On a late march morning, we found ourselves next-door to Nürnberg’s Altstadt with no real agenda except to wander and see what we might see. And Nürnberg’s a good place for that.
It’s a busy modern city built out from a medieval core with much of the old walls still in place. It’s home to one of the largest Christmas markets, but it was also the home to both the Nazi party’s big rallies and the war crimes trials after. A wealth of contradictory images.
The Altstadt, or Old City, today is a mix of surviving buildings going back centuries, reconstructions of some that were destroyed, and some modern buildings trying to look not too much out of place.
But while we visited several churches during our day, and more on that another day, most of our attention focused on food, because we wandered into a daily market in the main square, in front of the Rathaus, and because we were struck with some food contradictions as well. Such as this lovely statue of the Virgin Mary decorating what is now the Istanbul Restaurant.
As we wandered into the market on the square, we found more ‘mismatches.’ For instance, the Balkan Snacks truck. Not only is the food depicted on it and sold at it not especially ‘Balkan,’ consisting mostly of sausages and fries, but its main signage is all in English: Balkan Snacks, Fingerfood. More and more as we travel in Europe we see English words slipping into local languages; I’ve been saying that in 10 more years, at least 100 words in every language will be replaced by English words.
Of course, some of the food in the market was very local, especially the remaining winter vegetables, and this crate of ‘self-made Sauerkraut from our own garden.’ I really wanted to take some, but we were to leave on a Viking River cruise the next day.
Another local favorite, just coming into the market, white asparagus. The season starts officially on April 1 with a ceremonial digging up of the first stalks, but these were out already on March 23. And at not a bad price: about $4 a pound. It’s the same vegetable, but grown with earth mounded around it to keep it from sunlight. All you could want to know is HERE.
Another new arrival for the season: beautiful rhubarb.
The tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers are produce from elsewhere in Europe and North Africa, including Sicily, which we had just arrived from.
And, to top it off, a large display of Mediterranean Specialties, including many varieties of olives.
Nearby, preparations for a wedding, and an opportunity to clown around a bit.
But soon, all that food and all the walking left us hungry for lunch, and we stopped at the Bratwursthäusle, just next to the Frauenkirche, the main Catholic church in the area. Best-ever potato soup, a Franconian specialty with potatoes, carrots, onion and herbs.
It was just the thing to have with a plate of the famous Nürnberger bratwurst, but sadly, I was too hungry for them to remember to take pictures. This will have to do—but there’s an authenticity warning attached. They look right, but this batch is actually made of marzipan!
Spent a few visits to Nürnberg when I was stationed in Augsburg with the US Army. A large PX was located in Furth which is adjacent to Nürnberg. We also loved the local market here and in most German towns and villages. The Christmas market was spectacular.
I was actually in Nürnberg several times while in high school at Heidelberg American High School…but the only things I think I actually saw were our Army bus and the gym of the Nürnberg American High School…missed opportunities! As a family, we stayed clear of the ‘golden ghetto’ in our travels, but for school activities…
Looks, from your picture to mine, as if the market hasn’t changed much!
Hi Pheymont, we are heading to Germany next May and hope to make it to Nürnberg. Your post was great and made me even more eager for our trip. Thank you for sharing. Enjoyed the pictures too.