Bautzen-Gorlitz-Zgorzelec

Raining this morning so a little longer sleeping!

We had a leisurely breakfast before venturing into Bautzen for a more serious look around the town and to have a final lunch in Germany at a fish restaurant. The town was most interesting and the lunch, with fresh Norwegian fish was very tasty.

The very pictureque view of Bautzen. A delight at every turn.

We visited the cathedral - as one does in these places - and noticed it was both a Lutheran and a Catholic place of worship. What is more amazing is that this sharing has been going on since an agreement back in 1530. At that time a 4 metre high divider was in place between the front and the back of the church. Today it is about 70 centimetres high! 

Looking from the Lutherian end to the Catholic end.

The present day fence dividing the two sections. 

The Catholics hold their service at 8.30am and the Lutherian service is at 10.30am! What a great arrangement, seeing that there  were wars fought in the name of these two religions!

A further wander around the town took us to the Schloss, the Waterpower,  and the Rathaus - all central to the charm of the city. An interesting museum at the Schloss outlined  the ethnic groups associated with Bautzen- the Sorbs. 

 

The 14th century Rathus with interesting sundial.

Market Square

Quaint streets

We later returned to the van and set our GPS to Gorlitz and the Polish border. 

Welcome to Poland -aisles of vodka!

Our first task on crossing the border was to purchase a Polish pre-paid SIM card. These were not sold in a phone shop but instead we were directed to a newsagent where we purchased a card with 3gb of data for about $5 Australian. And further to this, when I asked the chap to activate it for me he replied, "It should be working immediately!" And it was - no messing about with ID etc, just plug it in and you are up and running.

We drove on to our overnight stop at the small village of Zareba. 

Colditz- Bautzen

A morning of catching up with some of the chores. It was always going to be a slow day but in the end we traveled quite a distance - now only 59 km from the Polish border. 

Once we started we again found that the countryside is very pictureque, abounding in lush crops and forests. We crossed into Saxony, arriving at our lunch destination, Colditz. 

Hilton, Helene and Colditz. 

Colditz is famed for its Schloss - in particular for the daring stories of escape during WWII. We stopped for lunch and then went for a wander to the castle to put a face to the stories. The castle over the years has had a very checked history. It was burnt down twice in the Middle Ages, used as a poor house in the 19th century, as an asylum in the 20th century and as a prisoner of war establishment during WWII. 

Colditz Schloss perched high above the town. 

The causeway to the main entrance of Colditz. 

Lucas Cranach's painting with Colditz Castle in the top left hand corner.

We admired some of the paintings and drawings done by a British officer who spent part of the war here, he captured many of the day to day experiences of the men.

John Wattin's illustration on the wall of his cell. 

William Anderson's rain, winter and Spring show.

We later returned to Hilton and continued in to the delightful town of Bautzen for our overnight stop. 

An evening view of the old town of Bautzen.

Weimar-Naumburg

We are beginning to accept that summer has arrived! Another mild morning, with the promise of a beautiful day.

Made some good ground today - trying to get to Poland - but finding that Germany has so many hidden treasures that we are stopping to see them all along the route.

Weimar was our first stopping point today. Famous outside Germany for giving its name to the Government from 1919 to when Hitler took control with the Third Reich. These days it is better known for the great minds produced within this community. It celebrates the life of Goethe, Schiller, Cranach, Bach, Liszt - and the list goes on. 

The town is centred around four main squares, each with their own special features. 

Market Platz

Goethe and Schiller dominate the Theatre Platz.

 The Schloss is the most important building in the city. 

Some lovely dining Strasses.

Lucas Cranach the Elder's altar masterpiece was completed here in Weimer and it can still be seen here.

We, again, passed  through very scenic landscapes on the way to Naumburg. Rich agricultural land, wind farms and beautiful towns and villages. 

Very scenic countryside with multiple wind farms in the distance.

Beautiful villages ....

... and bridges.

