Lose Weight and Gain Health

I am taking a break from the blog for a few days, so I can enjoy the holiday season and devote myself to my family.

The house is decorated.

Presents are bought and wrapped.

The fridge and cupboards are full of lots of lovely food.

There is a pile of presents under the tree.

Everywhere is clean and tidy.

Best of all, I am looking forward to spending a few days with those I love the most.

There are plenty of dear friends and family I will not be able to see.

Some because they live too far away on other Continents.

Others I can not see because busy diaries do not permit.

Some of those we love the most are no longer with us.  They are with us in our hearts and in our memories and if I can not be with someone I want to be, I make sure I love those I can be with a little bit more instead.

I would like to wish you and all your loved ones a very Merry Christmas.

We were all sad to be leaving Nuremberg yesterday.  After breakfast in the hotel we spent 2-3 hours wandering around this beautiful old town.  The architecture is so lovely.

Look at the detail on this building!

We picked up the last few bits we needed in the Christmas Market and then headed up to the main shopping area.

I have no idea what this statue represents!

This cute Christmas wooden statue is more my thing at Christmas time 🙂We checked in so quickly at the airport we had loads of time to hang around with not much to do.  This tea display was amazing.  So much choice of different teas and when I asked for a peppermint tea, I was asked if I wanted a tea bag or fresh leaves!  There was an excellent choice of accompaniments too, such as different types of honey and lemon.  I wish some of our high street chains were this good.

I wasn’t very hungry so Harvey and I shared a salad i.e. he ate most of the chicken and I got the lettuce!

Thanks to my careful budgeting, we were left with Euros 9.19.  I walked round the airport and noticed there was no confectionary for sale.  None at all.  People who wonder why childhood obesity is such a problem in this country should perhaps look at countries where levels are lower and so too is the availability of confectionary.  Maybe there is a bit of a connection.  I bought a small stollen which they cut up for us and we enjoyed with tea and coffee.

On the plane we were given a chocolate cookie and small bar of chocolate so a bit of a sugar rush in the afternoon!

This morning I started the day with a red berry smoothie made with mixed berries, almond milk and 4 dates.  I should have blitzed it more but I was in a rush as I had to go out.

One of many errands today was a visit to the Rolvenden Farmers market.  I haven’t been for months as I am always in London on Thursdays so I really enjoyed a chance to go back.  It doesn’t quite have the air of jollity and Christmas spirit that Nuremberg had though 😦

Ham salad with sweet potato for lunch.  I made the salad from iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and raw shredded brussel sprouts.  I also had a little piece of Christmas cake with a cuppa. What a treat.For supper we went out to the Black Pig, Hawkhurst with Lucy, Emily and Charlie.  I had the belly of pork which was served on smashed potatoes with courgettes, carrots and cabbage.

We had a cosy table in the bay window and a very jolly evening indeed.

Instead of dessert in the pub we headed up the road to Lucy’s for mince pies and unfortunately, tea for this driver.  I should have asked Lara to drive :-).  It was a lovely evening and that plus the Christmas Market has made me feel all Christmassy.

Today was all about the castle, eating and shopping.  And eating.  And drinking.

Isn’t this a good idea – large tea bags for tea pots?

I started today with an apricot juice, granola, yogurt, pumpkin seeds, prunes and fresh fruit in a tiny bowl again.

Followed by rye bread, boiled egg, ham and a small slither of Brie.

For some, the perfect combination is chocolate cake with frankfurter and fruit salad, ideally all eaten together!

Our destination this morning, despite the pouring rain, was the Kaiserbourg, the castle at the top of the hill.  This is such an attractive town.

My chest infection has really taken hold and it gets worse as soon as I go outside and hit the cold and damp air.  I was struggling to get enough air as the walk up to the castle is very steep in places.

Nearly there 🙂

More climbing though, to get to the top of the tower.

What a view 🙂

We could make out the town square and the Christmas Market.

The black cars belong to the Bavarian Government who were having a meeting in the castle.  There were lots of Polizei around which Harvey enjoyed.

Lar and Harvey at the top of the tower.

Time to head back down the stairs.

Nearly down at the bottom.

It doesn’t look so big from the outside but the view from the top is worth the climb, even when you do nearly die of consumption on the way up!

Next stop was the well house – the well is 47 metres deep which is a long way down.

