July 2016 - Overview

Holidays (Federal or Bavaria specific) and Important Dates   

Events (by no means a complete list)
School Holidays (July 30 - September 12)       


Herzo
Summer Festival July 8-17 
July 21 - Guided tour of the Town Museum in English 
July 22  - Dinner in White, hosted by ZONTA Club
July 30-31 Medieval Festival
Erlangen
June 30 - August 8 - City Beach Erlangen
July 1 - 3 Zollhausfest - Erlangen's largest street festival
July 1 - 4 Bruck Kirchweih
Thursdays through August 6 Erlangen goes Fit- free fitness classes (like them on FB for up to date changes to schedule.
July 8 Rottelheimpark Area Festival
July 9 Ceramic Market 
July 16 - 17 Kunigunden Kirchweih, Eltersdorf
July 16 - Found Bike Sale! Bikes abandoned or confiscated and not claimed are auctioned off
July 16-17 Bismark Streetfest
July 22 - 25 City Beach Area Festival
July 24 - Jazz on the Lake
July 29 - August 1 Alterlangen Kirchweih
July 29 - 31 Altstadt Fest
July 31 Erlangen Triathlon

Nürnberg 

Every Thursday, City Marketing Nürnberg publishes weekend tips! 
Until July 26 City Beach is open
July 1 - Night Flea Market
July 15 - 17 Organic Market 

July 25-28 International Singing Competition
July 29-31 Bardentreffen - Music Festival 

Other
July 1 - 17 Kiliani Volksfest, Wuerzburg
June 3 - July 3  Mozart Festival, Wuerzburg 
July 4 - 10 Hofgarten Weinfest, Wuerzburg
July 13- 25 Weinfest am Stein Wuerzburg
July 15-17 Bamberg Zaubert Magic acts throughout inner city Bamberg
July 22 - August 1 Annafest Forchheim

Other things to do? 

Loads of beer related activities- festivals, etc. in and around the Fränkischer Schweiz. See here for a calendar (in German). 

Maps of beer/brewery related walking routes in and around the Fränkischer Schweiz here. (in German)

Click here for a list of tours in the area in English, many are indoors (museums). 

Visit the Nürnberg Planetarium. 

Find a local Beer Keller here! 

Check out the German-American Institutes events here. 

Events (in German) at the Walderlebniszentrum Tennenlohe (Erlangen) April - September here. 

Pick your own berries and currants, and even asparagus! click here or here for a few places in the Nürnberg area. Check the individual websites for more information.  

Go (indoor) rockclimbing. Kids just €2,50.   

Take the steam engine tour through the Frankische Schweiz €14 adults

Rock cut beer celler tours (Nürnberg) every Sunday 11:30am in English. €5 

Take a hike! Link to VGN hiking information site here (English). Combine hiking and beer with the 5 Seidla Tour (English). Hiking trails in and around Herzo here. Nature parks in the region may be found here (link in German, click on interaktiven Karte for the map). 

Head to the Frankischer Schweiz (link in English) for breweries, hiking, castles, rock climbing, canoeing and more. An interactive map of hiking trails in the Frankischer Schweiz can be found here. 

Take your own wine walk in Nürnberg (link in German, map on right hand side of page)

Bikemap.net has loads of bike paths/routes in and around our area. 

Visit a pool or sauna- Atlantis is in Herzo, Nürnberg has many to choose from (link in  German), Stein (near Nürnberg) is home of Palm Beach, Bamberg has Bambados Can´t decide?  Schwimmbadcheck is an online review site for public pools, link is in English.
   

Celebrate all things asparagus at an asparagus festival!

From April - October, take a tasting tour (in German) of Erlangen €26 

It´s wine festival time! With so many wineries in the lower Franconian region there´s a festival every weekend. Check out the list (in English) here . The area is about one hour from Nürnberg by train. 

