This city isn't as small as I thought it would be. I knew it was big, but reading about it online is a bit different than visiting.
We rode by train from Vilseck to Nuremberg, which cost our family of 6 people 14 Euro, round trip. Not shabby! The train ride was about 45 minutes long from Vilseck, including three stops on the way. I hear that by car it's about the same length of time.There is a lot of bustle in this city, and honestly, I am glad we didn't visit via car. But, I definitely plan to return already because one day wasn't enough time to see and do everything.
Nuremberg is close enough to where I live that I assume it eventually won't feel so foreign, or as touristy. There is a slew of pubs, restaurants, shops, and a little bit of something for everyone!
Our first trip to Nuremberg today was mostly just walking around and taking in the atmosphere. This was the first big city we have ever experienced in Europe, so it will hold a place in my heart, always. Farmers and vendors selling homemade goods and fresh produce. People playing live music for donations on every corner. Most of my time was spent gazing up in awe at all of the cathedrals, buildings, and structures.
We visited the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg, which probably wasn't as fascinating as other castles in Germany, but for my first REAL castle tour, I was impressed enough. We were actually surprised to find that the entrance fee to see all three castle 'attractions' was a whole lot cheaper than we initially thought! 7 Euro per adult, for the 3 part ticket, and the kids were free. I recommend waiting in the line for Sinwell Tower (included in the 3 part entrance fee) because the views are pretty sweet. Lots of photo ops!
Now, you don't have to actually buy any kind of tickets to walk around the castle grounds.
The interior parts that cost money are the Sinwell tower, the deep well, and the castle halls/church. The castle hall tour includes seeing old armor, weapons, chain mail, interesting rooms, and a nice replica of the crown jewels. It took us about 30 minutes to see all parts of the 'hall' tour. I was slightly bummed that the crown was a replica. I assume most displayed crowns are replicas, even if the plaque doesn't say so, but at least they could've let me believe I was looking at the real deal. Buzzkills.
After touring the inside, we hung outside for awhile, and then headed down to the castle gardens, which are beautiful!
We were limited on time, because we had to catch the evening train, so the castle was really the only thing we visited in entirety while there. I did eat at a small pizza joint (the name has escaped me), we got coffee, and went into a few stores (H&M, LUSH, a furniture store, Diesel, etc,.)
Nuremberg is really a city you can spend a day in and ask yourself: "Where did the time go?". We arrived around lunch, and by the time it hit 7:00pm, it felt like we had only been there for an hour! We'll visit again soon. I am kicking myself for not buying a coat I saw at H&M!
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