Eastern Germany

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<span><span>BLOG #4 EASTERN GERMANY




Please ignore the previously sent blog text. Pictures remain as is.

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<span>Here is what should have been sent.

<span> As we entered a stellplatz in Leipzig, the weather changed dramatically. Temperatures dropped and the 'grizzlles' (gray and drizzly) took over. After one day of hunkering down, doing laundry, downloading photos and grocery shopping, we decided to do Leipzig no matter the weather. Bus and tram got us to the city center to follow The Music Trail that provides direction to many of the centers of musical history, statues of outstanding musicians, I.e. Bach and Mendelssohn, who founded the first musical conservatory in Leipzig and other centers of opera, choirs, etc. Metal markers in the sidewalks lead the way to homes of Robert and Clara Schumann and the St. Thomas church was where Johann Sebastian Bach served as cantor and directed the St. Thomas Boy's Choir for 27 years until his death. That choir established In 1212, is one of Germany's oldest and most famous Boy's Choir.
<span> We took a lengthy audio tour, in English, of the Rathaus (town hall) and were enthralled with the history of Germany and particularly Leipzig. Most outstanding was the 53 meter long inscription on the outer wall of the upper story of the building and the deeply hidden original treasure trunks within the sub-basement of the building. WWII took a great toll on the city of Leipzig, but restoration with much of the original burned stone has created a vital, but dark inner city.
<span> Finally, we had our traditional Sauerbraten meal at the Alte Rathaus Restaurant
<span> Then on to Dresden, where the weather cleared temporarily, followed by dropping temperatures and a snowstorm as we were leaving the city. However, during our tour of the old city, we thoroughly enjoyed the fact that our stellplatz was a 10 minute walk from many of the churches, ringing bells, art museums, historical buildings and promenades along the Elbe river. At every turn there was a sight to see and photograph. We even were able to attend an amazing organ recital at a Lutheran church that seats 5000. The organ and organist are high above the sanctuary, but visible. For you organ fans, a bit of statistics: 74 stops, 4 manuals and pedals and 6111 pipes. The organist, a 42 year old, rocked that building with the most incredible classical concert. No applause until the very end and then there was no stopping the standing ovation. Quite a start to our first night in Dresden. We had Internet access at the hostel where we were able to send our last blog, but also to get very welcome e-mails from friends and family as well as The Messenger. And there is nothing quite like ham and cheese crepes to go, for lunch at the marketplace, and sitting on concrete seats! BRRRRRR! But yummy.
<span> As mentioned earlier, a few snowflakes in the air as we left Dresden, quickly turned into a serious snowstorm. Cars in ditches, accidents blocking traffic and trucks all hunkered down in parking lots, etc.convinced us that FREIBERG vs. ALTENBURG was a smart choice, and thanks to a postal worker, we spent a snug night in the municipal and university parking lot. At this point, we're hearing that the USA and particularly NY, NJ and MA are right in line for a major hit from Hurricane Sandy.
<span> Our next stellplatz attempt was aborted as the road was blocked by fallen trees. But, standing next to the roadblock sign were the men from the road crew and unbeknown to us at the time, the town Mayor. He said "follow me" and took us to a spa parking lot in an adjoining town and then took Guy into the office, got all the necessary papers for electric power, minimal fee and we were all set for the next 24 hours. Talk about welcoming visitors!! We could walk to some great areas for photography and dinner and a bakery the next morning. Everything was covered in hoarfrost, unlike anything we had seen before.
<span> Major road construction in Jena, forced us to continue on to Weimar, after grocery shopping. Halloween is a non-event here, but as we walked into this delightful town, all the stores were closed!!! It's REFORMATION DAY to honor Martin Luther. It made doing an audio tour of town, much easier as there were fewer people. We finally got to eat one of the very famous Thuringen Bratwursts on the square as we listened to scripts by Goethe and Schiller on the audio disc.
<span> Our next foray was to the Buchenwald Memorial, at the site of the former Buchenwald Concentration Camp. It is located on the Ettersberg Mountain, about 5 miles (8Km) outside of Weimar. So close, and yet so totally unknown as to the horrors happening there, by surrounding towns. It was an emotionally challenging tour, including a film and an audio tour in English. The camp covered a huge amount of the mountain and was only one of the numerous concentration camps throughout Germany, that were activey under Hitler''s regime from 1937-1945. We lived through this, as youngsters and heard about all of the atrocities, but to be there now was necessary and overwhelming.
<span> What a lovely surprise Erfurt has been. For our artist friends who use Red Madder pigments, Erfurt was the source of the red dye extracted from the madder root. We not only shopped on a bridge that has shops on both sides of it, but walked around a picturesque and bustling town. We saw the St. Mary's Cathedral (the Dom) in the rain. And then we found a MH show that we had been seeing billboards for all over the country. As it turned out, it was a huge sports arena that was housing three large shows on one ticket. Caravan/RVs, world travel and a fitness, spa center information show. We bought nothing!!
<span> As I'm writing this our 4th blog, we're drying out after a climb into the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach in the rain. We'll be continuing west this week as we head back toward the Netherlands.

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