Limlingrode, Eisenach, and Wartburg

This this past weekend I visited Thuringia, in central Germany. The trip there didn't take very long, only a few hours, and it was nice to travel through the German countryside. We arrived that afternoon to a farmyard in the village of Limlingrode, which is barely a dot on the map. There was some really neat traditional Fachwerk ("framework") in the buildings around the village. Here's three pictures of the barn. You can see my full album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151143820568788.470703.500163787&type=1&l=aaa701a5d6

After an afternoon break for beer/coffee/kuchen (the British call it "afternoon tea"), we went for a walk. Note to self: walks in Germany are not just plain walks. Not only was there the beautiful countryside, but soon the farmer who was leading us around pointed out the furthest that the East Germans could walk; 500m later was the border to West Germany. The farmer (Helmut) told a few stories about life during the separation. Apparently, some of the locals could pass through to move flocks around, but they had to be from the local area and have a reason to come back (a wife and children). Nevertheless, anyone sneaking around in the dead man's land was not safe from the border guards.

Going past the 500m marker, he brought us to a well, out of flowed a small stream of water. Someone had brought a water bottle, so we filled it up and took a drink. It wasn't particularly cold, nor particularly different in taste. Nevertheless, I wish I could've taken a picture of it.

Next, we took a different route back, and he showed us a ditch which was manmade. Along the sides grew trees, and it really didn't make much sense why the long ditch was there until he showed us three stones, each about 100m (110 yards) apart. They only had a few letters on them, but signs nailed to trees above each one gave information about them. One stone in particular said "KP" on one side and "KH" on the other. Does anyone have any guesses? The 'K' stands for "Königsreich" and the 'P' and 'H' stand for different kingdoms. Still nothing? Ok, "KP" is the Kingdom of Prussia, and "KH" is the Kingdom of Hanover. The otherh two differentiated between other older, smaller kingdoms. I can't exactly remember now. We found a fourth stone on which was a six-spoked wheel, probably the coat of arms of Mainz. But Mainz is all the way across the other side of Germany! Explanation? The Archbishop of Mainz no doubt claimed this territory as part of his electorate and control. At one time he would have been in charge of all area north of the alps, as the primus Germaniae, but I'm not sure when he lost control of his territory in Thuringia.

The walk ended with picking some early plums, a bit larger than grapes, and they tasted pretty good.

That evening the Germans grilled out, and boy was it good! There were grilled sausages (sigh..."brats" for you Americans), sausages with cheese inside, and pork strips. Everything was greasy and delicious. Of course I washed it down with the regional beer. Unfortunately I can't remember the brand, but it was a weak stout, more fitting for the summer. I've had stronger stouts in the US, but still, it tasted very good and went well with the food. If you ever travel Germany, I encourage you to ask for the regional beer; it's a great way to get along with the locals, who have a lot of pride in that brewery, and you get to try a wide variety.

That night after supper, a neighbor took us to the village church, since she had a key. Unfortunately it was dark outside, so I couldn't get any pictures, and the ones inside were a bit dark as well. Oh well. Again, you can see the full album at the link above.

The next day we traveled to Eisenach and the Wartburg. Eisenach is the birthplace of JS Bach, and the childhood home of Luther (but not his birthplace, as I mistakenly mentioned in my post a few days ago). We really didn't spend much time in Eisenach. I'll have more time later to find the places that I want to visit. We did go up to the Wartburg castle, which was quite awesome. We all know it as the hiding place of Martin Luther when the Emperor had put a bounty on his head. He masqueraded as Junker Jörg, or Knight George, and it was there that he translated the New Testament into German. But this isn't all it's famous for: the castle had been built in the late 11th century and is still very well kept up. Furthermore, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, known for her charity, was sent there as a girl to eventually marry the King of Thuringia, which she did at age 14. She was widowed at 20 and died at 24, but she was most well known for setting up hospital in Eisenach and distributing alms to people in her husband's territory.

From there, we traveled back to Berlin in the dark. The ICE (Inter-City Express) was very fast; it would be nice to have that sort of public transportation in America. The only problem is that no one would use it, because everyone has cars or is used to flying to places to which they can't drive.

My classes are going well. I got a '2' ('B') on my first self-evaluation test. Basically, we took a test, and the teacher graded it, but it doesn't count for anything. It does give one an idea of what to practice, though, which was good.

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