After going to a Spanish restaurant to watch the Netherlands-Argentina match last night, we returned to our humble abode at the Hotel Smile, waking up at 7:30 a.m. to the sounds of Turkish pop blaring from the auto repair shop that shares space with the hotel (don't ask).
Following breakfast, we took the U-Bahn (subway) into the old city. Nuremberg's center is surrounded by a wall, and it's quite picturesque, with a little canal flowing past the kind of row houses and shops that you'd see in the Stereotypical Germany brochure. Along one portion of the city wall is the red-light district, where, at noon, women as old as 60 were leaning out of windows, passively offering themselves for the right price. "Disturbing" doesn't do it justice.
You can see one of the ladies of the night in the left of the above photo. I thought I was just getting a shot of the old wall, but an old prostitute snuck into the frame, too. Such a deal.
The sight did not sufficiently squelch our appetite, however, because we then went to what's purported to be the oldest sausage restaurant in Germany, dating back to the 1400s. Bratwurst, potato salad, pretzels and beer -- what could be better? (Again, right out of the Stereotypical Germany pamphlet. Next: I don lederhosen and play an Alp horn.)
We were running behind schedule, so we couldn't tour the Nazi rally grounds. If the United States pulls off the miracle and advances, maybe we'll do that tomorrow. If not, I'm coming home in the morning. Needless to say, the next three hours will be interesting.
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