Weimar - Saturday 4 April
Apr. 7th, 2026 10:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeFor such a small city, I can't think of anywhere that has punched above its weight more than Weimar. Home to Goethe, Schiller and Liszt, the place where the Bauhaus movement began in 1919, and also where the Weimar Republic, Germany's first (admittedly failed) democracy was founded in the same year, it's fair to say that Weimar has been at the forefront of European history for the last 200 years. Before going there, I knew it was highly unlikely that I would be able to see everything in one day, even if I made as early a start as possible. The reality is that nearly all of the museums in Germany are open from 10am to 6pm and I knew Weimar would be a museum-heavy place. In the end, despite hitting the city shortly before 11am, I barely touched half of the things I wanted to see. All that means is that I'll have to come back.
Weimar is only a 10-minute train journey from Erfurt so after another tasty breakfast of chicken balls, potato rostis and Bierwurst sandwiches, I traipsed over to the railway station. My feet were throbbing somewhat due to the 21,000-plus step day the day before, but fortunately they did not have blisters. At least not yet. As a precaution, I ended up buying some blister plasters as soon as I got to Weimar, calling in on the pharmacy on the main road leading from the station to the city centre. The throbbing got worse as the day progressed and there was many a time when I just needed to sit down on a bench and rest my feeties. Fortunately, there were no blisters, but I am amazed that I used to be able to do whole weeks of touring like this, yet now I struggle with barely two days.
The Bauhaus Museum was my first port of call - a concrete slab of a building that's on your approach into the city. I had been to the Bauhaus Museum in Dessau, where the movement moved to in 1925 after being kicked out of Weimar, and indeed the most fascinating part of the exhibition was about this. Despite claiming to be apolitical, there were clear socialist themes running through Bauhaus. There were masters and apprentices rather than teachers and students, while they built some of the very first social housing for Germans in the 1920s. Of course, the politics of that time was fractious and the Bauhaus attracted a lot of criticism, particularly from the right and far-right of German politics at the time. Weimar was one of the places where the Nazis got their first foothold (along with Dessau as it happens) but conservative influences conspired against them throughout the 1920s. They were beholden to local parliaments for their funding which, with the rapid inflation of 1923, caused huge problems. In that same year, they put on an exhibition to highlight the studio and all their projects, and this too was fascinating. As well as architecture (which became an increased focus as the 1920s wore on), they did things like music and theatre shows with characters that don't look too far removed from other films from the Swinging Twenties. There were 1920s science fiction and lifestyle films shown on the walls, giving you a glimpse into life of that time, while the aesthetic of the Bauhaus movement which focused on geometric shapes and form was explored. We also got to learn more about some of the leading members of the Bauhaus, including its founder Walter Gropius, who withstood a savage beating from the press at the time. The 15-minute chronological running of newspaper excerpts highlighting the pros and cons of the Bauhaus were particularly fascinating and, as usual, I can't help but feel that people on the right didn't realise what a good thing they had until they had chased it out of town. The main complaint was Weimar was too small a place to have such an avant garde institution, but it also attracted some of the best artists and architects from the period to such a small place. The renown it gave Weimar was real, and seeing this play out socially had clear resonance with today.
As well as the politics, a lot of other things were covered too. The ethos of the Bauhaus, in particular, was highlighted and we got to see some of the architectural and interior designs that they promulgated. The use of tubular steel or the rounded lamps that have since become synonymous with 1920s style originated with this movement and so it was fascinating to see all of the things they created. It must have been an exciting if tumultuous period and it was one I found incredibly absorbing, so much so that despite this museum only having three modest floors, I ended up staying there for over four hours. There was also a lot of focus on design and painting, with the use of specific shapes and colours to denote certain feelings. It was truly a unique way of doing art and craft at the time, and you can see why stuffy conservative types didn't like it.