We arrived in Naumburg in the early afternoon. The Dom (cathedral) was the main attraction in the town - but I think most thought it was the funfair that was in town that took the honours. 

Another well laid out town with a very historic legacy. It was the seat for the Bishopric as far back as 1028 and later became an important trading centre in the late Middle Ages. The town was spared damage during WWII and was selected as a model for restoring old city centres.

Rathaus and market square.

We later drove in to Weissenfels for our over night stop. 

Front page of a German newspaper:

Boris  - what a Richard Cranium!

Eisenach to Erfurt

Sunday morning and a slow start. Drove into the centre of Eisenach to have a look around the town.

Eisenach Schloss and market square. 

The two heavy weights of Eisenach - Luther and Bach. 

Georgeankirche and square. 

A few people out and about exploring this town that boasts the childhood of both Martin Luther and Johann Sebastian Bach. The Luther connection is of great importance due to his challenge to the Roman Catholic Church's orthodoxy. He later returned to the Wartburg Castle to hide from the Church's thugs! Whilst in hiding he was the first to translate the bible into German - thus creating a standard form for the German language. Quite a feat! 

A very scenic tourist route led us to Gotha.  

After this we stopped off at Gotha, a very attractive and pleasant town - not at all touristy but by the looks of the developments going on it won't be long before this increases. A lovely Schloss and garden as well as an attractive square.

Gotha Schloss 

Looking towards Gotha's Market Square. 

Very pleasant Gotha Market Place. 

Gotha Schloss Orangerie (on right) and baroque garden. 

Later we drove onto Erfurt to complete a very busy Sunday. Erfurt is the state capital of Thuringia. It is a very peaceful university town with many cobbled alleyways and a number of elegant squares dotted around the town. Erfurt was founded back in the 700s - again by missionaries who wanted a base to convert and subdue the Saxons. In the Middle Ages it was a great trading centre connecting the Rhine area and Russia. It later joined the Hanseatic League.  

Domplatz at Erfurt

Dom

Very talented youth orchestra and choir rehearsing Wagner.

Domplatz from the Dom.

Classical pianist adding to the atmosphere to one of the many squares in Erfurt.

Some lovely modern townhouses next to the river.

Another square with half-timbered houses.

We settled for the night in East Erfurt. 

Fulda Thunder

At 4 o'clock this morning we were waken by an enormous thunderstorm raging around us! As a German neighbour had said earlier that this type of weather isn't that unusual at this time of the year. But it certainly kept us awake for the next half an hour whilst it moved on to scare the living delights out of the next town!

It rained on into the morning but cleared by the time we wanted to set out to explore Fulda. Fulda was founded in 744 by, you guested it, the Benidictine monks who developed a monastery here, and which gave it a 1000 years of control over the surrounding territory.  

The medieval aspect of the city was given a Baroque makeover in the 1700s making it now a baroque city of charm and elegance. By the number of tourist buses, motorhomes etc visible around the city, it is a very well known tourist centre. For many years Fulda was home to American troops because it was in this area the the east-west border was located. 

Fulda is a very impressive and thriving city. The city was alive with locals and visitors alike. There was plenty to see and photograph!!

Cathedral skyline at Fulda.

The Baroque Cathedral and the 9th St Michael's Church. 

The Prince/Bishop Residence - the power and wealth of the church on display here. Now a pleasant backdrop for weddings. 

The Orangerie 

The baroque garden and the sculpture of  the Flora Vase.

The beautiful Old Town Hall. 

Floral displays around the city with the baroque buildings in the background. 

And, we became reacquainted with Ampel, the little man on the traffic signals!

We couldn't help ourselves and had to taste some of the German cakes.

We chose a maulwurfschnittchen - and it was delicious too.

We returned to the van and soon after got on the road and headed for Eisenbach. A beautiful drive through the Thuringian Forest. It was along this route that the old east-west border was in place. We think there was a sign along the road when we past the mark - but being a little rusty with German we weren't quite sure!!

Part of the Thuringian Forest.

 

The day was bookended with thunder storms - another as we write this blog!