Cruising the Danube from the Black Sea to the North Sea
April-May 2023: Day 22

Nuremburg, Germany

Introduction

This morning we cruised north to Nuremburg. We had left the Danube River late yesterday and we were now on the Main Canal that would take us to the head of the Rhine River and on to Amsterdam. We descended the deepest lock on the canal systen at 24.7m then sailed on and arrived at Nuremburg late morning. After an early lunch we boarded coaches for tours. Most did the city tour. Two buses did WWII history sites, but this turned out to be only 2 stops - Zeppelin Field and the Law Courts for the Nuremburg Trials exhibit.

Main Canal and the Eibach and Leerstetten Locks

There are 16 locks on the Danube-Main-Rhine canal system. At 0947 we approached the deepest lock at Leerstetten with a drop of 24.7m and later the Eibach Lock dropping only 19.49m.

Only Egypt has pyramids?

Early morning on the Main canal

The Sun Deck cleared for the low bridges and locks.

Leerstetten Lock coming up in the distance

3 green lights, we are good to enter.

Part of the lock gate

Duck! Getting out of the Eibach Lock.

Zeppelin Field, Nuremburg, Germany

After we had tied up at Nuremburg we set out on two different tours. One went around Nuremburg, looking at the city and its architecture; the other visited two sites of importance to war history and the rise and demise of the National Socialist Party (Nazi regime). First we drove to the Grosser Duitzendteich, a lake near the central city. Here we looked across the water to a colosseum-like arena - the Kongresshalle, built by the Nazis in 1935 but not finished. It was designed to seat 50,000. Today it houses the Documentation Center of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds and the Serenadenhof, the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra. From the lake shore it was a short walk to the “Zeppelin Field” where the large Nazi party rallies were held. It was designed for a capacilty of 200,000 people but again was never finished. Originally it had a line of columns on each side but these were destroyed in 1967 as they had become unsafe. The main building still exists, but is made of limestone and is now disintegrating. Apparently the city cannot decide what to do – spend money on a Nazi structure by fixing or money on demolishing?

Old bridges not designed for modern coaches