I had bought the Moderne Card, which entitles me to year-long access to three museums in the city. When I bought it, I just wanted to save money on the day, but the possibility of returning made this excellent value. In many ways, I should have gone the whole hog and gone for the card that covers every museum, but I did make use of the three modern museums that my Moderne Card covered. At €19, it was also a decent price. My next port of call was the Neues Museum, on account of it closing at 4pm, rather than the usual 6pm. Formally the Grand Ducal Museum, this impressive building was constructed in 1869 and was one of the first museums established in Germany. It covers the period before the Bauhaus, and specifically the two schools that merged to form it in 1919. The exhibition "Ways to the Bauhaus" covered this best, as it focused on pieces by the Weimar Painting School as well as avant-garde painters such as Claude Monet and Max Beckmann, who were supported by Harry Graf Kessler, the director of this museum. There is a wonderful Monet painting contained within, while there was also an exhibition dedicated to the cult behind Friedrich Nietzsche. There were three separate areas to the museum and, like with the Bauhaus one, there were audio descriptions available on your phone by scanning a QR code. I found this particularly useful, and this museum did a great job at setting the artistic tone in the area prior to the Bauhaus movement. The staff here were also really friendly, while I found the basement exhibit on book binding and the printing press particularly fascinating. I had never really thought about how books are bound before, so to go through the process in a step-by-step manner was good. I also enjoyed the big golden statue which greets you on the way in. There was also a lot of focus on Henry van de Velde, a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. He introduced art noveux to Belgium and designed the Kunstgewerbeschule in Weimar in 1907. It was one of the few architectural projects he did. He moved to Weimar in 1899 while in 1907, he established the Grand-Ducal School of Arts and Crafts under the patronage of the Grand Duke Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. He suggested Gropius take over the group in 1919 after stepping down due to the First World War.
I hopped on a bus for the next stop, partly because it was nearly half an hour walk away and partly because my feet were in flames by this point. Having the Deutschland Ticket was also a huge convenience and soon enough I had made my way to the Haus Am Horn. This was the first ever house built by the Bauhaus movement, as part of their 1923 summer exhibition. Unlike many houses of the time, it had running water, a bath, and toilet facilities, while the kitchen was designed in such a way so everything was to hand. The idea was that the lady of the house would save time during the cooking process as she wouldn't have to scurry here, there, and everywhere to get what she needed. The interesting thing about this squat cubic building was that the living room was right in the centre, with all of the other rooms off to the sides. The children's bedroom was actually the biggest and it was interesting that the man and woman had different rooms of their own. The house was built for a family of three and again I found it fascinating, although the €7 was perhaps a bit steep (it was included in the price of my Moderne Card so it was perfectly fine for me). Most of the furniture in here was replica - indeed the house had been lived in as normal up until 1999 - but the child's jungle gym climbing frame, bookshelf and desk ensemble was an exquisite and efficient use of space.
The Haus Am Horn is on the eastern flank of the Park an der Ilm, a UNESCO World Heritage site as it's an English country garden heavily influenced by Goethe. This means there are quite a few sites to see dotted about, while it was pleasant to walk in the weak springtime sun. There was something of a bitter wind, but it was great stumbling across various follies and other things. The statue of William Shakespeare was something of a shock, but not as much as the stone column around which there was wrapped a snake. I didn't like that at all, largely because it was quite realistic. The main sight though was the Roman Haus, the basement of which contains the original snake stone column, largely to preserve it from weathering. There were stone knights down there too along with a stone lion sphinx. The Roman Haus itself is in Classical style and looks like a Roman villa. It was the summer residence of Duke Carl August, who was a friend of Goethe's and essentially designed this whole complex with him. It was great having a look around this small yet beautiful building. The summery yellow salon (a study with stucco lustro and animal-themed wallpaper) or the stunning blue salon (used as a ballroom and audience chamber with Duchess Anna Amalia's portrait dominating the wall) were probably my two favourites of the six, but then the right half of the building looked very paired back. I imagine it would have made for a fantastic summer residence.
Around the park, I also got to see the Soviet Cemetery, where some of their war dead are buried. This is from the final days of the Second World War, and it's interesting to note how drab and grey the gravestones are as opposed to the Commonwealth's stunning white. Going into the cemetery, there is a huge gate upon which two Soviet stars are adorned, while the gate which forms part of the pedestrian entrance has a hammer and sickle latch which I thought was a nice touch. Around the corner from here stands the Tempelherrenhaus, which was once part of the orangery. This used to be used by the Weimar court for balls and concerts, but it was mostly destroyed in the Second World War. It's now left in ruins as a monument of war, but the building must have been huge, and incredibly ostentatious for the times.