April 2016 - Overview

Holidays (Federal or Bavaria specific) and Important Dates   

School holidays March 19 - April 3            

Events (by no means a complete list)
Herzo
April 9 Slackline Workshop
April 19 Earth Day
April 21 Tour of the Town Museum in English €2
April 30 Bike Fair
Erlangen
March 26 - April 3 Erlangen Spring Festival , Schlossplatz
Until April 2 International Jazz Workshops 
April 2 - Flea Market, Bohlenplatz - over 300 vendors
April 3 Open Sunday! 
April 5 and 20 Porcelain making workshops €18 plus porcelain
April 9 See the wild horses and more on a guided tour of the Tennenloher Forest €7
April 23 Celebrate 500 years of the Beer Purity Law (various places in Erlangen from Schlossplatz and the Botanical Garden to Entla´s Keller) 
Try the Erlangen Beer Crawl to celebrate 500 years of the beer purity law
April 24 - June 6 Böse Clowns exhibit Kunstpalais, Marktplatz 1
April 30 - ADFC Used Bike Sale

Nürnberg 

Every Thursday, City Marketing Nürnberg publishes weekend tips! 

March 25 - April 10 Spring Volksfest
April 2 - Last day for ice skating at Nürnberg Arena!
April 2 - Night Owl Market an evening flea market with DJ, drinks and dancing
April 8 - Balloons aglow at Nürnberg´s Spring Volksfest
until May 29 Terracotta Army (EXTENDED!), Adults €15 Exhibit also in English
April 14 Nürnberg Street Food Fest, €1 Entry feeBerliner Platz 9
April 22 - August 28 Special Exhibit Documentation Center- School during National Sozialismus
April 30 - May 1 Wine and Taste Festival, tickets from €12
April 30 Earth Day at the German American Institute- Nature Walk €5 per child (German and English)

Other
March 26 - April 19 Easter Fountain time! See here for PDF of Frankischer Schweiz dates
April 1-2 Wine Press Hall Festival, Würzburg
April 2 - Stadtwaldlauf, Fürth 10k or Half Marathon, plus kid´s races
April 9 - Salsa mini-festival, dance workshops €5 Forchheim
April 10 Bike tour of Oberfranken and the Fränkische Schweiz (110 km) Start/end Forchheim 
April 14-23 Volksfest, Kulmbach
April 15 - May 1 Spring Festival, Munich
April 16 - 17 - Enjoy Fränkisch food at Fränkische Genusstage, €4 Weißenburg
April 23 - 24 Bierkeller opening weekend, Forchheim See post from last year here. 
April 22- 24 Beer Festival, Bamberg
April 23 - May 29 Bavarian Beer Weeks, Eichstätt
April 24- Day of Open Gardens, Bamberg FREE! Visit the gardens (veggie, spice, flower) of Bamberg  (Almost) all gardeners will have food/drink available for purchase.
April 24 - Residenz Run, Würzburg
29 April - May 2 Walberlafest, One of Franken´s oldest Spring festivals (near Forchheim)
April 30 - May 15 Culture Days at the Juliusspital, Würzburg

Other things to do? 

It´s Bärlauch season!!! 

Loads of beer related activities- festivals, etc. in and around the Fränkischer Schweiz. See here for a calendar (in German). 

Maps of beer/brewery related walking routes in and around the Fränkischer Schweiz here. (in German)

Click here for a list of tours in the area in English, many are indoors (museums). 

Visit the Nürnberg Planetarium. 

Find a local Beer Keller here! 

Check out the German-American Institutes events here. 

Events (in German) at the Walderlebniszentrum Tennenlohe (Erlangen) April - September here. 

Pick your own berries and currants, and even asparagus! click here or here for a few places in the Nürnberg area. Check the individual websites for more information.  

Go (indoor) rockclimbing. Kids just €2,50.   

Take the steam engine tour through the Frankische Schweiz €14 adults

Rock cut beer celler tours (Nürnberg) every Sunday 11:30am in English. €5 

Take a hike! Link to VGN hiking information site here (English). Combine hiking and beer with the 5 Seidla Tour (English). Hiking trails in and around Herzo here. Nature parks in the region may be found here (link in German, click on interaktiven Karte for the map). 

