Nuremberg and Playmobil Land

This past August, we decided to drive a couple of hours south and check out Nuremberg (we wanted to see Hitler's Rally Grounds) and Playmobil Land (as a reward for the kids seeing Hitler's Rally Grounds).  It was a really fun weekend, and one we would highly recommend.

We left Frankfurt on Saturday morning, spent Saturday afternoon at the Hitler Rally Grounds and accompanying museum, explored and had dinner in historic Nuremberg, and spent all of Sunday at Playmobil Land.  A perfect weekend getaway!

First Stop...Nazi Party Rally Grounds and Documentation Centre
We drove directly from Frankfurt to the Nazi Party Rally Grounds and Documentation Centre.  We parked and entered the Documentation Centre, and had a snack in the cafeteria as we discussed the history of the building.  To be in a Nazi building was quite amazing.  I noticed how hurriedly it had been built - the grout around the bricks is all sloppy.  It's those little details that make visiting historic sites so authentic.

Hitler's Podium Today

Signs on Podium Structure

We toured the museum.  It basically explains the rise to power of the Nazi Party, and how such a dramatic takeover was orchestrated.  It was interesting to my husband and myself, but a bit dry for the children.  We then walked around the lake to the Rally Grounds.  The pictures of Hitler on the podium at the Rally Grounds are so iconic, it was fascinating to see them in person.  It's now basically an old parking lot.  The podium is accessible, but the steps and surrounding structures are in disrepair, and even had an old warning sign on it.  The importance of this place was lost on our kids, but to be in such a photographed spot that was the place of power of the Nazi empire was significant and disconcerning to me.   The children did enjoy the lake and ice cream trucks, and the ducks, and liked cooling off by dipping their toes into the lake.   I'm glad we visited.

Kids are not super into the significance of this place!

Where we stayed....
We chose to stay in central Nuremberg rather than at Playmobil Land.  This was a great choice as it was really fun to walk around Nuremberg in the evening and explore the historic (albeit rebuilt) center, and city walls.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Nuremberg City Center, which we really liked.  Our room was enormous, and the location was great.  We would recommend this hotel!!

Nuremberg

Spinning the good luck rings!

Nuremberg is pretty!

We explored the city center of Nuremberg, and spun these good luck rings on a historic fountain (being very careful NOT to spin the fertility ring), found some local beer, and ate at a fabulous restaurant where our three-year-old discovered that Nuremberg sausages are her most favorite food item in the entire world.  Check out the restaurant Goldnes Posthorn, a local favorite.

Playmobil Land
Playmobil Land is awesome.  It's a short drive from Nuremberg city center, and has adequate parking facilities.  It wasn't unpleasantly crowded on a summer Sunday as it is thoughtfully designed and laid out.  It's very reasonably priced to get in, and actually has no rides, it's not a theme park.  It's rather a huge play land with life-size replicas of the famous Playmobil sets.  We visited with three kids age 3, 6, and 8.  I was a bit concerned that the 8 year old might feel too old - but that was not the case.  It's very physical and our 3 year old was actually a bit young for many things.

They loved putting their father in jail at the castle, exploring the wild west and panning for gold, paddling on boats at the pirate ship, and climbing, playing, and experiencing the entire place.  We had theme-park-esque food for lunch and stayed for most of the afternoon.  Our last stop was the indoor area which is a place to play with literally every Playmobil toy you can imagine.  A great way to wind down after playing outside all day.  We are already planning a weekend in Nuremberg next summer - we definitely want to go back to Playmobil Land.

Overall
This was a great weekend which perfectly balanced history, culture, and play.  We had a blast!