|
Hello friends of Germany, especially of Bavaria and mine
(I hope). Today I'll tell you about a two-day-trip with wonderful guests coming
from a Danube cruise. Two couples had made a long flight from the States to
Budapest in Hungary, where a big cruise along the Danube and further on till
Amsterdam was starting. My guests had booked the cruise on the MS Bolero (MS
= motorship) till Nuernberg, where I picked them up.
The last weeks we had nearly spring in Germany although the end of March was
not reached till yet. But on this morning, I startet in Munich at 5 a.m. in
a small snow storm, the last attack of the winter. Reaching Nuernberg at 7
a.m. Snow was changed in rain and it seemed spring was coming back. Shortly
to 8 a.m. Ginny and Gene and Nadine and Willi came „on board“ to
me and we started for our country ride. First destination was Weimar, a town
in Thuringia. Via Bayreuth and Hof, the highway was still leading through Bavaria
we're going „east“. Thuringia is one of the old states of the former
separeted part of Germany. So, if you hear some times the name „East Germany“
or former „DDR“, that is the area we were going to.
We reached Weimar around lunch time and first checked in our hotel, a nice
small one with the name „Fürstenhof“. Here you see it with my
„ship“ in front.
After that we drove to Buchenwald, there is a memorial of the „dark times“
from Germany's history. In Buchenwald there was once Europe's biggest concentration
camp located, about 250 000 prisoners were there and about 50 000 lose their
lifes. Later on, after the War, the russian troups used that location still
again as an awful jail for all people they didn't like in their occupied part
of Germany.
Buchenwald
If you want more detailed informations about Buchenwald please use the following
link, English language is also provided:
http://www.buchenwald.de/index_start.html
While my guests visited the memorial I had for reasons of driving security
a little nap and after that we started to discover Weimar itself. This town
is well known as the home of famous poetries like Schiller and Goethe. To their
lifetime the Earl of Weimar was a big sponsor of arts and people with genius.
Here you can see the summer palace „Belvedere“ - I think the name
means „beautiful view“. Surrounded by a huge park with marvellous
sights in the area.
One of the side buildings, the „Orangerie“ (in former times a kind
of Botanic Garden for the aristocrats in closed rooms with exotic flowers and
trees) had just while we were there a flower exhibition. And some flowers my
guests know from their home, the beautiful Hawaii.
After that we wanted to see a little bit more of the town Weimar itself. So
we walked from our hotel a few minutes and here we are:
That place here is called „Frauenplatz“, although the „sleeping
giant“ is looking like a male. Maybe he should symbolize the female wish
to have a strong male always around :-) . Just around the next corner the Marktplatz
is located. We reached him just at 5 p.m., so we're just exact in time for
the wonderful playing of the carillon on top of the Town Mayors house.
Just contrary of that the „Cranach-Haus“ is located – Cranach
was a famous painter in the times of Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant
religion.
A few steps more and we stand in front of the town pallace of Weimar.
From there we returned trough a small street where we had a very nice event.
In the window of a little store we saw a lot of good looking like made in Russia.
A nice young man inside saw us looking, opened the door and invite us to look
inside too, although he was just installing the store. He spoke German like
me, had a very good English too and was in reality a nature Russian guy. And
he was so nice, if everybody would be like him there would be no more troubles
on world between different folks.
After that really nice adventure we had dinner in a small family-like looking
restaurant. Food was very good, the service too, so wie finish that day happy
and walk back to our hotel.
Next morning we started in direction Frankfurt/Main. The first stop was in
Eisenach to visit the huge castle „Wartburg“.
Catholic people, familiar with the saints in the church, maybe know the Wartburg
as the former home of Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, the very young died brave
wife of king Ludwig. She was famous by her behavior and heartfully help to
sick, poor and dieing people in the middle ages.
Protestant people maybe know the Wartburg as the castle, where Martin Luther
was sitting in a kind of security jail – the pope and his followers wanted
to kill him after his complain about the church - and where he was translating
the new testament of the bibel into German language in roughly eight months.
So he opened the knowledge of the holy book to all people – before that
only priests could read and talk about it.
The lady, who was our guide, told a lot of nice stories. One you should here
too, the story about the first building of that castle. A duke named „Ludwig,
der Springer“ (Ludwig, the Jumper – his nick name) found that location
on the high mountain so marvellous, so he decided to build the castle on. But
the mountain was not his own area and the real owners complained against him
to the German Emperor, as Ludwig let start the building. In the Middle Ages
the Emperor was the highest judge in Germany and he called Ludwig to his court.
Ludwig has heard this and clever, as he was, he had sended several trailers
with earth from his own flats to the mountain to cover the planned castle area
with that. Because he knew, how the Emperor mostly ask in area-fights. And
he was right in his thinking. So, as the Emperor asked him, why he occupy strange
ground for his castle, he answered: „Sire, I'm building the castle only
on my earth“ - he won the court.
By the way, here is the room of Martin Luther in the castle
After the castle visit we drove till Fulda, once and today the town of a Bishop.
There is a huge cathedral, a wonderful pallace and a nice old town part.
Because it was a market-sunday – in Germany a special day for opening
all stores on a sunday, normally closed – the town was nearly overcrowded.
But after nearly 40 minutes I was lucky to find a parking space and so you
can see some views of our visit in Fulda.
The pallace and here a view to the old houses
But we had to drive again, because next morning the flight of my guest would
go and the hotel must be reached first. About 90 minutes later we arrived in
Darmstadt near Frankfurt and had so finished our two-days-cruise through through
Bavaria, Thuringia and Hessen (Fulda, Darmstadt and Frankfurt/Main are in Hessen)
– three German States in two days. A wonderful and interesting trip over
600 kilometer or about 400 miles. There in Darmstadt my partner Mr. Welzel
took my guests, had a nice evening roundtrip and a good dinner with them –
I said „good bye“, my guests „Aloha“.
I hope, you, dear reader, has also a little bit fun by this trip. If you sometimes
like one, don't hesitate to ask. Maybe we can arrange a nice cruise with me
and mine or Mr. Welzel's full-size-van where ever you want to go.
See you hopely soon on another travel site of mine or personally sometimes
in Bavaria
with hearty greetings
your George
Script by J.W.Lohfink, for any mistakes in
spell or grammar I apologize as a precaution, corrections, questions or comments
please mail to me.
>> German version
And last but not least, if you like to search on my page
more or in the internet,
then you'll find at the bottom the marvellous search-help
by Google.
©®J.W.Lohfink |
