My
main reason for coming to Germany was to visit some more of my Estonian relatives,
Walter and Gerda Brem. Gerda descends from the same line of Klampes as Eha and
Toivo in Põltsamaa and Mihkel and Helje in Tallinn. As with my family and many
others, they left Estonia at the beginning of WWII and ended up in Germany.
22.9:
My
travels today were by train, via two stations, Nurnberg and Marktrewitz. The
train was due to depart at 8.19 and I had allowed plenty of time to get some
breakfast and find the correct platform etc… Unfortunately as I was sitting at
the platform, I realised I hadn’t returned the pass card to the hostel when I
checked out, meaning I had to ditch my coffee and trudge back to return the
key. Fortunately there was plenty of time to do all of this, but it wasn’t the
best way to start the morning. The rest of the journey was quite
straightforward, finding the correct platforms was easy.
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| Boarding train at Frankfurt |
About 4.5 hours later
I was warmly greeted by Walter at the Marktleuthen station. Walter and Gerda’s
house is only a short distance from the station and so we were soon back home.
Here, Gerda had prepared a traditional Estonian meal which was one her mother
often cooked, consisting of beef with a delicious onion sauce and boiled
potatoes.
In
the afternoon, Walter took me to the nearby town of Selb. As with many other
towns in this region, including Marktleuthen, Selb was once home to extensive
porcelain manufacturing. However, with the passing of time the costs involved
grew too high and many of these factories have closed down, much to the detriment
of the region. For example, the factory in Marktleuthen once employed 600
people. Today, most of the porcelain manufacturing in Europe is situated in
lower cost countries to the east such as Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary.
Selb has one of the last remaining factories, Rosenthal, which has managed to
hang on by changing its manufacturing to become more boutique, selling very
posh and trendy wares that are unique to its brand. The large factory has had a
makeover and is a bit of a local icon, painted in rainbow colours. We went
inside and had a look at their wares, before having a little drive around the
town. One can tell that this is a porcelain town. Streets are lined with it and
there are multiple porcelain sculptures around the place.
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| Rosenthal factory |
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| Around Selb |
Walter
and Gerda have two large dogs, Obelix and Tasko, who must be some of the best
looked after dogs in Germany. They are both well behaved (for the most part)
and get walked three times per day. In the later afternoon we took the dogs for
a walk through the countryside nearby their house.
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| From left: Tasko, Obelix, Gerda and Walter |
In
this part of the world, lunch is the main meal of the day, so dinner usually
consisted of a selection of meats, cheeses, breads and perhaps a salad. Lunch
and dinner are both accompanied by beer. The Bavarians take their beers very
seriously and during my stay I got a very good overview of the different types
of Bavarian beers, light, dark and wheat.
23.9:
Breakfast
too usually consisted of a selection of meats, cheese and bread and some of
Gerda’s delicious homemade jams.
While
we were out walking, Gerda was in the kitchen preparing some most excellent
pork shoulders, complete with crackling, gravy and a traditional type of mashed
potato ball. Extremely delicious
In
the afternoon, Gerda and I went to one of her favourite local spots, the Wunsiedel Labyrinth. This is large reserve set on
a hillside with a walk which leads one (sometimes literally) through the
massive granite boulders which dot the hillside. Once at the top, one is
rewarded with excellent views over the surrounding landscape. It really is a
great place to explore, with various lookouts and benches hidden along the way.
In several places, inscriptions have been carved into the rock in recognition of
local poets. One area, which is fenced off, is used in the summer for
performances. It is extremely popular and the place fills up with people. Walter
and Gerda usually go a couple of times each year.
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| Gerda |
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| Granite |
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| Up we go... |
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| Taking the dogs for a walk before dinner |
That
evening, Walter, Gerda and I had been invited to one of their friends birthday
parties, in a house a short walk away. So, that evening we spent a most
pleasant evening in their company, sampling more traditional Bavarian cuisine,
this time a special type of meat loaf and several types of potato salad.
24.9:
The
region of Bavaria where I was staying is in the southeast of Germany and
located very close to the Czech border. Today, Walter and his good friend Ottuer took me over the border to have a
look around. The region of the Czech Republic we visited was once part of
Germany and this is reflected in what remains of the pre-war architecture. It
is from this region that the famous German poet Johan Wolfgang von Goethe spent
much of his time. Gothe was not only a poet, but was also deeply interested in
natural sciences, spending much time exploring the regions natural resources. We
visited several sites where Gothe had been during our travels. For lunch, we
went to a place called Statek Bernard, a centre for regional handicrafts. There
we had some traditional Czech food. I had soup and some delicious trout with
potatoes.
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| One of Gothe's excavations |
In
the afternoon, we went to visit the Loket Castle, situated on an elbow of the
River Egar, which originates in the mountain near Marktleuthen. En route, we
stopped to check out a vast coal mine. This was started by the Soviets and is
still being mined today. Apparently the environmental implications of this mine
are somewhat dubious. When they finish the mining, the plan is to fill it all
with water to be used as a recreational lake… We’ll see.
