A day at Nürnberg (Nuremberg)

The 5th of December 2007. All the people in the Netherlands were celebrating the birthday of Sinterklaas (check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas for more information). I didn't. My friend Marnix and I travelled to Nuremberg to see our favorite football team, AZ Alkmaar, play against 1. FC Nürnberg. We booked our trip immediately. The bus left at 01:00 AM and arrived in the city centre Nuremberg around 10:00 AM. We didn't sleep much that night, about two hours. But we were very excited so excitement won in a 1 to 1 battle versus sleep. About 1000 AZ supporters made the trip to Germany, but it looked like a lot more, because they were very prominent.

Nuremberg is a German city in the state of Bavaria, South Germany. The population is about 500 000. Nuremberg has always been an important city during several eras (like the Roman Empire and Nazi Germany). Huge Nazi Party conventions were held at Nuremberg, known as the Nuremberg rallies. You could call Nuremberg the Nazi Capital during this era. But besides this negative fact, Nuremberg is a very special city. The city contributed much to the science of astronomy, as well as the crafts in printing and publishing.

While we were here, the Christmas Market was in operation. This annual market is visited by over a million people a year. A lot of handicrafts and ornaments are sold over here. Gold, white and red are the main colours during this event. Other main sights in Nuremberg are Nuremberg Castle, Holy Mother Hospital and the churches of St. Sebaldus, St. Lorenz and Our Lady's Church.

We had a great day at the city centre. Even though the weather was very gray, the atmosphere was great. The local Irish Pub became a real AZ fortress. It was a big party. From out of the city centre, we went to the stadium by bus. AZ played a great game.. until the last 10 minutes, when Nürnberg scored 2 times, winning 2-1. Such a shame, but we had a great day.