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Hi again. It's now 7 AM and I have a half hour before we leave
for church to jot down some more impressions.

We worked our way across town yesterday morning, stopping at the
St Lorenzkirche (St.Lawrence) and the Frauenkirche and the Marketplatz.
Here in the Marketplatz is a beautiful golden tower, intricately decorated
with statues and carved animals. It was built in about 1400 I
think, intended to be the spire to the Frauenkirche. But it was too lovely
(or too heavy) so they never put it up there, but left it in the
Marketplatz. And it was almost the only thing for a couple of blocks
around not flattened by the air raids (Nürnburg received only
3 raids, 20 minutes each, but the damage was fantastic. I hate
to think what we did to Berlin if we hit them nearly everyday).

We ate lunch in the snow on a bench beside the wall of the old Kaiserburg
(castle) next to the Hollenzollern castle which is the hostel now. We
had a great view out over the city (limited in distance because it was
snowing lightly). And just as we left to check in at the hostel,
who should we meet but our friend from the train - it is a small
world! After a quick hello to him, and checking in, we went on
with our wandering. Stopped in a book store to buy prints of
Albrecht Dürer sketches (very famous 16th cent. artist, who lived
in Nürnburg, and is almost the city's patron saint) and some
picture postcards, etc. Then we met Herr Mentler, our guide
for the afternoon. He showed us first the "Hansel and Gretel
Haus", about which Grimm is said to have written his tale (it looks
just like in the tale too). Then we went to the city cemetery, about
a block square and containing some 650,000 former residents.

He brushed snow off some of the grave stones to show us names