Nuremburg

Today is the last day of sightseeing in Germany and we chose to spend it as a day trip to Nuremburg on the way back to Frankfurt.
When deciding where our our day trip would be, Nuremberg was on the list but with some hesitation. The only thing I knew about the town was Nuremberg trials and I feared that would consume the town. To our delight, Nuremberg was so much more and I wished we would have scheduled a night here to be able to see more.

We started of with an early train ride; well not that early. We ended up getting to the town about noon. We locked up our bags at the station and started our walk.

Always number one on our minds is food (well number 1 for me is where are the toilets because I always have to go). We find a cafe to have a little meal before we move on.

More sausages!

By the cafe there is a shopping area where craftsmen sell their unique items. I wanted to come back to buy some souvenirs but later forgot.

Craftsmen’s Courtyard

After some window shopping we walk through the old town. We pass some cafes and a monument to World War II refugees.

We visit to the St Lawrence Church (started 1360). Despite WW II the church survived mostly intact due partly to luck and pro-activeness in hiding and protecting precious parts.

After the church we wander around the town some more.

“Durer ” Rabbit

Finally we plan to visit the Germanic National Museum. Our map reading skills fail us because we end up going in circles. We eventually find it. We don’t have a ton of time left since we have a train to catch. We try to do the express version and finally towards the end I find the Durer works (but take no photos). The selection at the museum was pretty impressive. I would definitely schedule more than an hour or so here (unlike us).

We loved Nuremberg and definitely would have spent more time here. I will be sure to put it on the list to swing by again the next visit to Germany.
Now to catch the train back to Frankfurt.

Williamsburg 2014

St. Pete Art

I visited downtown St. Petersburg, Florida last fall with a group a friends as part of a two day brewery vacation. While there I took note at the interesting art and architecture that the city has to offer.
It was a great way to display street art on underutilized walls.

Art Deco

I love the bike paintings. Creative use of space and encourages an active lifestyle.

Some older architecture

Sevilla : More Churches!!!

We spent one more day in Sevilla exploring around town. While we were there, they were preparing for the Holy Week. Most churches around town staged a float for the holy week. Much preparation goes into this parade. It is an honor to carry the float and it can take twenty-four and fifty-four men to carry one float from their church to the Sevilla Cathedral.

These figurines look intimidating but the hoods have a different meaning in Spain. The capirote or pointed hats are used in religious practice and not meant for what we might think they are used for in the united states.

Sevilla Cathedral (Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla)

Sevilla cathedral is the largest Gothic church in existence.

The floats during used holy week will all arrive at this cathedral on good Friday. It is a magnificent church but also contains some great works by the artist Murillo.

An organ of 7,000 pipes. That’s some pipe power!

La Visión de San Antonio by Murillo

Some beautiful stained glass windows.

Tomb of Columbus

It is highly disputed where the remains of the famous explorer Christopher Columbus lie. Finally DNA tests prove that at least part of Columbus rest in this tomb (he may also be in Cuba where he traveled posthumously).

St. Justina and St. Rufina, 1817

There was a real interesting back story about these saints.

We got a chance to climb to the top of the accompanied tower. We got a nice view of the bells while we were up there.

Giralda Tower

Interesting drainage solutions outside the church in the orange courtyard.

After exploring the church we did some window shopping. I wish I had a need for a flamenco dress!

The day soon came to an end and we had to leave the next day. We probably could have spent another day or two here not even mentioning all the other cities in the region that we missed. Oh welll! I guess we can always come back! Adios!

Asheville River Arts District

During a recent road trip to visit an old friend she suggested we spend a day doing the Asheville River Arts District studio stroll one Sunday.

The river arts district is an old industrial area of Asheville near the French Broad River that was re purposed into studios for local artisans. Every second Saturday the artisans open up their studios for guests to come in and watch them work. We attended during a twice a year event that opens the studios all weekend.