While strolling through the park, I also stumbled across the house of Franz Liszt. The Hungarian composure lived in Weimar twice, and it was in this house where he resided for the second time, up until his death. Ever since Liszt had left, the Grand Duke Charles Alexander was desperate for him to return and he was given the Hofgärtnerei (court gardener's house) as an incentive to come back. The interiors were designed by the finest designer of the age, while a grand piano sits majestically in the main living room. The house only has five rooms, and one of those was for his valet, but they are stunning. Liszt came back to give masterclasses to local residents, as well as students from further afield. He spent the summers of the final 17 years of his life in Weimar, saying he felt like it was coming home. There were a few striking paintings in this house, not to mention the clocks, which were also particularly fine. While the living room and study area were quite sumptuous, the dining area and his bedroom were both more modest and austere. The people running the museum were particularly friendly and let me stay as long as I wished - I only discovered this place at 5:20pm but you only need half an hour to look around. They also complemented me on my German, which was nice. Indeed, I had to use German throughout this three-day stay, barely speaking English, which was a nice challenge. Alas in some of the museums, particularly in Erfurt on the Sunday, I wished my German was much stronger as I could get the gist of the exhibitions and what I was being told, but not everything.
It was past 6pm by time I finished in the park, and I realised that I still didn't get to see everything here, with the underground Parkhoehle closing to the public. The entrance was still open but I didn't fancy being stuck down there, so I decided to press on. I also realised that I hadn't seen any of the main city by then either, so I decided to walk into the Altstadt to see what I could see. The southern fringe of the city, which I was entering from the park, is dominated by the castles. Sadly, most of these were closed for renovation, but it was still good seeing them. There's a huge black imposing clock tower outside one of them, while the Stadtschloss was very similar to others I have seen in the likes of Wurzburg. Opposite this, there is a Doggy Spa, which I thought would be of interest to Wilma and Henry, but I never sent the photo. In this area, there is also the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, which is the jewel of the city. The ornate Rococo Hall, constructed in 1766, is the highlight with the three-story hall housing around 40,000 volumes. A fire broke out here in 2004, destroying 50,000 books, but the restoration has been executed perfectly. Alas, I didn't realise you had to book this for a specific time around a week in advance, so by the time I came around to booking, all tickets had sold out for the day. This, along with missing out on all the Goethe and Schiller stuff, makes another visit to Weimar desirous.
With everything closed, I decided to kill some time just walking around the city. There is quite a lot to see, while the place is so compact, that I had it covered within an hour. I did check out Goethe and Schiller's houses, where their respective museums are situated, while Weimar's central Markt was a delight. The market itself had shut up shop for the day, but this afforded a greater view of the wonderful buildings. The neo-Gothic Rathaus is undoubtedly the highlight and I rushed back from touring to hear the rare Glockenspiel made from Meissen porcelain chime the hour at 7pm. Porcelain bells are very rare and they had a more earthy, timorous tone. Interestingly, off to the side of the Rathaus, there was a British ER postbox. This was donated to the city by Stratford-upon-Avon upon Weimar being the European City of Culture in 1999. It's a nice story and a rather odd thing to see in the middle of a German city.
The Renaissance Cranach House, painted a dark green or grey, flanks the side of the square opposite the Rathaus and is now a theatre. It is so-named because it was where Cranach the Elder spent is final days, before his death in 1553. Even the pubs here are steeped in history, with Zum Schwarzen Bären being one of the longest-standing and best for traditional local food, and the Hotel Elephant, which has welcomed both Napoleon Bonaparte and Richard Wagner. Down the road, George Eliot also spent some of 1854 in Weimar.
Three minutes up the road, around some winding cobbled streets, you come to the Church of St Peter and Paul (Herderkirche). This is an impressive white building that is almost too big for the square it is sitting on. The interior was quite nice, although the lady inside did try and get me to come back for their 11pm Easter service, which sadly I couldn't do. It is named the Herderkirche as there is a statue of the theologian, philosopher and poet situated outside. He was another influential period during the time of Weimar Classicism, which included the likes of Goethe and Schiller, yet he is not as well known as those two.