As demonstrated by pouring a jug of water down and seeing how long it took to hear the splash ( a long time!) and then lowering the candles down.

This is a cute iron castle door.

Time to head back to town.

This is an amazing structure, built out of the bed rock.

By the time we got back in to town, refreshments were required.  I just had a coffee (did you see my halo shining)

whereas Lara and Harvey enjoyed a crepe.

We then had a Gluwhein to keep the cold out.

Shopping time.

Fancy a long sausage?

This is more my style – a whole stall selling different types of Stollen 🙂

This is such a pretty city and we really enjoyed wandering round the market.

We headed back to our hotel to drop off shopping bags and have a relax.  We are staying at the Hotel Agneshof which is in the Medieval part of town where most of the attractions such as the Christmas market are located.  We are less than a 5 minute walk to the market but down a quiet street so the revellers do not disturb us at night.

We are in room 322 which is for wheelchair users.  We love our room as it is large and spacious with a huge en suite bathroom.

Plenty of space for reading, writing and relaxing.

We fitted in another hours shopping before dinner.

These “tools” are ALL made out of chocolate!  So those rusty old cogs are actually edible.

This is such a beautiful and dramatic town and even more so at night time.

We had an incredible dinner tonight.  I rarely say this, as I like variety, but if we were in Nuremberg tomorrow night, and assuming we could get a table, I would have the same again.  It was fabulous and I will be giving the Albrecht Durer Stube a 10/10 on Trip Advisor later.

We tried to get in to this German eaterie, last night but it was busy.  We peeked inside from the street and saw a busy restaurant full of people having a great time.  We wanted to be there too.

We booked a table at 10am today but the restaurant was already booked out from 8pm so we took a table at 6pm.  It happens to be next door to our hotel so it was very easy to get to!

We sat on a large table with a family of 4 from Somerset who were also without their man (at sea – working, not missing or lost).

This place was busy and cosy and friendly.  Perfect.

I ordered one of the specials which was goose with roast potatoes and red cabbage.  It was incredible.  Lara had the other special, which was roast duck and that was amazing too.

This goose was perfect.  It must have been slow cooked as the meat was tender, full of flavour and the skin had no visible fat left but was crisp.  The potatoes, cabbage and gravy were wonderful.  I enjoyed every morsel and could have licked the plate, it was that good.

For dessert I had a platter which contained a mini (they were very small portions but just right) creme caramel, vanilla ice-cream, creme brûlée, red berry mousse, vanilla mousse and blackberry compote.  It was sprinkled with toasted coconut and was really good.

I loved this place and if I ever came again, would book this in advance to be sure of a table.  One wall is covered in certificates and awards, plus they have plenty of seasonal decorations up.The other walls are covered in Abrecht Durer’s works (copies I assume) and local images.

We were sad to leave.

Today’s post features a visit to the rally grounds of the National Socialist Party.  There is nothing gruesome shown but if you do not want to read about it or see photos, please don’t read today’s post.

The time difference means the mornings are darker longer.  We didn’t sleep longer though 🙂

The hotel laid on an impressive spread.  I had just 2 dsps of granola, plus some pumpkin seeds, prunes and lots of fresh fruit with yogurt.

This is probably the smallest bowl I have ever eaten from.  They are not giant grapes, just a very small bowl.

The cereal would not have kept me full for long so I added a protein course; 2 slices of cheese, 3 types of ham, a Nuremberg Wurst, Frankfurter, boiled egg and 3 types of smoked fish.  Just little tastes of lots of different foods for variety.  I added some more fruit too.

We walked in to the main square which is less than 5 minutes away.  This wooden statue slowly revolves and is very charming.

The next 3 photos show the beautiful sculptures along the outside of the Rathaus – the town hall to you and I. The Rathaus is the building on the right of this picture.

Several of the buildings have beautiful painted murals along the outside.

There are museums everywhere.  The guidebook listed 41 and some of them are almost tempting to go to as they sound so bizarre such as a hat museum, pigeon museum and a dialysis museum! 

Down in the main square the Christmas Market is open for business again.  Look how dark it still seems – it’s 9am !

Thanks to the very helpful lady at the Tourist Information centre, we successfully boarded the correct bus and arrived at the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelande or, in English, the Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds.