Head to the Frankischer Schweiz (link in English) for breweries, hiking, castles, rock climbing, canoeing and more. An interactive map of hiking trails in the Frankischer Schweiz can be found here. 

Take your own wine walk in Nürnberg (link in German, map on right hand side of page)

Bikemap.net has loads of bike paths/routes in and around our area. 

Visit a pool or sauna- Atlantis is in Herzo, Nürnberg has many to choose from (link in  German), Stein (near Nürnberg) is home of Palm Beach, Bamberg has Bambados Can´t decide?  Schwimmbadcheck is an online review site for public pools, link is in English.
   

Celebrate all things asparagus at an asparagus festival!

From April - October, take a tasting tour (in German) of Erlangen €26 

It´s wine festival time! With so many wineries in the lower Franconian region there´s a festival every weekend. Check out the list (in English) here . The area is about one hour from Nürnberg by train. 

March 2016 - Overview

Holidays (Federal or Bavaria specific)       

March 25 - Good Friday (Karfreitag) - also a Stilletag (no loud music, dancing forbidden. etc.)

March 26 - Karsamstag. Stilletag also. 

March 27 - Easter Sunday (Ostersonntag).

March 24 - Holy or Maundy Thursday (Gründonnerstag). Stilletag.

School holidays March 19 - April 3 Spring Break 


Events (by no means a complete list)

Erlangen

March 22 Fleamarket (and plants too!), Rudeltplatz
March 26 - April 3 Erlangen Spring Festival , Schlossplatz

Nürnberg
March 11 Nürnberg Night Market Entry €1
March 12 Nürnberg Street Food Market (Monthly event) Entry €1
March 15 Nuernberg Sport Verein Spring Run(s) Choose from shorter runs for children, 5K        or 10K. Nordic Walking and Biking as well! Details here (in German)
March 14-16 The German Irish Friendship Circle is hosting St. Patrick´s Day weekend events (some events are in German, English, and Irish) Ticket prices €20 Friday with special guest Jonny Logan (of Eurovision fame in the 80´s and 90´s) €10 Saturday. 
March 15 Rockfabrik hosts a St. Patrick´s Day party with Kilkenny Knights 
March 17 Guy Palumbo Irish music, Molly Malone´s - free entry
March 17 TK Maxx opens! Mercado
March 19 - Handmade Market
March 25 - April 10 Spring Volksfest


Herzo
March 17- Guided tour of the City Museum in English €2
March 28 Easter Nest Hunt

Other
March 4 - 6 Health Fair, Bamberg Adults, €6
March 5 - 20 Spring Volksfest, Würzburg
March 9 - 20 Flamenco Festival, Würzburg
March 12 Food Truck Round Up, Bamberg
March 12-13 Franconian Gourmet Fair (Iphofen- 45 minutes from Nberg by train)- Local (Frankisch) gourmet food! Child care available. Note: This is also Open Sunday in Iphofen, stores will be open. 
March 14 Delta Moon - Blues, Fürth
March 15, Tina Turner, Bamberg
March 17 - Irish Dance and Music, Hassfurt Tickets from €34
March 18 - Harlem Globetrotters, Bamberg Tickets from €32,95
March 26 - 28 Easter Market, Fränkischer Freiland Museum (Easter Egg Hunt March 27)
March 30 Open Sunday Fuerth - corresponds with their Spring Festival as well (March 29-April 6)


Other things to do? 
Explore our area´s many bike paths! (For a Nürnberg map of bike paths, click here) For other cities, start with a google search of your city´s name and Fahrradweg). Maps are available in most book stores for under €5. 

Visit the Easter fountains in the Frankischer Schweiz. 

Beer kellers and gardens that closed for the season begin to re-open! Try Forchheim´s famous Kellerwald (click here for map and description in German). It´s little less than 30 minutes train ride from Nberg Hbf and then a bit of a walk. 

Head out to a local soccer game. The season reopened end of February. Tip: For those with children with short attention spans, some clubs offer free admission for the second half. 

