Nürnberg

On the train to Nürnberg today for the first time I sat near a

rambunctious pack of American soldiers whose coarse boasts

made me all too eager to disembark when we finally arrived.

Ascending from the stale air of the underground portion of the

train station to the fresh, open and crowded Altstadt was in

itself enough reward for the journey. This week is the Altstadtfest

and the alleys were packed with vendors and visitors, peddling,

grasping and ignoring Lebkuchen, kebabs and overpriced

leather accessories. On the steps of St. Lorenz an older man

smoking with a crowd of mohawked teenagers accosts me, "Was

ist los?!!" I take my time to take in the wonder of the

Sebalduskirche, saddened by the remnants of war the building still

betrays. On my way out of the Sebalduskirche a jolly stocky man

approaches me and gushes, "Haben Sie Hunger?" and gave me a

large bag of pastries left over from a wedding. I climb to the top of

the town castle, which affords a breathtaking view of the old

city--I can see all its churches and slanted roofs with a sickly

industrial smoke rising from a plant in the distance. A modest

repast of penne and salad and I'm on my way home, ready to

venture further when time allows.