'Til Death Do Us Part (Bid Der Tod Euch Schedet) and other N&#252;rnberg, Germany Off The Beaten Path Tips

A Part of Ehekarussel

Hans Sachs wrote a series of poems called the "Bittersweet Marital Life". In 1984, Jorgen Weber took the verses and transformed them into a visual manifestation. He named it Marriage Roundabout. The locals simply call it Hans Sachs' Well.

It would be just a pretty fountain in the shape of a scallop-petal flower, were it not for the very strange sculptures atop.

The cycle of man-woman relationship is all there, from courtship to marriage and beyond. Sex and love are prevalent at first, then slovenliness and physical abuse walk in, and the end is a horrific death. The joy is brief and on the surface, while the anger and hatred are as hard and cold as the bronze material.

Here's the most melodramatic touch: interspaced among the various human emotions are pointed beak birds, prancing old goats, huge lizard heads, half-rotten carcass, and flowers in bloom. Not to mention a representation of Sachs waltzing! If Weber wanted to elicit shock with his work, he certainly succeeded, at least from me.

This is the kind of image one would not want to see if one were planning a wedding; it would scare the bejesus of one's hope. This is the kind of image one would not want to see if one just went through a divorce, as it would remind one of the reasons for personal misery. This is also the kind of image one would not want to see if one is happily married; it would make one shudder with fear and incomprehension.

There it is -- I have given you plenty of fair warning. If you dare, go to the White Tower and check it out.

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Website: http://www.domfree.de/uschmitt/ehekru/ehek1.htm

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Off The Beaten Path: What Did He See?

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Updated by Ciambella

on Apr 7, 2006

What did he see?

I was not able to find the name of this statue and the artist who created it. It portrayed a nude man sitting with his head hanging low, arms on thighs, looking dejected. The only thing in his range of view was his intimate. Was he contemplating the meaning of life? Did he think he would be less distracted being nude?

He certainly did not distract the throngs of passers-by on their way to the Christmas Market. I didn't think many people even knew he was sitting there in Old Town, naked on cold winter days and nights.

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Off The Beaten Path: Homeless But Not Sloppiness

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Updated by Ciambella

on Dec 6, 2005

A homeless' gear

For some reasons, homeless people fascinate me. When we still lived in the States, I used to keep track of the whereabouts of many "regulars"; I noticed their gears, the change of in their health, their routines, etc. Being in different countries in our travel does not change my habit, I still see homeless more readily than I see "normal" people.

I like this homeless gear, a very tidy bicycle with the attached rickshaw parked against a lamppost right outside the Old Town. Everything was packed neatly and tied securely on the rickshaw; the few extra bags were tied to the handlebar of the bicycle. I guess being a homeless in Germany does not make one sloppy since orderliness is an ingrained trait.

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Off The Beaten Path: Lock And Key

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Updated by Ciambella

on Apr 7, 2006

The lock at Kaiserburg Castle