Wandering on, I also stumbled across the theatre in which the Weimar Republic was founded in 1919, with a museum dedicated to this directly opposite. This is on one of the main squares in the west of the city and I was glad to see this was more lively than other areas, which were starting to die once the shops had closed. To this end, I had tried to check out Hoffmann's Buchhandlung, which was founded over 300 years ago, but they closed at 6pm and thus the shutters were all down. On the square near the theatre, there was also an interesting clock with metal discs which recorded the temperature and air pressure, in a way that I thought was particularly unique.
I had a meal booked for 8pm at the Watzdorfer Geleitschenke, a wonderful timber-framed building tucked in one of the side streets. Like the night before, I thought it wise to book a table in advance, but this time they had no issues seating me. Indeed, with my barking feet and having seen everything I wanted to see of Weimar, I got there about fifteen minutes earlier yet they were still happy to seat me. They put me in the back conservatory, with one other group, so once they had left, it was a bit odd eating there on my own. It was also stiflingly hot and although when asked I had told them I wasn't too bothered where they sat me, in a way I wish I had been with more people. I grabbed a beer from a local brewery, which wasn't as nice as the one I had the night before, and opted for the schnitzel. This isn't particularly Thuringien, but it was close enough and was what I fancied. The portion size was huge, with a load of greasy diced potato too. There was some nice caramelised if slightly soggy onions and a modest salad too. Despite having had no lunch, it was still a hefty amount of food, which made running for my bus difficult. I couldn't be bothered walking the twenty-five minutes back to the station and I was just in luck, leaving the restaurant just in time to catch the half-hourly service. Again, the Deutschland Ticket is a wonderful thing. In fact, the food arrived so quickly, that I ended up being back in Erfurt about one hour earlier than anticipated. There were some loud kids on the station waiting for the stopping RB20 service (the train I had taken in the morning had sailed straight through), while it being a few minutes delayed, meant more endurance time on the platform. Still, I got back to my hotel just before 9:30pm with the thought of maybe going to the Irish bar over the road at some point. Alas, once I had got back to the room, I couldn't really be bothered and the bar looked a little too busy to be enjoyable. In the end, I just got a beer from the vending machine downstairs in the hotel bar (although the member of staff did have to cajole me into getting it as the touchscreen said the alcoholic pilsner wasn't available when there were clearly bottles there) then headed back to my room, taking a shower and heading to bed early. It had been another long, tiring, but rewarding day.
Weimar is only a 10-minute train journey from Erfurt so after another tasty breakfast of chicken balls, potato rostis and Bierwurst sandwiches, I traipsed over to the railway station. My feet were throbbing somewhat due to the 21,000-plus step day the day before, but fortunately they did not have blisters. At least not yet. As a precaution, I ended up buying some blister plasters as soon as I got to Weimar, calling in on the pharmacy on the main road leading from the station to the city centre. The throbbing got worse as the day progressed and there was many a time when I just needed to sit down on a bench and rest my feeties. Fortunately, there were no blisters, but I am amazed that I used to be able to do whole weeks of touring like this, yet now I struggle with barely two days.
The Bauhaus Museum was my first port of call - a concrete slab of a building that's on your approach into the city. I had been to the Bauhaus Museum in Dessau, where the movement moved to in 1925 after being kicked out of Weimar, and indeed the most fascinating part of the exhibition was about this. Despite claiming to be apolitical, there were clear socialist themes running through Bauhaus. There were masters and apprentices rather than teachers and students, while they built some of the very first social housing for Germans in the 1920s. Of course, the politics of that time was fractious and the Bauhaus attracted a lot of criticism, particularly from the right and far-right of German politics at the time. Weimar was one of the places where the Nazis got their first foothold (along with Dessau as it happens) but conservative influences conspired against them throughout the 1920s. They were beholden to local parliaments for their funding which, with the rapid inflation of 1923, caused huge problems. In that same year, they put on an exhibition to highlight the studio and all their projects, and this too was fascinating. As well as architecture (which became an increased focus as the 1920s wore on), they did things like music and theatre shows with characters that don't look too far removed from other films from the Swinging Twenties. There were 1920s science fiction and lifestyle films shown on the walls, giving you a glimpse into life of that time, while the aesthetic of the Bauhaus movement which focused on geometric shapes and form was explored. We also got to learn more about some of the leading members of the Bauhaus, including its founder Walter Gropius, who withstood a savage beating from the press at the time. The 15-minute chronological running of newspaper excerpts highlighting the pros and cons of the Bauhaus were particularly fascinating and, as usual, I can't help but feel that people on the right didn't realise what a good thing they had until they had chased it out of town. The main complaint was Weimar was too small a place to have such an avant garde institution, but it also attracted some of the best artists and architects from the period to such a small place. The renown it gave Weimar was real, and seeing this play out socially had clear resonance with today.
