O Tannenbaum - A tour of German Christmas Markets and other spots

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Our hotel - it did look a little bit out of place in the Old Town



It was basically next door to the 14th C Parish Church of St Gregor. Luther preached there in 1522



More of the streetscape around the Domplatz



I think this building once housed the Post Office and other government offices





The Old Synagogue - over 900 years old. It is the oldest surviving synagogue in Europe. After a pogrom in 1349 it was used for a variety of purposes including as a warehouse, part of a restaurant and as a dance hall. We toured it but no photographs are allowed inside. "Due to the frequent renovations, the synagogue was no longer recognizable as such and was no longer known as such historically, which is why it survived the National Socialist era unscathed."

Alte Synagoge (Erfurt) – Wikipedia

de.wikipedia.org

The Stadtmuseum built in 1607

 

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And for something a little different. Bluey was also on TV but dubbed into German.



The cathedral steps



A map of 'old' Erfurt





A former trading yard. Parts of this building date to the 12th C with additions being made in the 14th and 15th C



The Trinity Chapel, around 1500, is attached.

 

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The second city we visited from Erfurt was Gotha. The main purpose was to visit Schloss Friedenstein. This was the ancestral home of a certain Prince Albert of Sax-Coburg and Gotha.

To be honest it felt like a pretty dreary place that has not really recovered from the East German days. There seemed to be lots of empty buildings in town and a sort of run down feeling about all we saw. The county of Gotha had a population of 153,000 in 1990 and that had reduced to around 134,000 in 2021. Even the palace seemed in more need of repair than any other we have seen in Germany. This is probably exacerbated by its large size and its location in a area that doesn't seem to attract many overseas tourists.

Even the station was very rundown. Inside there were broken floor tiles, no café etc. It was built in 1848 but has been much changed over the years. Much of the the once much larger building was destroyed in WW2. Seemingly in line with the Melbourne Airport Rail Link any move to refurbish the building has been delayed by inaction - "A study for extensive renovation and conversion work is planned (as of April 2021)"



The forecourt has been much modified with a bus and tram terminal. But on a drizzly grey day it was pretty barren.



We caught a bus into town - about 10 minutes and headed towards the centre.

This was the sort of streetscape we mainly saw. I guess that they have at least renewed the cobblestones.





It all felt eerily empty. This was the busiest street we saw.



Schloss Friedenstein - built in the middle of the 17th C. It was one of the first baroque palaces built.

Friedenstein Palace - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ernest the Pious Ernest 1, Duke of Saxe-Gotha 1601 -1675. Said to have introduced a 'Golden Age' for his subjects after the Thirty Year's War. "It was a popular saying that his peasants were better instructed than the townsmen and nobles elsewhere, and at his death, it was said, that no one in his land was unable to read and write."



As you can see most of the façade was in need of a coat of paint.





It is built in a 'U' shape

 

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The palace overlooks the marketplace



We went for a tour of the palace. You given oversized felt slippers to preserve the floor. They were in pretty poor condition in a number of places.

Stylish footwear



Cracks were not an uncommon sight.



Some of the ceilings had problems as well

 

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During the time we were inside the palace there were never more than about 8 other visitors inside there with us. We were mainly on our own, except for staff members, for most of our tour.







As seems normal in palaces of around this age the rooms open onto each other







The undoubted highlight of the palace was the Banqueting Hall

 

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The hall was set up for a Christmas event











There was a small display of 'treasures'.

 

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The palace was fairly keen to highlight the connection to the British Royal Family. There were also a number of photos of the more recent and present members.











The last section was another small museum of more recent events

A Glass harmonium



A WW2 aircraft medical kit



An East German manufactured PC from 1986



In the courtyard most of the pillars supporting the arches were being restored.



There was an 18th C. stamping machine from the former Royal Mint

 

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My highlight of the palace visit was to see the Ekhof Theatre which is housed in one of the palace wings. It is the worlds oldest Baroque theatre with working stage machinery. The machinery was installed in 1681. I have seen it featured in TV documentaries.

Ekhof Theatre | Stiftung Friedenstein – Gotha

www.stiftung-friedenstein.de

The machine on stage is a Wind Machine. It is rotated and the noise of the wooden slats rubbing on the fabric simulates the sound of wind.



Some of the scenery panels

 

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After the palace tour we walked down the hill to the marketplace where, naturally, there was a small Christmas Market.











