Nuremberg: A place of castles, cathedrals, and a long history.
All these pictures were taken with my cell phone using the selfie method because the SIM card messed up my regular picture taking ability on my phone. So, sorry if they are a little sideways or cut off.
I almost didn't see this! You have to look over the bridge to see this view. I love the arches to make way for the water.
I love this saying. Although it is sad and tragic, I think it's a metaphor for when anything horrible happens in our life. This cathedral - one of the smaller ones - has pictures of right before the bombing of Nuremberg with Nazi flag after Nazi flag to the finish of the rebuilding of the cathedral. There are sayings like this that accompany each of the pictures. It is moving to say the least and had me wondering who was to blame. I am going to chalk it up to the casualties of war with my American brain saying that it had to be done, Hitler had to be stopped and this was how it was done. There was no alternative.
Walking down a cute colorful street on the way to the cathedral.
The following pictures are from either the top of the
castle tower or the surrounding area.
This shows the destruction of Nuremberg from the bombings of World War 2. Most of the buildings are completely destroyed and all seem to have at least some damage. These pictures were all around the top of the tower. So you would see the before picture, the after picture, and look out the window to see the city as it is now. I liked the pictures in the cathedral a little bit better because to me, this shows the destruction only. It didn't show the row after row of Nazi flags like the cathedral did. To me the castle talked about the destruction rather than the consequences of following an evil dictator.
This is a model of a well that was found inside the castle walls. It is so deep that it took about 5 seconds for us to hear the splash of water that the guide poured in. Sorry I don't have a picture of the well, but you can't see down it at all because it is so dark.
I climbed to the top of this tower! It has great views!
This was breakfast - It was very yummy and not cheesecake at all. The "plain" one actually had a nutty mixture in the middle. I love German bakeries! YUM!
The following is what I did on my way to go see Spencer in the hospital. I call it my 10-minute walk although it lasted for several hours, because I took my time going and coming.
I went back to McDonagh's and had chicken and chips. I was so tempted to try their mushy peas, but I was too full. I will have mushy peas before I leave! I love eating here because they have stools on the outside of the room, so even if you are sitting by yourself, you aren't really because you are so close to other people eating. It's a nice way to meet people.
There is a very nice walkway right next to the river on the way to the hospital. It is beautiful and green and surrounded by people and nature. It was by far my favorite path. I tried to use the panorama feature on my camera, but it made the pictures really small. See what you think. The first on is on the walkway and the second is next to the cathedral.
I had a very nice visit with Spencer at the hospital and he started to cry and told me how grateful he was that I was here with him in Ireland. I was so happy to hear him say that, but when I was on my way home I wished that someone was here with me. So, I went in a nice restaurant and had hot chocolate and shepherd's pie - Comfort Food.
I believe that God really watches out for us and he's always there when we need Him. I walked out of the restaurant when I was done and heard the most beautiful Irish music! I kept walking and there were street performers after street performers. I heard guitars, harps, and even a Didgeridoo!My favorite was this guy.I'm not sure what Marilyn Monroe and Pres. Obama have to do with Irish music, but here it is:
I Have Clothes Now - Sort Of
The original plan was to come to Ireland on Friday and leave the next morning with Spencer and go to the doctor here. By the time I was in Chicago, he was in the hospital. So, I literally had 2 shirts, 2 pants, 2 pairs of socks (one was what I got from the airplane ride), and luckily 3 pairs of underwear. So I have been washing in the sink and hanging out to dry things I wasn't wearing. Today I found the mall. It's so strange, you would never know there was a mall unless you were looking for it. It looks like a tiny alleyway and then BOOM! It's a mall. It's just like an American mall. It was huge! I was very surprised that such a big mall can start off as a little alleyway. I found 2 shirts, socks, gloves, and a suitcase. I tried to find pants, but that was asking the impossible since even when I'm in America I can't find pants that don't need alterations. I was thinking of buying shoes, but this is what I found:
These shoes are a little too cool for me.
I'm a comfortable shoes kind of girl.
Sorry, I don't want to have to balance
when I'm wearing shoes.
These look semi-comfortable, but they had
absolutely no padding on the
inside of the shoe.
Ode To Google
I have had to make several calls since I've been here, both to the U.S. and inside of Ireland. Gmail has a chat feature. Next to the chat feature is a picture of a little phone. I get to talk to America for FREE and I get to talk to Ireland at 17 cents a minute. THANK YOU GOOGLE!!!!!
I finally was able to go to downtown Galway today - after visiting Spencer and a very long nap! I went to find lunch and there is a street lined with restaurants and shops. I found a bakery that had sandwiches and so I walked in and it was warm, crowded, and friendly. I had a bread called bap. I had no idea what that was, so I thought I'd try it. This is bap bread and turkey and cranberry sandwich.
Downtown Galway, Ireland
There are a lot of shops and restaurants on one road and the road turns and there are a lot of vendors and food carts on the other road. There were lots of people and shops!
I had to take a picture because of the funny name!
There is a beautiful cathedral in between the city center and the hospital. I love going inside the cathedrals, there are works of art and amazing architecture, not to mention inspiring worshipers and prayers happening.
This was the river next to the cathedral. Very beautiful!
I was trying to find the hospital when I was done walking around, so I asked a person for directions. He told me which direction and then said, "5... no... 10 minutes walk." I thought that someone was going to say something other than 10 minutes, but I think it's the law to say that it's 10 minutes away. :) I found it easily and I am happy to say that Spencer is doing very well, I think that his stay will be very short hopefully!