Kick-Fabrik - Nürnberg indoor soccer and mini-golf

Bowling (Google kegeln or bowling and your town´s name)

Visit an indoor pool or sauna- Atlantis is in Herzo, Nürnberg has many to choose from (link in    German), Bamberg has Bambados Can´t decide?  Schwimmbadcheck is an online review site for public pools, link is in English.

December 2015 - Overview

Holidays (Federal or Bavaria specific) and Important Dates      
December 25, 26 Christmas (note: stores will be closed after mid afternoon December 24) 
Note: December 27 is a Sunday, so stores will be closed for THREE days! See below for some things that are open in the area.
December 31 New Year´s Eve (stores will be closed early)
See here for last year´s post on New Year´s Eve (Silvester) traditions in Germany. 

School holidays December 24 - January 6, 2015

Events (by no means a complete list)

Herzo
December 1 - 18 Children´s Christmas Huts- arts and crafts from 2-5pm, see link for additional activities
December 1-24 Living Advent Calendar- the door is opened at 5pm and followed by music
December 3-6 Christmas Market
December 5 - City walk with the Mayor - free of charge, 2:30 pm


Erlangen
December 10 - January 10 Erlangen on Ice, Erlangen´s ice skating rink opens Schlossplatz NOTE: No longer free. Children under 6 Free, 7-17 €2, Adults €3
Through December 24 Forest Christmas Market, Schlossplatz
Through December 23 Historic or Middle AgesChristmas Market 
December 5 - 24 Christmas Tree Market, Schlossplatz
December 6 - Siemens Choir Christmas Concert 
December 13 Antique/Flea Market, Parkplatzstraße
December 17 - New York Gospel Stars, tickets from €24,50
December 21 - Swanlake

Nürnberg 

Every Thursday, City Marketing Nürnberg publishes weekend tips! 

Through December 21- Take a Glühwein tour of the city on an old fashioned street car €16

Through December 23- Special at the Planetarium - The Three Christmas Stars 

Through December 24 Christkindlesmarkt!

See here for other smaller Christmas markets in the city.

Through December 24 (weekends only!) Living Nativity Scenes, Nürnberg Zoo 

Through March 2016- Segway Indoor Parcourse - Kickfabrik Friday, Saturday, Sunday (link in German, upper right for translation tool)

Through December 20 - Glühwein Streetcar tours

December 4-14 Fine Arts and Crafts Market at the Stadtmuseum Fembohaus

December 5 - Christmas in Africa, Hand-Sachs-Platz Tickets €6,50

December 7 - Open Sunday Altstadt

December 8 - Moya Brennan, Irish Christmas tour, tickets from €27

December 12, 26- The Wizard of Oz, tickets €26.85

December 12-13 Winterkiosk - Alternative Christmas Market- organic, free trade, etc. items

December 14 - Swanlake, tickets from €29 

December 17 - January 10 Flic-Flac Christmas show- aerial dancers, acrobats, etc. Seems a bit like Cirque du Soleil tickets from €7,27- €48,18 **also runs on Christmas Day and 26th!

Other

Click here for a previous post about the area´s Christmas Markets, and what makes each special. 
See here for goings on in the Fränksiche Schweiz (link in German)
Through December 13 Circus Roncalli, Bayreuth Tickets from €16

Through December 23 Christmas Market, Fürth (also has a Middle Ages Market)

Through January 6 Bamberg´s 39 Nativity Scenes are up! Walking map of the Nativity Trail here. More info at the tourist center.

Through January 6 Nativity Museum Hirschaid, nativity scenes from around the world Free

December 4 Leipzig Philharmonic Advent Concert, Fürth Tickets from €39

December 5 - The Cashbags, Johnny Cash tribute band, Bayreuth

December 5 - Salsa Navidad (including course!) €6,50, Bamberg See link for other salsa events

December 5 - Long shopping night (until midnight!), Bamberg

December 6 - Adventsmarkt, Frankische Schweiz Museum, Pottenstein 

December 5 - Niklauslauf, Forcheim- Up to 5k run (also children and baby runs)

December 5 - Shopping Night, Bamberg- stores open until midnight! 

