Exploring Our City
Thank God for long weekends! We finally got a chance to explore Nuremberg a little more over the past weekend.
On Saturday we took the UBahn (the underground subway) into the city with absolutely no agenda, which is my favorite way to see a new city because your options are endless. We got off the subway in the middle of downtown and walked toward anything that caught our eye. The first thing being Starbucks (just to see how similar it is to the Starbucks at home). And let me tell you, if it weren’t for their classic location mugs, I wouldn’t have known where I was. The décor was the same, the drinks tasted the same, and there was even a giant picture of the very first Starbucks in Pike Place Market in Seattle. So kudos to them for representing the Pacific Northwest all the way over here!
At one end of the town square is an incredibly beautiful church that is covered in ornate decoration from the Middle Ages. As we walked by, we noticed people walking in, so we followed. I mean, how could we not?! The stonework around the entire building was breathtaking. I felt like I was walking right into a scene from a movie because things like that just don’t exist in Oregon!
We also did an underground tour of the beer cellars in Nuremberg. In some places, there are four stories of underground tunnels that go as low as 80 feet below the surface. While much of the tunnels have lights, displays, and safety signs for tourists now, I can only imagine how dark, cold, and damp they were way back when. The main purpose of the cellars when they were built was to make and store beer. However, when Nuremberg was being bombed in WWII, the cellars provided people with shelter. Without the cellars, a lot of Germans would not have survived in this area. During the time that they took shelter underground, the water was polluted, so Germans had to rely on the beer that was already being stored underground. Because of this, it’s a common saying in Bavaria that the beer literally saved their lives. No wonder beer is such a big deal here!
Throughout this week, I’m beginning to get more into the groove with my new job. Taylor had a rough work week last week, but he was finally given a computer on Monday, so he’s felt a bit more productive this week.
We went to the immigration office on Wednesday and were told that our insurance was not adequate and that we needed a rental contract from our landlord. (Just when you think they couldn’t possibly need anything else with our names on it!) So we’re working through some of those details now. The immigration process is far from easy or straight forward, but we’re plugging right along.
In 2016, our founder, Bailey Smith, finagled her way into moving abroad with her husband. In their off time, they were able to travel all around Europe. Many of Bailey's travel experiences during those two years have shaped Indie Travel Design into what it is today. Follow along with their story of negotiating jobs, applying for visas, and living in Germany.
Comments