Nuremberg II

We did manage to pack up and reach the German National Museum almost by 10 when it opened.  And amazingly--no lines.  So I headed for the special Durer exhibit while Rob returned to the hotel to retrieve his forgotten watch.  The Durer was crowded, but a wonderful exhibit of his early work--drawings, paintings, engravings, and woodcuts.  When I left at 11, the crowds had arrived and Rob was in the "wait" line.  

16th century sundials

I started on the extensive (exhaustive) exhibits, perhaps seeing 40% in the next two hours.  The most interesting exhibits for me were musical instruments, scientific instruments, and rural life. There were many rooms of painting, sculpture, religious art, porcelain, and even clothing.  I dabble in those a bit and mostly avoided getting lost.  Check out the photos, which unfortunately I  cannot always identify.  I must take pen and paper with me when I enter a museum.   Much of the art and artifacts date from the 16th and 17th centuries.  There were few visitors to the main museum galleries.   Durer was the big draw.  

dancing in Bad Windsheim

At 1:30 we departed, ate our picnic at a nearby bench outside the walls, and headed for museum #2--The Industrial Museum.  This centered on the past and present industries of Nuremberg.  We have already noted that the city was the site of the first German railroad, and known for its toy manufacturing.  One long room displayed classic motorcycles (including some Triumphs), and later bicycles and cars with the brand names of Hercules, Mars, Victoria, and Zandapp. The extensive lower floor provided a look at other industries, and of life in the city in the 19th and 20th centuries--machinery, printing press, movie theater, pharmacy.  And finally a room devoted to current industries such as Quelle (a German Amazon?--not doing well apparently)

I finally felt I had reached the end of my museum attention span for today and went outside to read, but Rob persisted for another hour, including sitting through a 40 minute film in German about the history of Nuremberg, without falling asleep.  At 5:30 we started our one hour ride to Bad Windsheim, where we settled at the Hotel zu Storchen, and saw the stork family on a nearby roof.  We walked the town and through the gardens of the Clinic where we caught some evening entertainment.  Tomorrow it's back to Heidelberg.