December 8 - Musical Christmas - most in English!, Erfurt tickets from €39,90

December 10 - The Nutcracker, performed by the Russian National Ballet Theater, Schweinfurt, tickets from €32

December 10 - Lord of the Dance, Regensburg, tickets from €55

December 12 - Swanlake, Würzburg, tickets from €43

December 18 - New York Gospel Stars, Fürth, tickets from €24,50

December 21 - Short Film Day, Hof

December 25 - The Nutcracker, Russian National Ballet, Würzburg,tickets from €25

Other things to do? 

It´s Bockbier Anstich time! That time of year that the Bockbier kegs are tapped. Find a list of local Anstichen (the celebration the day the first keg is tapped) here. 

New to the area? Click here for a list of tours in the area in English.

From September to April - Public ice skating at Nürnberg Arena (W, Th, F, Sunday- during school  holidays and feiertage also Monday and Tuesday). 

Day trip to Kulmbach, a  beautiful city known for it´s beer. (1.5 hours from Nürnberg). 

Take a day ski trip! Loads of companies organize them. Wöhrl, Jochen Schweizer,Snowstars, Intersport (ask at the store for brochures) for example. 

Sign up for a class at the Volkshochschule. In addition to language classes, they offer wine tasting classes, exercise classes, art classes, and excursions/tours! (and more!)

Take the Bamberg Beer Tasting Tour €22 Self guided, comes with backpack and allows you 5 beers at various breweries. 

Other suggested day trips (earlier post on this blog) here. 

Take your own wine walk in Nürnberg (link in German, map on right hand side of page).

Cycling and hiking tours (or self guided) in the Würzburg wine region here. 

Bike the Regnitz Bike Path between Nürnberg and Bamberg- information and various tours to take (in German) here.

Take a self guided tour of Erlangen. Or any one of these can be booked in English.

VGN has suggested walks and bike rides on their website (in English). Vineyard walk here, Rocks and caves walk here. See all of VGN´s suggestions for things to do here (in English). In German, you can read about all of their leisure bus lines and suggested routes/things to see and do in the area, a few are described in English here. 

In or around Herzo? Information on hiking paths can be found here in English.

Have you visited Forchheim? An adorable city less than 45 minutes away from Nürnberg, information in English, including a self guided tour brochure for download here. 

Visit the Nürnberg Planetarium. 

Go (indoor) rockclimbing. Kids just €2,50.  Other indoor climbing in Erlangen and Bamberg 

Rock cut beer celler tours (Nürnberg) every Sunday 11:30am in English. €5 

Take a hike! Link to VGN hiking information site here (English). Combine hiking and beer with the 5 Seidla Tour (English). Hiking trails in and around Herzo here. Nature parks in the region may be found here (link in German, click on interaktiven Karte for the map). Franken Tourist center suggested hikes here (right side), biking here. 

Head to the Frankischer Schweiz (link in English) for breweries, hiking, castles, rock climbing, canoeing and more. An interactive map of hiking trails in the Frankischer Schweiz can be found here. 

Visit a pool or sauna- Atlantis is in Herzo, Nürnberg has many to choose from (link in  German), Stein (near Nürnberg) is home of Palm Beach, Bamberg has Bambados Can´t decide?  Schwimmbadcheck is an online review site for public pools, link is in English.

Open during the holidays (December 24-26 and/or 31 see websites for more info)
Ice Skating at Nürnberg Arena. 
See here for special opening times for Nürnberg City sights (Albrecht-Durer house, DB Museum, Deutsches Museum, etc.) 
Boulder Halle (Erlangen and Bamberg) advertises open all holidays at 9am, I would call to be certain, but...
Tucherland
Nürnberg Zoo
Planetarium Nürnberg
Kick-Fabrik Indoor mini-golf, soccer, and more. Open every holiday but the 26th

Christmas Concert - December 6, 2015

The Siemens Choir will be having a Christmas concert on December 6 in Erlangen. A brief introduction will be given in English, and a large portion of the carols will also be in the English language. Learn more about the Siemens Choir here.

Tickers €12 in advance, €15 at the door.