As well as the politics, a lot of other things were covered too. The ethos of the Bauhaus, in particular, was highlighted and we got to see some of the architectural and interior designs that they promulgated. The use of tubular steel or the rounded lamps that have since become synonymous with 1920s style originated with this movement and so it was fascinating to see all of the things they created. It must have been an exciting if tumultuous period and it was one I found incredibly absorbing, so much so that despite this museum only having three modest floors, I ended up staying there for over four hours. There was also a lot of focus on design and painting, with the use of specific shapes and colours to denote certain feelings. It was truly a unique way of doing art and craft at the time, and you can see why stuffy conservative types didn't like it.
I had bought the Moderne Card, which entitles me to year-long access to three museums in the city. When I bought it, I just wanted to save money on the day, but the possibility of returning made this excellent value. In many ways, I should have gone the whole hog and gone for the card that covers every museum, but I did make use of the three modern museums that my Moderne Card covered. At €19, it was also a decent price. My next port of call was the Neues Museum, on account of it closing at 4pm, rather than the usual 6pm. Formally the Grand Ducal Museum, this impressive building was constructed in 1869 and was one of the first museums established in Germany. It covers the period before the Bauhaus, and specifically the two schools that merged to form it in 1919. The exhibition "Ways to the Bauhaus" covered this best, as it focused on pieces by the Weimar Painting School as well as avant-garde painters such as Claude Monet and Max Beckmann, who were supported by Harry Graf Kessler, the director of this museum. There is a wonderful Monet painting contained within, while there was also an exhibition dedicated to the cult behind Friedrich Nietzsche. There were three separate areas to the museum and, like with the Bauhaus one, there were audio descriptions available on your phone by scanning a QR code. I found this particularly useful, and this museum did a great job at setting the artistic tone in the area prior to the Bauhaus movement. The staff here were also really friendly, while I found the basement exhibit on book binding and the printing press particularly fascinating. I had never really thought about how books are bound before, so to go through the process in a step-by-step manner was good. I also enjoyed the big golden statue which greets you on the way in. There was also a lot of focus on Henry van de Velde, a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. He introduced art noveux to Belgium and designed the Kunstgewerbeschule in Weimar in 1907. It was one of the few architectural projects he did. He moved to Weimar in 1899 while in 1907, he established the Grand-Ducal School of Arts and Crafts under the patronage of the Grand Duke Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. He suggested Gropius take over the group in 1919 after stepping down due to the First World War.
I hopped on a bus for the next stop, partly because it was nearly half an hour walk away and partly because my feet were in flames by this point. Having the Deutschland Ticket was also a huge convenience and soon enough I had made my way to the Haus Am Horn. This was the first ever house built by the Bauhaus movement, as part of their 1923 summer exhibition. Unlike many houses of the time, it had running water, a bath, and toilet facilities, while the kitchen was designed in such a way so everything was to hand. The idea was that the lady of the house would save time during the cooking process as she wouldn't have to scurry here, there, and everywhere to get what she needed. The interesting thing about this squat cubic building was that the living room was right in the centre, with all of the other rooms off to the sides. The children's bedroom was actually the biggest and it was interesting that the man and woman had different rooms of their own. The house was built for a family of three and again I found it fascinating, although the €7 was perhaps a bit steep (it was included in the price of my Moderne Card so it was perfectly fine for me). Most of the furniture in here was replica - indeed the house had been lived in as normal up until 1999 - but the child's jungle gym climbing frame, bookshelf and desk ensemble was an exquisite and efficient use of space.
