In the spring of 2009, my parents and I traveled from Munich up to Nuremberg (Nürnberg in German). You probably recognize this city from the Nazi war crimes trials that happened here after WWII. If not that, you’ve probably heard of the city’s famous Christmas market. This city was also very important to Hitler during the war. Here he built the Congress Hall and a colosseum, along with rally grounds for the mass demonstrations the Hitler planned. If you have seen Leni Riefenstahl’s “Triumph of the Will,” you will recognize images of this city, because this is where it was filmed.

All of these sights can be visited in a trip here. The Documentation Center is quite an impressive museum, with so much history and artifacts from the Nazi-era, and it is all the more powerful because it is inside the Congress Hall.

After a visit to the museum, with images of the rally grounds fresh in your mind, a short walk there will leave you with an entirely different image. The grounds are now mostly used as a skate park, with people sitting and playing in the stands. It’s quite a contrast.

Nürnberg is also the home of Albrect Dürer, and there is a museum in his honor. The city fortress can also be toured, and there are many churches and a style of architecture much different from Salzburg to admire. Also, Nürnberg is home to my favorite sausages, tiny gray ones, about the length of a finger, so of course, I had to eat some while there.

Click the photo below (of the Documentation Center) to see some of the sights of Nürnberg.