Five Things to Do in Nuremberg

After you’ve visited all the places highlighted in tourist books and brochures, there are still plenty of interesting things to do in Nuremberg. Here is my personal top five.

Even if your German is not up to scratch, you ought to drop by the Schmitt & Hahn newsstand at the Nuremberg Central Station. This store offers probably the best selection of magazines for every topic imaginable: from Raspberry Pi and photography to knitting and vintage tractors. There is also a limited selection of foreign magazines and books.

While you are at the Central Station, drop by the VGN ticket office and buy a monthly card for public transportation. While there are several options to choose from, the Solo31 card is probably your best bet. This non-transferable card (i.e. it can only be used by you) is valid for all public transportation in Nuremberg, Fürth, and Stein. Don’t forget to bring a photo with you. Alternatively, you can order the card online at shop.vgn.de

Once you have the card, try the U-Bahn roulette game. Get off at a random U-Bahn station and explore the surrounding area. There is no better way to experience Nuremberg (or any other city for that matter) by “getting lost” in it.

Try Knusperecke at Der Beck

Hungry? No matter where in the city you are, chances are there is a Der Beck bakery nearby. Here, you’ll find a variety of lunch options and a decent selection of pastries. There are two things you ought to try there: Quarkschnecke and Knusperecke. The latter is in high demand, though, so you have to be there early in order to get one. Also, anything with the word laugen in it is pretty good, too. Some Der Beck bakeries also serve breakfast, so you don’t have to miss the most important meal of the day no matter what. If you find yourself visiting Der Beck on a regular basis, consider asking the staff for a Der Beck card. Use it every time you buy something there to collect points. Once you have enough points you can get a discount for your next purchase or a free cup of coffee. See also San Francisco Coffee Company, Vinzenz Murr and other brands.

If you crave entertainment, give Cinecitta a try. This impressive complex houses a cinema along with several eateries and bars. More importantly, some movies are shown in the original language with German subtitles — a real boon if you are not keen on the whole dubbing thing. Also, one of the bars in Cinecitta serves excellent cocktails at reasonable prices.

BONUS

There are also a couple of places for book lovers. Die Buchhandlung Jakob, or just Jakob, is a quiet and cozy place that offers an excellent selection of books on a wide range of topics: photo books, travel guides, crime fiction, and much, much more. Not far from Jakob, you’ll find Jokers that sells books at deep discounts.

Found something? Don’t keep it!

(mfe) This article on Spiegel Online reminded me of a discussion we recently had. I was told that in the USA there is no such (legal) concept of “Finderlohn” (finder’s reward) the way we have it here in Germany. I wonder if this is true – please comment. People told me “finder’s keeper” is a common US phrase, meaning: Whoever finds stuff, may keep it. Under the term of “homesteading” this even applies to empty houses – look up “squatters”. And if you plan to buy a house in the states be sure to not leave it alone for too long.

German paragraphs regulate Finder’s Rewards

In Germany there is – as so often even a legal paragraph (and a whole legal concept “Fundrecht”) that tells us how to handle lost and found items: §§971 BGB defines who has to and how much finder’s reward has to be paid. So if you happen to find a wallet e.g. on a street in Germany, better be careful: you might commit an offence by simply keeping it. You are supposed to return it to a local “Fundamt or Fundbüro” (They even offer online search for lost and returned items!) or any similar office of the authority where you found it – on trains that might be the conductor or on a bus or tram the driver (The Deutsche Bahn even runs its own service ). Simply keeping precious things you found might bring you in trouble, it’s considered fraud. However, if nobody comes to pick up the lost item from the Fundamt, you may be allowed to keep it after some months of waiting. In the meantime, you could think of visiting one of the regular auctions that happen at the Fundamt. Yes, there you can buy lost items that nobody (owner nor finder) claimed within the legal period.

Fighting for Rewards – or not

In the story from Munich, a woman did not even want the hundreds of Euro reward that she would be supposed to get. I guess in the US this seems to be handled differently: In 2010 US rapper Ryan Leslie lost his laptop. His video announcing one million reward for the lost device went viral, because first he tried to find his laptop bag via Youtube, then he refused to pay finder’s reward he had promised, and in the end a court had to sentence him to pay the reward he promised – which he responded to in a Youtube video as well.

Flash Mob Marching Band

Here’s something from a few years ago that made me chuckle.

If you’re wondering, yes, it’s in Nürnberg over by the Weißerturm in front of C&A.

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/WlG2xN4ef3Y

Cultural things to do in Nürnberg for non-native German speakers

Coming to a new city can always be a little daunting. Wondering whether you will fit in, meet people outside of work and make friends. So here are a couple of ideas that you might like to explore:

Firstly, there is a popular magazine in Nürnberg for everyone titled “Doppelpunkt” (which translates as colon as in the punctuation and not the last section of the intestine of course). This has a very up-to-date listing of all the main events that are occurring in and around Nürnberg, Fürth and Erlangen. These events vary from music, theatre, cinema, dance, parties, literature, television & radio programs, children activities and much more. There is also a gastronomy guide and an introduction to the local scene. Admittedly it’s all in German, but it doesn’t take much to decipher what’s going on.

Here’s a link to their website: http://www.doppelpunkt.de/

If you happen to be on Facebook, you might consider joining these public groups:

1) English Stammtisch – Nürnberg | Join the Party

This is an English-speaking group with more than 5000 members that focus on meetings and events where people can meet and get together to talk in English.

It describes itself as:

English Stammtisch is a voluntary effort to support the expat community of Nuremberg. English is the common language for guests, but you will meet a variety of native speakers at our event.

This group is not an organization or a business venture. We do not analyse or sell any of your data.

WE MEET TWICE A MONTH
The last Thursday of the month is ALWAYS in Bäckerhof and there’s an ‘EXTRA’ Stammtisch TWO weeks prior, which is always somewhere different.

2) Nürnberg Rocks…

This is an english and german-speaking group with more than 1,200 members, so the language is often a little mixed. However it offers a number of useful cultural tips to most people living in Nürnberg.

It describes itself as:

Grüss Gott!

This is a group created to share gastronomical, cultural and interesting events and exhibitions in Nürnberg. Please feel free to add or share it with friends.

If you want to watch a new blockbuster movie in English, without German dubbing, you may want to visit the Roxy Renaissance Cinema.  This cinema mainly plays films with the original soundtrack.

Alternatively you can visit Cinecitta, the largest cinema in Nürnberg, where they show a number of their films in original version. Take a look at these: https://www.cinecitta.de/de/English-and-original-Movie-Programming-CINECITTA-Nuernberg-867,181900.html

If you or anyone else have any further suggestions, please mention them in the comments below.