My wife bought two of these 'hats' from the stall on the right of the above picture. Kids were wearing them in many of the Christmas markets we visited. There is something like a squash ball in the 'dangly' bits and when you squeeze it the ears wag. There is also a hidden switch that makes coloured lights flash under the 'skin'. I was muttering about her purchase but when we got home they were a great hit with the grandkids - so I was wrong again. No wonder my wife preferred the Sandman in Erfurt.



The Rathaus whose foundation stone was laid in 1567.








A baroque townhouse built in 1711 for some local barons.

 

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I had probably the funniest moment of the trip when I bought some very tasty salmon from this stand. It was being cooked in situ over a wood fire.. As usual I was able to order and pay for the meal in German but then the store holder engaged me in conversation and I quickly became lost. Luckily a woman next to me spoke English.

We then had a chat and when she found out I came from Perth she astounded me by saying that she had visited it. She told the few people around where I was from and they were equally astounded. She then asked in a surprised tone why I had come to Gotha. I told her that we had come to see the palace. But she still kept saying "But why would you come to Gotha?" She very much indicated that she thought that I was more than somewhat addled to want to visit Gotha. And to tell the truth she had a point. Unless you are interested in the history of the House of Sax-Coburg or the history of theatre I wouldn't really recommend it as a place to go out of your way to visit.



It was hot, tasted great and only cost 4 or 5 Euro for a large serve.



Another Dampfnudel in vanilla sauce. Great for a cold day.



We then walked back to the train station past the palace. From the palace to the station is a relatively easy walk. The walk up the hill to the palace from the town is a bit more strenuous. Much of the walk to the stationpasses through parkland.

In the parkland is a Natural History Museum built in 1864 -69.



The park would certainly have looked much better in summer.



We passed a few nice old buildings on the way. Obviously built to be near the palace.





This one was marred by a fire escape that I assume was built to cover more recent safety laws.



As usual the local train was delayed - by about 30 minutes on a 25 minute journey to Gotha. And as also was often the case overcrowded. The overcrowding was not helped by people putting luggage on seats and ignoring others. We stood for the 30 minute trip back to Erfurt.

 

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Our last side trip from Erfurt was to Weimar. We spent a couple of days here in 2013. It is the antithesis of Gotha being well cared for and showing obvious signs of wealth. This was the only day that the weather really got us down as it was cold and wet all day long. But considering that we were there for November/December we can hardly complain about one really bad day. In the end we cut our visit short as it was so miserable. The streets were actually nearly as deserted as Gotha but this was most likely because of the horrible weather.

The highlight there was the relatively new Bauhaus Museum that was only opened in 2019. I will cover the general environs of Weimar before moving onto the museum.

Inside Weimer Bahnhof. Even it showed the difference in wealth between Weimar and Gotha




The exterior



Looking down towards the centre of town. It was about an easy 15 minute walk to there.



Some of the impressive buildings we passed







The building housing the hotel mostly dates to 1805. For those interested in a bit of trivia about important figures in 'Classical Music' this is where Franz Liszt first met Clara and Robert Schuman.

 

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This group of buildings are part of what was once the Gauforum built in 1937 in 'National Socialist style'. The central square was once called Adolf-Hitler-Platz and then in nice bit of triumphalism Karl-Max-Platz. It is now called Jorge-Semprún-Platz - he was a Spanish writer, resistance fighter and politician who was once imprisoned in the close by Buchenwald Concentration Camp.


The buildings are now occupied the Thuringian State Administration Office. In the Bauhaus Museum , which is basically next door, attention is drawn to them being built in attempt to showcase the power of the naz_s.

Gauforum Weimar – Wikipedia

de.wikipedia.org

A new museum is now being developed about the National Socialist era on part of the site.



And of course we once again came across a Christmas Market.



This was absolutely soaked by the rain and with very few attendees.



You can see the rain streaks in this photo



One of the few fountains we ran across that had not been covered up for winter

 

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I was genuinely surprised that this memorial to Goethe and Schiller probably the two greatest writers in German history had been enclosed in a seasonal skating rink. They looked a bit like cake decorations. In the background is the Deutsche Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle. It contains the remnants of the auditorium where the ill-fated Weimar Republic was proclaimed in 1919.



These streets looked gorgeous in late summer when we had seen them previously. The trees were shady, the streets were full of people (many of them students) and the sidewalk cafes were crowded.