The Haus Am Horn is on the eastern flank of the Park an der Ilm, a UNESCO World Heritage site as it's an English country garden heavily influenced by Goethe. This means there are quite a few sites to see dotted about, while it was pleasant to walk in the weak springtime sun. There was something of a bitter wind, but it was great stumbling across various follies and other things. The statue of William Shakespeare was something of a shock, but not as much as the stone column around which there was wrapped a snake. I didn't like that at all, largely because it was quite realistic. The main sight though was the Roman Haus, the basement of which contains the original snake stone column, largely to preserve it from weathering. There were stone knights down there too along with a stone lion sphinx. The Roman Haus itself is in Classical style and looks like a Roman villa. It was the summer residence of Duke Carl August, who was a friend of Goethe's and essentially designed this whole complex with him. It was great having a look around this small yet beautiful building. The summery yellow salon (a study with stucco lustro and animal-themed wallpaper) or the stunning blue salon (used as a ballroom and audience chamber with Duchess Anna Amalia's portrait dominating the wall) were probably my two favourites of the six, but then the right half of the building looked very paired back. I imagine it would have made for a fantastic summer residence.
Around the park, I also got to see the Soviet Cemetery, where some of their war dead are buried. This is from the final days of the Second World War, and it's interesting to note how drab and grey the gravestones are as opposed to the Commonwealth's stunning white. Going into the cemetery, there is a huge gate upon which two Soviet stars are adorned, while the gate which forms part of the pedestrian entrance has a hammer and sickle latch which I thought was a nice touch. Around the corner from here stands the Tempelherrenhaus, which was once part of the orangery. This used to be used by the Weimar court for balls and concerts, but it was mostly destroyed in the Second World War. It's now left in ruins as a monument of war, but the building must have been huge, and incredibly ostentatious for the times.
While strolling through the park, I also stumbled across the house of Franz Liszt. The Hungarian composure lived in Weimar twice, and it was in this house where he resided for the second time, up until his death. Ever since Liszt had left, the Grand Duke Charles Alexander was desperate for him to return and he was given the Hofgärtnerei (court gardener's house) as an incentive to come back. The interiors were designed by the finest designer of the age, while a grand piano sits majestically in the main living room. The house only has five rooms, and one of those was for his valet, but they are stunning. Liszt came back to give masterclasses to local residents, as well as students from further afield. He spent the summers of the final 17 years of his life in Weimar, saying he felt like it was coming home. There were a few striking paintings in this house, not to mention the clocks, which were also particularly fine. While the living room and study area were quite sumptuous, the dining area and his bedroom were both more modest and austere. The people running the museum were particularly friendly and let me stay as long as I wished - I only discovered this place at 5:20pm but you only need half an hour to look around. They also complemented me on my German, which was nice. Indeed, I had to use German throughout this three-day stay, barely speaking English, which was a nice challenge. Alas in some of the museums, particularly in Erfurt on the Sunday, I wished my German was much stronger as I could get the gist of the exhibitions and what I was being told, but not everything.
It was past 6pm by time I finished in the park, and I realised that I still didn't get to see everything here, with the underground Parkhoehle closing to the public. The entrance was still open but I didn't fancy being stuck down there, so I decided to press on. I also realised that I hadn't seen any of the main city by then either, so I decided to walk into the Altstadt to see what I could see. The southern fringe of the city, which I was entering from the park, is dominated by the castles. Sadly, most of these were closed for renovation, but it was still good seeing them. There's a huge black imposing clock tower outside one of them, while the Stadtschloss was very similar to others I have seen in the likes of Wurzburg. Opposite this, there is a Doggy Spa, which I thought would be of interest to Wilma and Henry, but I never sent the photo. In this area, there is also the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, which is the jewel of the city. The ornate Rococo Hall, constructed in 1766, is the highlight with the three-story hall housing around 40,000 volumes. A fire broke out here in 2004, destroying 50,000 books, but the restoration has been executed perfectly. Alas, I didn't realise you had to book this for a specific time around a week in advance, so by the time I came around to booking, all tickets had sold out for the day. This, along with missing out on all the Goethe and Schiller stuff, makes another visit to Weimar desirous.
