Spielwarenmesse in the snow

We’ve completed another whirlwind week in Nuremberg. It’s hard to believe this is the ninth time we’ve attended the Spielwarenmesse trade show. The highlight of this year’s event was the weather. The city experienced a near-record snowfall last Sunday, just two days before the show opened. It's hard to believe that two days earlier we'd been snorkelling in the Caribbean Sea.

Depending on who you asked, it was either the heaviest fall in two decades or the heaviest in three decades. Regardless, we arrived in Nuremberg to find almost 30 centimetres of snow on the ground. We’ve never enjoyed permanent snow cover in all the years we’ve been visiting Nuremberg.

This year, we flew Mitchell to Germany to join us for the first time.  It was an opportunity for him to explore the industry and meet our suppliers in person. We flew him into Nuremberg on Saturday afternoon so that he’d have at least two full days to acclimatise and recover from jet lag. He’s never seen snow before. As a result, he was delighted when it began falling on Sunday morning and didn't stop until the following morning. 

As happens every year, our suppliers wined and dined us again. Mitch got to experience the decadence of the Contiki Bar on Tuesday evening, followed by Cucina Italiana on Wednesday, and the infamous Pork Knuckle Dungeon on Thursday (Tucher Mautkeller Cellar is the official name). He was then invited to a European league football match on Friday night, another bucket list moment for him. I guess we’re now his favourite uncles for another month.

This evening we flew into London. Our final hours in Germany involved another hair raising close call with our flight. More about that adventure another time. We have more business meetings over the next week before we head for home. It’s been a long time on the road. 

A week of 10,000 daily steps and endless nights on the town in Nuremberg has definitely taken its toll. I’ve got a nasty chest infection, and it looks like Garry has finally caught it as well. I got my flu and COVID shots before we left Sydney, so hopefully that’s helped with some of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter ailments.

Tourists for a day

We’ve been going to Nuremberg every year for business (setting aside the pandemic hiatus) since 2016. We’d normally fly in on the day before the opening of Spielwarenmesse, an international trade show, then fly out again on the show’s final day. As a result, we’ve seen very little of the city itself. 

In 2017, we flew in a day earlier than normal and spent time visiting a few of its famous sights. This month we decided to repeat the exercise. Flights to London were insanely expensive on Saturday, the trade show’s final day. As a result, it would cost far less to stay an extra night and fly the following day. However, the only return flight available departed late evening, leaving a full day for exploring the city.

In the Middle Ages, German kings (known as Holy Roman Emperors after their coronation by the Pope) didn’t have a capital but voyaged from one imperial castle to the next hosting congress-style meetings called Diets. In 1356, Nuremberg was chosen to host the first Imperial Diet of every newly elected ruler, a tradition that continued until 1594. As a result, the town and its castle became pivotal in establishing the new leader’s authority. It was this heritage that inspired Hitler to host his infamous militarized rallies here. 

We kicked off our day with a late breakfast, before checking out of the hotel. Our first stop was Spittlertorturm, a defensive tower on the southwest corner of a medieval stone wall that still encircles the old city’s western fringe. In Summer you can climb the tower and walk the wall’s ramparts towards the Pegnitz River. During winter, access is closed so all we could do was follow the wall’s perimeter through the back streets of the old town.

Our route took us across the river and, towards the cobblestone pavers of Weißgerbergasse, a picturesque lane framed by half-timbered medieval homes. As we wandered closer to the centre of town we came across a restaurant we’d dined at earlier the week. I was surprised to see it sat in a plaza opposite Sebalduskirche, a massive medieval stone church.

As we passed through the Hauptmarkt, we were greeted by an animated midday performance in the Frauenkirche clock tower. This gothic-style Catholic church is home to the Männleinlaufen, a mechanical clock commemorating the Golden Bull of 1356. In all the years we’ve been coming to Nuremberg we never knew this clock existed.

The clock was installed in the church between 1506 and 1509. It depicts the seated Holy Roman Emperor surrounded by his prince-electors (the nobility who vote for his ascension). Once a day, at noon, a chiming bell starts the clock's sequence. A series of trumpeters and a drummer then raise their instruments and proclaim the hour. They're followed by a procession of electors who guide past the Emperor on a revolving platform.

We stopped to explore the iconic Lorenzkirche (Lawrence Church), an imposing Gothic church standing on the old’s town main boulevard. Its original structure was erected between 1243 and 1315. One of Nuremberg’s metro stations exits just outside this building, so we often pass it on our way to and from dinner. 

In 1943, on St. Lawrence Day (August 10), the building was hit by Allied bombs and was significantly destroyed. On January 2, 1945, another bomb caused the entire roof of the nave to collapse. The building was painstakingly restored and reopened in 1952.

Our final stop for the day was Nuremberg Castle. In all the years we’ve been coming to town, we’ve never ventured inside this iconic building. It sits on a rocky outcrop on the northernmost fringe of the old town. Posters and pamphlets around town are often decorated with its instantly recognisable silhouette.  

The entry fee was well worth the effort. It gave us access to the castle’s impressive Tiefer Brunnen (Deep Well), as well as its soaring keep, the Sinwell Tower. The castle itself houses a permanent exhibition about medieval Nuremberg, the Holy Roman Empire and castle life. Several rooms are dedicated to warfare and weapons of the era, including ornate suits of armour and some rather fearsome pikes and swords.

