Christmas  Eve
Saturday  24 December 

We started the day with a walk of around 9km partly along city streets but mainly through the Siebentisch Wald, in the northern area of the Augsburg city forest (Augsburg Stadtwald). This is a huge area of 2000 hectares in total, with walking, bike and riding trails and largely unspoilt forest. We saw a few lone joggers (mainly female so it must be considered a safe area), some dog walkers and several groups of walkers but for much of the time it was just us and the trees.

Old drinking fountain

We stopped for a rest on a seat on the edge of the Stempflesee, a small lake which seemed to be home to lots of ducks and one white swan.

We walked back a different way, along the outer wall of the zoo which extended into the park.

After a bit of a rest back home we set out for lunch at Drei Mohren (The Three Moors) restaurant. We had had a lovely meal there last year so Ian had made an online booking for 2pm – a late booking so we could have a rest after the morning walk and also because we intended to attend the 10pm Christmas Eve service and that would be an enjoyable way to spend a large part of the afternoon. Since 2pm was one of the times available on the website, we didn’t realise there would be a problem. However when we turned up at 2pm, we were greeted with great consternation and the news that the kitchen closed at 3pm! Luckily the service at Drei Mohren is smorgasbord so we decided to stay.

The buffet included an interesting range of starters,  main courses and desserts, and we worked our way through all three areas within the hour. The time limit was probably a good thing since it prevented us eating too much of the delicious dishes on offer! The highlight for both of us was a dessert: crème brulee von der Valrhona Schokolade – a smooth chocolate custard with a crust of burnt sugar.

After leaving the restaurant we walked into the town centre to visit the Augsburg Catholic cathedral. There was a rehearsal for the nativity play underway as we walked around the cathedral and lots of tourists admiring the artworks in the various chapels.

Statue in front of the cathedral

Chapel of Our Lady

The four Disciples sleeping

A glimpse of Madonna and Child

The cathedral grounds were extensive and included a large building which may have been a monastery.

From there we walked back towards home and called in at St Urich and St Afra’s on the way. This is a combined church which forms the Protestant cathedral. There was a service taking place in St Ulrich’s, including a nativity play performed by the children and watched by a large congregation.

After a break at home, we returned to St Ulrich’s for the Christmas Eve service at 10pm. The church was beautifully lit by twenty Christmas trees covered in golden lights and the main altar was also spectacularly lit. The service was two hours long, in German and Catholic, but an interesting experience – and certainly worth it for the beautiful décor and the wonderful organ music.

A quiet day in Augsburg
Friday 23 December

Although we had intended to return to Nuremberg today to see a couple of museums, instead we opted for a quiet day in Augsburg. We still had a bit of Christmas shopping to do so we walked to the City Galerie shopping centre where we made a few purchases. The Christmas decorations there were amazing -  a huge Christmas tree which extended through a couple of floors and lots of smaller trees, all covered in golden balls.

Next we visited the Christmas market (where we enjoyed some warm candied cashews) and then stopped at Henry’s Coffee World for some lunch before walking back to our cottage to spend a lazy afternoon. Ian lit a fire in the pot belly stove and soon the living room was very cosy.

We set out again at 6pm to walk back to the Old Town for the appearance of the Christmas angels on the facade of the Town Hall at 7pm. When we arrived there at 6.30 though we realised that the show had already  started. The starting time we had was from last year’s performance! Luckily we were in time for the finale when all the angels processed out of the building and posed in front of the entrance. There was a brass ensemble playing and the atmosphere was very festive.

The air was misty and the street decorations shone in the gloom. We enjoyed the walk back to our cottage and felt that we had been lucky to have seen the angels at all!

Memorium: Nuremberg Trials
Thursday 22 December

Today we spent much of our time at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice where there is an extensive exhibition on the 1945/1946 war crimes trials, entitled ‘Memorium’.

We left Rothenburg after breakfast and took the train to Nuremberg. The Palace of Justice is a short walk from the Barenschanze UBahn station.

  

Courtroom 600 is where the trials of 21 Nazi leaders for crimes against peace and humanity took place after the Second World War. This is still a working court and was not available for visitors today but the story of the war crime trials is told with a visual display and audio guide which covers a whole floor of the Justice building. As well as information about the background to the international justice system which was set up in the years between the two World Wars, and the role the Nazi defendants had played in the war, there was fascinating historic sound and film footage of the trials.

After our visit there we took the train back to the city centre and enjoyed a wander through the extensive Christmas market. The Nuremberg Christmas market has the reputation of being the biggest and best in Europe!

We had snacks from the stalls for a late lunch: three little spicy sausages in a roll for Ian and a roll with pickled herrings for me.

There was a dance performance by a large group of school children in brightly coloured peasant costumes which we enjoyed watching, although we quickly moved back when they started to pull audience members into the dance too. They were collecting donations for a Ukrainian earthquake appeal so we contributed to that instead!

Late in the afternoon we enjoyed some terrific crepes in a nearby café – dark chocolate filling for me and apple sauce, cinnamon and sugar for Ian.

By around 4pm it is quite dark here and there are Christmas lights on all the city-centre buildings and looped across the streets. It really adds to the romantic atmosphere at the Christmas markets – although it’s hard to capture in a photo!

We caught the train back to Augsburg and it felt like we were actually returning home after our trip to Rothenburg  and Nuremberg, especially when our host, Klaus, dropped in with gifts of a scenic calendar and a bottle of wine.

Rambling  and ‘retailing’ in Rothenburg (Apologies for the forced alliteration!)
Wednesday 21 December

We began today with a walk around the town walls of Rothenburg in the early morning light. We set out around 8am when everything was misty and had fun taking some atmospheric photos of views from the city walls.

Back to our hotel for breakfast then off to the German Christmas Museum at one of the Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas stores. We loved the museum which covered the history of all aspects of Christmas from medieval times through to 1960, including Christmas trees, decorations, nativity scenes, advent calendars, Christmas cards and incense smokers. Some of the decorations from the 1950s brought back a lot of happy memories for both of us.

Ian's beakfast egg

A Rothenburg toyshop window - not Käthe Wohlfahrt but still amazing!

After visiting the museum we spent quite a long while choosing  Christmas presents for various people including each other.

We bought sausages in rolls for lunch from a stall at the Christmas market. Ian’s sausage was very thin but .5m long!

A short sausage for me and a very long one for Ian!

We spent the next hour and a half on a walking tour around the Old Town. Our leader was excellent but we were both feeling tired and, despite our down jackets, thermals, beanies and gloves, the cold was taking its toll, so we were relieved when the tour ended and we could sit down in a warm café. We returned to yesterday’s café where we both really enjoyed another Baileys coffee and cake. Then back to the hotel to recover!

St Francis and his brother Leo - figures on an altar
by Tilman Riemenschneider in the Franciscan Cathedral

Another altar in the same church

A view over the Tauber valley on the Old Town walk