With everything closed, I decided to kill some time just walking around the city. There is quite a lot to see, while the place is so compact, that I had it covered within an hour. I did check out Goethe and Schiller's houses, where their respective museums are situated, while Weimar's central Markt was a delight. The market itself had shut up shop for the day, but this afforded a greater view of the wonderful buildings. The neo-Gothic Rathaus is undoubtedly the highlight and I rushed back from touring to hear the rare Glockenspiel made from Meissen porcelain chime the hour at 7pm. Porcelain bells are very rare and they had a more earthy, timorous tone. Interestingly, off to the side of the Rathaus, there was a British ER postbox. This was donated to the city by Stratford-upon-Avon upon Weimar being the European City of Culture in 1999. It's a nice story and a rather odd thing to see in the middle of a German city.
The Renaissance Cranach House, painted a dark green or grey, flanks the side of the square opposite the Rathaus and is now a theatre. It is so-named because it was where Cranach the Elder spent is final days, before his death in 1553. Even the pubs here are steeped in history, with Zum Schwarzen Bären being one of the longest-standing and best for traditional local food, and the Hotel Elephant, which has welcomed both Napoleon Bonaparte and Richard Wagner. Down the road, George Eliot also spent some of 1854 in Weimar.
Three minutes up the road, around some winding cobbled streets, you come to the Church of St Peter and Paul (Herderkirche). This is an impressive white building that is almost too big for the square it is sitting on. The interior was quite nice, although the lady inside did try and get me to come back for their 11pm Easter service, which sadly I couldn't do. It is named the Herderkirche as there is a statue of the theologian, philosopher and poet situated outside. He was another influential period during the time of Weimar Classicism, which included the likes of Goethe and Schiller, yet he is not as well known as those two.
Wandering on, I also stumbled across the theatre in which the Weimar Republic was founded in 1919, with a museum dedicated to this directly opposite. This is on one of the main squares in the west of the city and I was glad to see this was more lively than other areas, which were starting to die once the shops had closed. To this end, I had tried to check out Hoffmann's Buchhandlung, which was founded over 300 years ago, but they closed at 6pm and thus the shutters were all down. On the square near the theatre, there was also an interesting clock with metal discs which recorded the temperature and air pressure, in a way that I thought was particularly unique.
I had a meal booked for 8pm at the Watzdorfer Geleitschenke, a wonderful timber-framed building tucked in one of the side streets. Like the night before, I thought it wise to book a table in advance, but this time they had no issues seating me. Indeed, with my barking feet and having seen everything I wanted to see of Weimar, I got there about fifteen minutes earlier yet they were still happy to seat me. They put me in the back conservatory, with one other group, so once they had left, it was a bit odd eating there on my own. It was also stiflingly hot and although when asked I had told them I wasn't too bothered where they sat me, in a way I wish I had been with more people. I grabbed a beer from a local brewery, which wasn't as nice as the one I had the night before, and opted for the schnitzel. This isn't particularly Thuringien, but it was close enough and was what I fancied. The portion size was huge, with a load of greasy diced potato too. There was some nice caramelised if slightly soggy onions and a modest salad too. Despite having had no lunch, it was still a hefty amount of food, which made running for my bus difficult. I couldn't be bothered walking the twenty-five minutes back to the station and I was just in luck, leaving the restaurant just in time to catch the half-hourly service. Again, the Deutschland Ticket is a wonderful thing. In fact, the food arrived so quickly, that I ended up being back in Erfurt about one hour earlier than anticipated. There were some loud kids on the station waiting for the stopping RB20 service (the train I had taken in the morning had sailed straight through), while it being a few minutes delayed, meant more endurance time on the platform. Still, I got back to my hotel just before 9:30pm with the thought of maybe going to the Irish bar over the road at some point. Alas, once I had got back to the room, I couldn't really be bothered and the bar looked a little too busy to be enjoyable. In the end, I just got a beer from the vending machine downstairs in the hotel bar (although the member of staff did have to cajole me into getting it as the touchscreen said the alcoholic pilsner wasn't available when there were clearly bottles there) then headed back to my room, taking a shower and heading to bed early. It had been another long, tiring, but rewarding day.