The
Loket Castle sits on a high peak surrounded on three sides by the River Egar –
a highly strategic position. It was originally built in the 12th
century for a Czech prince and has changed hands since then over the centuries.
The castle still stands today and was an interesting place to walk around, with
various collections of silverware, wooden carvings and medieval torture
devices. The views from all sides were excellent.
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| Locket |
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| The castle |
Gerda
and Walter’s son, Haiko lives in the house next door with wife Christine and
baby son Ludwig. I was to spend the evening with them as Walter and Gerda were
off to the theater for the evening. Firstly, I went to help Haiko feed and
water some horses. He shares agistment of three horses with two other friends
and they take it in turns to go and look after them. Haiko drives an old
ex-milatery four-wheel drive and is a keen mechanic. After taking care of the
horses, we had a most excellent evening together, again sampling some different
beers and also trying two types of sausage, white and blood, both made by his
parent’s from a recently slaughtered piggy. Both were really nice!
25.9:
After
another hearty breakfast, Walter, Gerda and I set off in the direction of
Bamberg, a small university city ~100km WSW of Marktleuthen.
En
route, we visited the Kulmbach Brewery beer museum. EKU Pils, one of the beers
they produce, is one of the most popular in Bavaria. The museum outlined the
brewing process throughout the centuries and we were able to try their wares at
the end.
We
then carried on to Bamberg, where we had lunch at a restaurant near the centre.
One of the things this city is famous for is its Schlenkerla smoked beer. The
bar that carries the Schlenkerla brand was packed and indeed overflowing with
tourists. As locals, Walter and Gerda knew that you can in fact find this beer
at any bar in town, so we went to another equally nice restaurant for lunch. I
really liked the beer, it tastes pretty well as one would imagine it. I also had
a delicious pork knuckle.
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| Bamberg |
In
the afternoon we checked out the cities cathedral and associated bishops’
residences and rose garden. The main square is particularly impressive as it is
possible to see baroque, gothic and roman architecture side by side.
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| Cathedral |
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| Bishops' residences |
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| Rose garden |
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| Houses on riverbank |
On
the way home we stopped at a location where is possible to view the 12 main
peaks which surround the valley in which Marktleuthen sits, including the Kornberg
and Schineberg.
Over
dinner we met Heiko’s other two children Amile and Valentin. Valentin, about 8,
was very keen to practice his English skills with me so we had some fun doing
that. I thought his skills were very impressive.
26.9:
This
was my last day in Marktleuthen and we had a bit more of a relaxed day. In the
morning we went to the Waldsassen monastery library and basilica. Both the library
and the basilica house some very impressive wooden carvings by a guy called Karl
Stilp. One room in the library houses the carvings, which took some 20 years to
complete. Each has its own story and it was quite entertaining to find out the
meaning of each. Here’s a link to some pictures: <http://bit.ly/1jCrslF>. The basilica is
also very grand, with the ceiling vividly painted and yet more impressive
wooden carvings. It is also home to various religious relics, hence the title
of basilica. Unfortunately most of the indoors was covered in wooden panels for
renovations, however what was visible was still very impressive.
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| The Waldsassen Basilica |
The final
church we visited was the Trinity church at Rosenberg. Being dedicated to the
holy trinity, everything is in threes: Three towers, three altars etc. etc….
Another impressive and interesting church.
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| Inside the trinity church |
We
went back home for lunch and Gerda prepared some white sausages, which were
very nice. This type of sausage is boiled and the skin removed prior to being
eaten.
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| A type of Bavarian wheat beer which was very nice! |
In
the afternoon we relaxed a bit and Walter and Gerda showed me some photos of
their recent trip to Australia.
For
dinner the whole family joined us and we had a most pleasant evening together.
Velentin was again keen to show me some photo albums, including photos from winter,
when the area was covered in deep snow.
27.9:
Today
I was due to depart on the train at 10.20. We had a final breakfast together,
joined by a local friend of theirs and Valentin. It was really special and we
finished it off with a toast of goldwasser and sparkling wine.
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| Breakfast |
After
farewelling everyone, Walter and Gerda drove me to the train station where I
was able to board the train just in the nick of time.
It
was a bit sad to leave Marktleuthen, as we had become quite close over the time
spent there. I’m sure we’ll see each other again on the future.
The
train journey was again in three parts and went smoothly, except for the last
train between Nurnberg and Frankfurt. It was a proper intercity electric train
with 20+ large carriges but it was still absolutely heaving with passangers and
luggage. People were forced to sit/stand in the corridors and there were bags
everywhere.
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| About to board train to Frankfurt |
So that wasn’t the most pleasant journey, but we got to Frankfurt.
I checked into the same hostel as before and spent the afternoon writing and
relaxing. For dinner I went to an African restaurant (I think Sudanese) and had
a most excellent platter of various meat and vegetable dishes, eaten without
cutlery with that particular kind of pancake.
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| Frankfurt |
