Possible first timers to Nuremberg and had a couple of questions

we were wondering how difficult it is to get there from Berlin.

Very easy by train and auto. Deutsche Bahn runs direct trains between the two cities nearly hourly during the day. Driving is a direct shot on A9, large portions of which rarely experience heavy traffic.

it appears to be a stopping point for river cruises and we were wondering if that causes a lot of congestion in the city. No. It's too large and busy of a city to become a "tourist trap". These are not the giant cruise ships of the Caribbean, but much smaller river boats. The number of people that disembark at any given time are barely noticeable compared to the overall population. And the boats dock on the Rhine-Main-Danube canal, which is well outside of the city's historic core.

I've put together an introductory itinerary for Nuremberg here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/cities-on-the-danube.cfm
(3rd posting), maybe you can use it. No trouble with the cruise boats - most Nurenbergers even dont know that there are calling ones at the port (its more a problem down the Danube in smaller towns like Passau). There is roughly one direct train per hour to Berlin (travel time is 5 hours). Discounted tickets, if booked well in advance, start at 19 E. If you need hotel suggestions, please post.

Now that I think about it, I did see a couple of groups (20-30) following tour guides holding up little Viking Cruise line flags. They are a tiny drop in a big bucket. The ICE Sprinter from Munich will drop a whole boatload of tourists at the Hbf every hour.

You did not mention when you are going. Nürnberg rooms are more likely to fill and drive up prices if a trade fair is in town. Check early on rooms. HRS.Com will give you a good idea of what is available and note any large events.

We formerly lived there and really like Nürnberg. Hope you enjoy it as well.

sla019- How long would you allow to do this tour of Nuremberg? We will be there near Christmas for a day or so.

Thanks, Dan

How long would you allow to do this tour of Nuremberg?

Reading the tour he outlined (since he hasn't chimed in again yet), I would estimate about 3 hours, depending on how much you linger.

Speaking of Albrecht Dürer, I once saw this for sale at a shop in Nürnberg. Can I conclude that German kids might be more in touch with their country's cultural legacy?

Sorry for not back to all of you, we plan to be there for 2 to 3 days in between stays in Berlin and Lake Como. As for the time of year we normally do our European trip the week of American Labor Day which is the first week in September. Thank you

How long would you allow to do this tour of Nuremberg? We will be there near Christmas for a day or so.

Simple walking time is around 1.5 hours - ca. 5 km, of which ca. 1.5km steep and with cobblestones. I'd add 30min for the two main churches at a minimum and another 30 min for the castle. If you are in a hurry, you can skip the interior of the castle: there is a very interesting romanesque double chapel, but the exhibition is, well, less exciting. The rest depends on your interests. The Dürer house, e.g., has nothing preserved of its original furniture (is was sold after Dürer's death), but if you are into the history of art - it has a great exhibition putting Dürer in the horizont of European Renaissance art. The Germanic museum is great, too - provided you are interested in Renaissance painting and historical musical instruments.
And there is , of course, the documentation center on the Nazi rally grounds, accessible in 15 min. by tram No. 9 from the main station. The documentation is good, but more impressive is the torso of Hitler's unfinished congress hall. To get an idea of the demonic aestetics of intimidation of the nazi reich, there is no better spot in Germany (esp. the lake front).

BTW, I'd avoid the city on saturday's in December, when drunkards from everywhere turn the chrismas market into a unpleasant place. On weekdays and sunday evenings, however, it is quite romantic.
Enjoy your visit!

Better also stop driving as well, because the vehicular death rate in the US is 10.6 per 100,000. Which means you are 13 times more likely to die in a traffic accident in the good 'ole US of A then to succumb to death by violence in Germany. Most of which, by the way, is committed by people who know the victim. Meaning, not terrorism.

Having read two posts by one of the posters on this thread, I find his comments about the "dangers" of visiting this and other cities outrageous.

Do not be swayed by fearmongers.

I'll assume you will visit during the warm months of the year? Nürnberg and the surrounding area is great with lots of things to see and do. Check for Fests, free concerts and events when you plan to be there. The only place I've seen cruse congestion is with the Viking River cruse groups arriving and departing from the Nürnberg Airport at the airport. The Main Donau Kanal is a boarding and disembark point for Donau river cruses. Nürnberg is Biergärten, Bratwurst and Lebkuchen. Easy to leisurely tour/walk and shop in the old city proper for a day without the special museums and outlying areas. I've never felt threatened in Nürnberg even with demonstrations, recent immigrants and other factors.