The Deep Well was fascinating. Its shaft extends more than 50 metres into the rock outcrop on which the castle is built. A tour guide brings this incredible feat of engineering to life by pouring water into the well. It takes at least four seconds for the sound to reverberate after hitting the bottom.

Garry and I both enjoyed the permanent exhibition. However, a climb up the wooden spiral staircase of Sinwell Tower was definitely the day’s highlight. The view of the old town from its enclosed turret was memorable, to say the least. However, a stiff cold breeze blowing through its open windows kept our visit relatively brief.

After a light meal in town, we eventually made our way back to the hotel to collect our luggage and head for the airport. We finally reached our hotel in London shortly before midnight. The following day we ventured into Soho for lunch with Aedhmar, my former CEO at Text 100. I’ve not seen her in person since November 2018, so our reunion was something special. 

It's hard to believe it's been almost 24 years since we first really connected. While we probably saw each other at a company event in 1998 we don’t recall meeting. We were also based on separate continents. As a result, we first spent quality time together during a two week secondment I took in San Francisco in 2000.

From lunch, we dashed back to Paddington to collect our luggage and then onto Heathrow. We gave the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge a try as online reviewers rate it better than the Qantas lounge.  I can confidently report that those online accolades are spot on. The lounge was much quieter, with a dedicated dining room and spectacular airfield views. A few hours later we lifted off and our time in Europe was done for another year.

I'll leave you with some unfinished business. Below are images of Narrenschiffbrunnen, an incomplete water fountain installed in a small plaza in Nuremberg's old town, in 1988. Apparently, the city council vetoed donations offered to complete its waterworks and thus remains abandoned on its tiny plinth. 

According to its patron, the ship should overflow like a fountain bowl and water should bubble out of the galleon figures, the crow and the wine glass. Why the miserable characters? The 3.60 m high bronze sculpture of a little boat, filled with a rather unhappy crowd, symbolises an unsustainable world threatened with destruction.

Back in Nuremberg

Finally! After a three-year, COVID-induced hiatus we’re back in Nuremberg. Once again, our days were filled with back-to-back meetings, dinner engagements, and long, daily circuits of the trade show floor. However, it was all worth the effort. We’re returning home with three new brands and plenty of new products to share in 2023.

Oh yes - and here's a couple of images to prove we really were working hard at the British Toy Fair in London before we headed for Germany.

Standing in the shadow of Hitler

Owning a toy company involves a few unavoidable commitments.  One of these includes meeting our key suppliers face to face at least once a year.  The annual Spielwarenmesse, or Toy Fair, in Nuremberg provides an ideal opportunity to meet with many of them in a single journey. 

Garry and I made our second pilgrim to the city in early February.  Along the way we stopped briefly in New York to meet with several suppliers who weren’t attending Nuremberg.  Unlike our first trip to this event this year we felt more in control of the experience.  We knew what to expect and were arriving with another year of exceptional results under our belt.

The fair is an incredible event.  It’s the largest trade show for toy industry in the world.  Every year over a period of six days almost 3000 exhibitors from 60 countries present their products. More than 54% of its attendees are international visitors.  The event fills 17 enormous exhibition halls, many of which are dedicated to promoting a single toy genre.

It was an exhausting time.  We met with suppliers every day.  We walked many of its cavernous halls in search of new suppliers.  Our evenings were then filled by suppliers keen to entertain us and facilitate introductions to new industry contacts.  On reflection we’re glad we scheduled our arrival in Nuremberg to include a full day to rest and recover from jet lag before the madness began.

We spent part of our free day visiting some of the city’s famous sights.  Nuremberg has a fascinating history.  It’s been associated with toy manufacturing for more than 600 years which explains why the fair is held here each year.  However, Nuremberg is better known for its place in the Holy Roman Empire.  It’s been called the empire’s unofficial capital as its Imperial Diet (Reichstag) and courts met at Nuremberg Castle.

In more recent times Nuremberg is renowned for its infamous association with the Nazi Germany era. The Nazi Party chose the city to be the site of huge Nazi Party conventions in part to emulate the Holy Roman Empire historical gathering.  These massive conventions, known as the Nuremberg rallies, were held in the city in 1927, 1929 and annually between 1933 and 1938.

Garry and I visited the Dokumentationszentrum (Documentation Centre), a museum that documents the city’s Nazi era.  It’s housed in the north wing of the partly finished Kongresshalle (Congress Hall).  The exhibition is a fascinating exhibit.  We spent several hours there learning more about this extraordinary period of Germany history. 

Afterwards we walked to the nearby Zeppelinfeld, where most of the big Nazi parades, rallies and events took place. It is fronted by a 350m-long grandstand, the Zeppelintribüne, where you can still stand on the very balcony from where Hitler incited the masses. It’s an odd sensation to stand here and recall the dramatic black and movie newsreels that captured these rallies.

We then returned to the old city and spent time wandering the castle grounds, admiring the view across its red tile rooves and exploring the old town’s narrow cobblestone laneways. Unfortunately, we arrived too close to closing time to include a castle tour. We’d hoped to do this last year but soon found our days filled with trade show activities. I guess we'll have to try again next year.  However, we’re glad we made time for a short break as the following days were even more frantic than those in 2016.