Germans are famous for their crazy New Year’s Eve, or Sylvester celebrations. We decide to partake in the festivities in the historic town of Nuremberg. Nuremberg is an excellent city to explore if you are interested in German imperial history, World War II history, or excellent gingerbread. Because of the Sylvester celebrations, many of the museums and sights are closed in preparations for the performances except for a few churches that are open for prayers.
Luckily, some of the museums stayed open. The famous Nuremberg trial courtroom 600, as well as its museum, were open for business on the Sylvester. This museum primarily covers information regarding the trials and procedures of the Nuremberg trials. Small sections of it also explained the trial (or not at all) for the war criminals of the Pacific theatre of World War II. Once again, this is an information-intensive museum, so prepared to stand, read, and listen a lot. I would highly recommend this museum to any World War II history enthusiasts.
Another important sight in Nuremberg was the Nazi rallying ground just outside the old town of Nuremberg. This museum covers the history of the Nazi Rallying ground before, during, and after the rise of Nazism. Most of the rallying ground is now being reused as parks and residential buildings. Both the Nuremberg Trial court and the Nazi Rallying ground are outside of the old town in Nuremberg, so you should set aside at least a full day for both museums.
As the night falls, we started getting ready for Sylvester. Getting some cash, we moved to buy our Sylvester tickets and some beer. The Sylvester ticket allowed us to enter all the performances throughout the old town. From Reggaeton to circus shows and to rock bands, Nuremberg Sylvester had everything. For many of the popular performances, the queue can be quite long, so one needs to move fast between performances to get a spot.
The new year’s count down at the Nuremberg castle is not be missed. The high points of the castle grounds are excellent for viewing the fireworks that caused some chaos inside the old city walls. Considering that sometimes young people choose to fire off fireworks right by your ears, it’s probably much safer to stay by the castle high grounds anyways.
Perhaps a bit less known is the Nuremberg gingerbread. Every German we encountered recommended it. Contrary to the perhaps more American sweets that one often thinks of, the gingerbread in Nuremberg has a very nice balance of taste. Speaking about food, I must talk a little bit about it. Throughout our trip, we tried a variety of German dishes, mostly in Bavarian style. What I mean by Bavarian style is the combination of pork, sauerkraut, potato or spaetzle. Something like below.
Pork shoulder 
Hot wine, sautee mushrom, pork, and Saurkruat 
German dumplings 
Frankeishweiner 
German dumpling in soup 
Some delicious dip. 
Saurkraut, my favourite! 
Currywurst!!
In northern Germany, we were told that fish and tea are regularly consumed instead of pork and beer. So next time you are in Hamburg, try to ask for some fish instead of pork shoulders. However, since we are in Bavaria, we decided to continue our beer consumption. And what better place to do that than Munich, the beer capital.
The most famous Brauhaus is definitely from the beerhalls of Hosbrauhaus. Famous for the richly decorated halls, delicious food, and crazy jugs of beer, this place is definitely worth a visit. And remember, don’t need to ask the waiters, just seat yourself.
We also tried at least four other different kinds of beer from different beer halls. Some of the beer halls have their own brewed beer, others sell popular beers such as Paulaner. Wherever you decide to go, don’t forget to try the Dunkel, as it is the original beer of Berlin.
The dunkel and the weiss beer 
Small brand beers. The beer on the left is a smoke beer 
Tasting flights! 
Paulaner, a classic
Our visit to Germany had been educational and delicious. It’s only fitting that we finish it on a glamorous visit to the Residenz where the Bavarian ruling family of the Wittensbachs used to reside. The most famous of the Residenz is perhaps the richly decorated Antiquarium, the reliquary room, the room of miniatures, and the room of the ancestral portrays. Also, don’t miss the treasury as you can see the Bavarian crown and knighting sword of the knights of Malta, aka the Knights of St.John Hospitalier of Jerusalem.
