a fair bit more than transportation on our own (although this wasn't cheap; a ride across town on Nürnberg's spiffy subway was a little pricey, and we needed a taxi to get us the last way to the boat).

So with this less-than-auspicious start to our cruise, we were rather bowled over with the treatment we received upon our arrival at Tor's dock.

Not only were we given warm towels to refresh ourselves even before we'd checked in, but we could also get into our room (even though it was a couple of hours before the posted check-in time) and they were still serving a light lunch. I had had granola bars ready since I doubted  this meal would be available. But as it was, we got our first taste of Tor's fabulous cuisine.

An even more wonderful surprise, though, was the fact that they had buses leaving at 2 and 3 to take early arrivals to the old city! This was completely unexpected and so very welcome. Our docking site in Nürnberg was less than ideal, at a rather remote spot on the Main-Danube Canal. Without the Viking bus, we'd have had a choice of hanging around the boat all afternoon (not a bad option!) or shelling out €s for another cab ride.

We were happy to take the 3 o'clock bus to the Altstadt and thoroughly enjoyed our two hours of extra Nürnberg sight-seeing.

Some of the pictures in this post were taken on this first day in the city, when we spent most of our time in the abundantly photogenic area of the Pegnitz River that flows through medieval Nürnberg. The helpful Viking staff let us know what parts of the old city would be covered in the guided tour  the next day, so we were able to avoid duplication.

And the river wasn't on the official itinerary, so we were really glad we had time to stroll along it on our own...

The lovely old bridges over the river are highlight sights...

But of course the main tour was focused on the old city, and some the pictures here were taken then. Highlights of the tour were an impressive medieval castle and a couple of gorgeous churches. I'll tell you about those sights in a separate post, bur we found just normal, unidentified buildings to be almost as interesting and photo-worthy as the big boys...

handsome building complete with sundial

I seem to remember this is a police station; it looks sturdy enough, don't you think?

I'm sure spring and summer are lovely times to visit Germany, but I was looking forward to some fall color, and wasn't disappointed. This is the part of the parkland near the castle...

You'll see some more vibrant autumn views in upcoming posts.

European architecture's little details are often as striking as the buildings they adorn...

"House of Many More than Seven Gables"?

I'll return to the Altstadt later to show you its big draws, but next up are some sights from elsewhere in the city, including some from its infamous place in 20th-century history.