Nürnberg, Germany - Day 3

For my last day in Nürnberg, Martin and I went to the nearby town of Fürth to have brunch with another coworker and his girlfriend, then drove out to the countryside to check out the beautiful views. Besides being another beautiful Franconian city, Fürth was also home to Sandra Bullock, and you all know how I feel about Miss Congeniality. For the more serious minded, Fürth was also the birthplace of Henry Kissinger (you know, longtime friend of John McCain).


Originally, Martin had planned on taking me rock climbing in the Franconia countryside, supposedly one of the best/most beautiful places to do so. Unfortunately, the scheduling didn't work out, which is alright, given how cold it's been. As a consolation, Martin drove me out there anyway, just so I could see how beautiful it is. The countryside is mostly made up of little villages and private farmland, all of which is easily accessibly to the public. Rock climbing areas are visibly marked from the road so that visitors can get to it without disturbing the main crop area, and there's also an understanding with the farmers to allow people to walk through.

Being from California, you definitely don't get access to scenes like this outside of National Parks. Even in the parks, you're acutely aware that you're in a special, cornered off area of civilization, filled with tourists and governed by rules and visiting hours. While it's great to deem areas as special and in need of active preservation, it's sad to think that places like that aren't more commonplace. I'm guessing, though, that things are different outside of California.