We finally broke free of our confinement and visited two of Bavaria’s larger cities: Nürnberg and Augsburg. We saw so many sights in just two days it could make for an extremely long post. So, instead of giving the background story for each one, I have just included a lot of links so you can find out more for yourself if you are interested.
Kristina’s car was still in the shop on Tuesday morning, so we hopped on a bus in Riedenburg, to a train in Saal, and another train in Regensburg. (I told you we are in the middle of nowhere). Trains are still exciting for the kids, and great for us too when we aren’t carrying 350 pounds of luggage!
At the main train station (Bahnhof), we met Carmen, another Amity intern who spent the year in Milwaukee and who lives near Nürnberg. She was our guide for the day. We ate lunch at a fantastic outdoor café in the old town. Then, Carmen suggested that Joe and I visit the World War II museum at the Documentation Center on the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. 
Nürnberg was the center of the Nazi party during Hitler’s reign, and was also home to the Nürnberg Tribunal after the war, so it was fascinating to see. Meanwhile, Carmen and Kristina took all three kids to a toy museum (Spielzuegmuseum) – thank you girls! We met up afterwards in the Hauptmarkt by the central fountain and made our way up to the city’s Imperial Castle. We arrived just as it was closing, but we walked around the castle grounds and enjoyed the view. Then we descended back toward the train station, and stopped along the way at another outdoor café for dinner. We got home very late that night (almost 11:00pm) and crashed in bed to rest up for another big day.
On Wednesday we drove (in the newly repaired van) to Augsburg to visit Thomas, another friend and MGIS Amity intern. He took us to König von Flandern for lunch, a microbrewery restaurant near the Rathausplatz where the kids got to see some beer brewing in process. With some food under our belts, we climbed the 260 stairs to the top of the Perlach Tower in Augsburg’s central square. Then, we went next door to see the town hall (Rathaus), including the stunning golden hall (Goldener Saal). 
From there we walked through old, quaint little streets (Gassen) to the famous Augsburger Puppenkiste. To be honest we had never heard of it before, which I think offended Thomas a little, but the museum was very cool. Some of you may remember seeing their programs on t.v.?? This time, we wanted to get home at a reasonable time, so we took the tram back to Thomas’s apartment, got the van, and drove the hour and a half back to Obereggersburg.
I have to say that this is the best way to travel: visit someone in their home city and let them show you around. They know all the major attractions as well as the cool little areas that you would otherwise miss. And they know how to get around, so you don’t have to worry about getting lost. Thank you Carmen and Thomas for being our guides to these great cities!