https://www.nuernberg.de/internet/stadtportal/biergaerten.html

http://tourismus.nuernberg.de/erleben-geniessen/events/feste-maerkte.html

https://klassikopenair.nuernberg.de/

P.S. loved the Comersee based out of Varenna. Stayed for a week and parked the car and took the Ferries to the surrounding towns, Villas etc. on the lake. Check for Fests here too.
This stuff was kind of neat if you are a Star Wars fan: http://www.hoylen.com/photos/2009-west/08-lake-como/pictures.html

My wife and I visited in 2006 as a day trip from Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and stayed over for a couple of nights after a river cruise in 2014. It is a really enjoyable city. In many ways better than Munich if you are not fond of tourist crowds, like great value for your money in hotels, and don't want to wear yourself out. (We always seem to run ourselves too hard in Munich.) The German National Museum is a culture/history museum that is awesome. We enjoyed the Kaisersburg castle even though it was pretty much rebuilt from rubble as I understand it. Also the Durer house was a nice stop. Easy day trip to Bamberg using the Landes pass. And of course the Nazi Documentation Center. We were there in May both times and found it to be devoid of tourist crowds. The river cruise impact, as others have indicated, is neglible. Your talking two hundred people in a city of half a million. Even on the day that the ships carry out excursions, there are a range of them and not everyone is going to show up at any particular sight. So even if there are two ships in town it's not going to adversely impact you.

Loved it. We rented a car in Berlin when leaving and made tracks 2 or 3 nights each in Nuremberg, Erfurt, Trier, and day trip to The Residence in Wurzburg, ending in Amsterdam. Two nights/ days are adequate- use RS guides for restaurant suggestions tho.
Far, far fewer persons visible on the River cruises than the cruise ships in the Caribbean-- but you will see sights like that in the Med ( and Ft. Lauderdale!).

use RS guides for restaurant suggestions tho.

Doing so, you inevitably will end up in the company of all your fellow Rickniks (and in tourist traps sometimes, too). Not too bad, of course, but not the "authentic" experience so many are are looking for. I'd download the list of restaurants from the webpage of Nürnberg info, look up recommendations on TA and ask for tips of experenced visitors and locals.

I spent one afternoon and one night in Nuremberg and could have used more time there. I don't usually use guidebooks for meal recommendations and I stumbled into a really great dinner of sausage and beer. Any amount of time you can spend in Nuremberg would be worth it, in my opinion.

use RS guides for restaurant suggestions tho.
Doing so, you inevitably will end up in the company of all your fellow Rickniks (and in tourist traps sometimes, too). Not too bad, of course,

In my experience, Rick Steves' restaurant recommendations are of the "Guaranateed not to offend" variety. Not bad, but rarely particularly memorable either. And usually decorated in folksy kitsch. Giving his readers exactly what they want, more or less.

The simple way to search out a restaurant not swamped with rikniks is not to rely on their guide book. Don't use it. Go where the locals go which can be easily done.

This Franconian restaurant link from the broader Tourismus link up thread might be helpful. I don't have an RS book for Germany, so I don't know if all of these are in it, but I'm sure some are.

I lived in the Schoppershof area of Nuremberg from 1982 to 1985 when I worked for the US Army. I went back for a brief visit in 2009. Although I did get to visit my old neighborhood and walk to the Aldstadt like I did back then, it was not nearly enough time to absorb all the changes. There is so much to see, do and learn there, it's a good thing you will have a couple of days to explore. You will still need to be selective in what choose to see, do and eat.

My favorites, the places I liked to go on my own and to take people to see, included, but were not limited to, the following in no particular order: just walking around the Aldstadt, the churches inside the walls, Albrecht Durer house, the German National Museum and the Hauptmarkt.

If I went back today, I'd want to see things that have been built or changed since I was there. In particular I'd like to go to the Documentation Center and Nazi Party Rally Grounds. When I lived there I was able to go on a behind-the-scenes tour (I was the only person who did this) of the Zeppelin Grandstand before it was turned back over to the Germans. The Army called the grounds "Soldier's Field" and used the grounds for all kinds of celebrations and sporting events when I was there.

From the website, I see there are many tours available. I remember thinking back then that I hoped it wouldn't be cleaned up so much that the US Army soldiers' graffiti was removed. There was such an immediacy about the names, 1945 dates and sometimes home towns on those walls.

Have a great visit to Nuremberg and eat some Nürnberger Bratwurst, and Schäufele mit Knödel for me. Don't forget the Spezi and Jacobs coffee. And then there is the beer...

Cleaned up a few responses here to keep this thread on-topic. Thanks for understanding, everyone!

One of my reasons for going to Nürnberg the first time in 1973, staying at the HI hostel, was to see the Nazi party rally grounds or the remnants of them. I found it, got there all right after a pretty long walk from the hostel. Some of it was fenced off, part of it was used by Americans, presumably soldiers stationed there, playing baseball. That's I remember of the place.