We visited some of the buildings built by the National Socialists (NS).  The National Socialists are a part of Nuremberg’s relatively recent history.   Nuremberg was the town where the first laws against Jews were published, where the NS party held their main rallies and also where, at the end of the second word war, the main protagonists were tried and then variously hanged, imprisoned or pardoned.

Before looking at the permanent exhibition inside, we walked around the 4 km² grounds, where Albert Speer’s designs that were actually built remain.

This photograph shows, in black and white,  which parts of the planned rally grounds were actually built and the orange parts show those areas which were planned but never built.

We set off to walk around.  No tour is needed because there are plenty of information boards to tell you what you are looking at.

Mainly this was a bleak, grey and cold winters day which seemed fitting really to be walking round a place where such an evil man demonstrated his power.  Most of the main parade ground is today unused and falling apart.

This is a view from the back of one of the 3 sides of the spectator stands.

This is a view from the top of what was the main stand.

I have very mixed feelings about the maintenance of this structure.

I found it unsettling to see my children standing in the place where AH once stood, saluting while the crowd cheered.

I found it chilling and was keen to move on.

The allies blew up the Swastika which once stood above the central part of the building and took down the columns which ran along the top of the stands in both directions from the centre so it no longer looks like a grand place.  

This is not a period of history Harvey has learnt about yet and he is too young to be educated to the horrors of this time.  He was delighted to find some snow and his child appropriate enthusiasm for it helped lighten the mood here.

The sun came out briefly.

This is a view across the lake to the Congress Hall.  This unfinished building was in the style of the Colisseum.

More snow – still fun, no matter that it is black!

This is the Grosse Strasse which would have led from the Congress Hall to another large parade ground which was never built.

We walked approximately 3 km round the mainly frozen lake.  The cold, damp air made my chest very painful and I found breathing deeply quite impossible.  I feel irritated to be poorly on holiday but I pushed myself to do everything I wanted to do anyway.

This was a very welcome cup of tea inside the Documentation Centre.

The Documentation Centre is inside the North Wing of the unfinished Congress Hall.  Designed by the National Socialists to accommodate 50,000 people it is now occupied by a permanent exhibition called ‘Fascination and Terror’.

It was very affordable at Euros 5.50 for all 3 of us and that includes the audio guide.  The exhibition focuses on the causes, contexts and consequences of the tyranny of the National Socialists.  Since this is in Nuremberg, the exhibition focuses on the rallies and then the trial at the end of the war.

It was not very interesting for Harvey but he was really good and allowed us time to wander round the exhibition.  

We were all relieved to get out though and to be waiting for our bus back to the Christmas Markets and a more cheerful and happy place.  I am pleased I visited here but I will never return.  It is too grim and ghastly to contemplate what was celebrated here.

The bus dropped us off near this bakery.  I would be intrigued to try some of this very dark bread which I assume is rye.

Back in all the bright lights and cheerfulness of the Christmas Markets.

Late lunch for Lara and Harvey.  I was not very hungry so declined.

Look at these beautifully painted gingerbread cookies.

They are used as Christmas tree decorations, hence the hole in them.

I did have this almond Lebkuchen.  It was amazing.  Like a cross between a gingerbread and a macaroon it was moist, chewy, lightly spiced and almondy.  Quite incredible.

I had to buy another.

These little dolls house pieces are so cute.

The little cutlery trays are my favourite.

We also wandered down to the children’s Christmas Market.

Ho ho ho !

The stands here have decorations on top.

There are rides for the children too but Harvey is way too grown up for such things now, don’t you know.

After a relax in the hotel, we headed out to a very local German restaurant for dinner.  We ordered a large salad to share.

We sat in a cosy booth.

Lara had beef with potato dumplings and sauerkraut which was all delicious apart from the potato dumpling which was quite peculiar in texture.

So I was able to share my chips with her.  I wanted the Weiner Schnitzel which is pork escaloppe and it was really good.

We all had apple strudel.  I was disappointed as it didn’t seem very traditional to me and was smothered in icing sugar and accompanied by vanilla sauce, ice cream and cream.

The ambiance in this cute little restaurant was lovely.  It was very cosy and welcoming and we had a good meal.So that is a little sample of Nuremberg.  A fascinating place with so much about it that is quite beautiful but a history I find so chilling.  The history of Nuremberg is not celebrated  in any way but neither is it ignored.  It is presented factually which is probably as it should be.  Tomorrow will be more about the present.