The neo-Gothic Rathaus dating from 1841

 

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On a day like this some hearty German food was just right.




After our meal it got even colder and wetter so we gave up and headed back to the station.



On the way there we passed Buchenwald-Platz and a statue of Ernst Thalmann leader of the German Communist Part from 1925 to 1933. Thälmann was shot by Adolf Hitler's personal orders in Buchenwald in 1944. If you read my previous post about the Stasi headquarters in Leipzig you may remember that the East German Youth Movement was named in his honour.



For a change the train back to Erfurt was on time and sparsely occupied.

 

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And now on to the Bauhaus Museum which, as I said above, only opened in 2019.

Bauhaus Museum Weimar - Klassik Stiftung Weimar

Discover a unique ensemble of renowned museums and UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Weimar Classicism and the Bauhaus.

www.klassik-stiftung.de

It is housed in a suitably unadorned and 'efficient' building. We spent several hours here and would normally have spent even more time but by this part of our trip the energy levels were beginning to fall.





Entrance

 

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The next morning we left Erfurt to spend the last night of the trip in Frankfurt.

D Bahn redeemed themselves somewhat on this leg as the train was not only on time but actually running a few minutes early. On this leg one of the other passengers received a fine for only having a Deutschland Ticket instead of an ICE ticket. He claimed that he was not aware of the need for a different ticket but when you buy a Deutschland Ticket there are warnings everywhere that it does not cover travel on ICE, IC, EC etc trains.



There was so many empty seats that I sat across from my wife so we could both spread out. I assume it being Christmas Eves reduced the number of travellers.



Passing by a roadbridge



There was plenty of evidence of the flooding that was to plague much of western Germany over the next few weeks.







We stayed at the Hampton by Hilton located at the Messe nearby the Messe Exhibition and Fair halls. It was a couple of stops out of the city centre but it supplied a free breakfast and only cost 87 Euros. I wanted a hotel with breakfast supplied as we were leaving Frankfurt on Christmas Day so very few places would have been open to get some food.

It was small but clean and fine for a night or two.



However the shower screen is carefully designed to ensure that you cannot shower without wetting most of the bathroom.



I would almost have preferrd a car park view instead of this.

 

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There is a reason Frankfurt is called Mainhattan. This is the only German city with such a skyline.





The city skyline from the S Bahn to the airport



The Alte Oper



The centre of town felt very bleak and dead.



The only area with a few people was the Rohmer. They were mostly tourists trying to find something to do as most of the city was shutdown.





The Imperial Cathedral had crowds of people passing through it.

 

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This photo inside the cathedral shows the state of this area after the air raids of 1944.



This is the reason why this is the only original building in the vicinity of the Rohmer. Everything else is a post-war reconstruction.



The next morning we headed off to Frankfurt Airport. We had to do the reverse of our arrival by catching a shuttle bus from the train station near Terminal I to Terminal 2. Check-in was very easy in J but the Y lines looked pretty busy. Two Vietnam Airlines flights leave Frankfurt at exactly the same time. One to Saigon and the other to Hanoi. We were flying to Saigon and then onto Singapore with Vietnam Airlines. I cheekily asked the check in person if she could arrange for our baggage to be transferred to the SQ flight we were catching from Singapore the next day - on a separate ticket. As expected she said no. There was a supervisor nearby and with a grin he asked why they should help me to fly a competitor. It was all said in fun and we a pleasant little talk about my routing home. Frankfurt Airport gets a lot of on-line comments about surly staff but everyone we encountered, in and out, were very pleasant and helpful. That includes the Immigration and security people.

Luckily for us the Sky Lounge at Frankfurt is still closed so we were instead sent to the JAL Sakura Lounge. It was very comfortable with some nice food. I had a bowl of Japanese 'sweet' curry. It was pretty empty until the last 20 minute or so as it was only Vietnam Airlines passengers using it at that time of day. They gave an announcement when it was time to leave the lounge. It was a fair bit before boarding time as we had to go through security before being held in a Boarding Lounge - just like Singapore.



Our plane



And there is now basically just the three flights home, and the long wait in Saigon left for me to complete this TR.

 

[VPS]

I was just thinking about Frankfurt and this is a very opportune post.

I'm thinking of flying out of Frankfurt and would spend just one full day there. What are your suggestions for a day in Frankfurt. I don't want to spend any more time than that as I'll have been away long enough

Oh and thanks for another wonderful TR