Eisenach, Halle, Bayreuth and Würzburg
Tuesday at about noon I left Eisenach and decided to drive to Halle, where my Mother and her sister Hilde were born. Both of their birth certificates indicate that their parents (my Grandparents) lived in Halle. It was an easy 3 hours including a stop for lunch. Halle-an-der-Saale (now called Halle-Salle) Salle is the name of the river on which the town stands. Halle is a very old town tracing its history back to 806AD and the salt (called Halle) was extracted from underground brine springs starting around the year 1000. The Market Church is a huge cathedral with four spires; the two eastern spires are conical in shape and the two western ones, called the Blue Spires are connected with a bridge giving the cathedral a most distinctive appearance. The composer George Frederick Handel was born in the town in 1685 and is the favorite son. The city was obviously a part of East Germany with many huge, ugly block-buildings in the center. The rebuilt Rath Haus (City Hall) is also a memento of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) Halle Neu Stadt (New Town) consists of 33,000 prefabricated concrete block apartment dwellings situated across the river. The town “was supposed to be a classic example of socialist house building” and home to 120,000 people. Later with help from the Tourist Bureau I found a nice little Pension close to the Rath Haus and Main Square (51 Euro including breakfast)
My Mother was born here in 1901 and her sister Hilde in 1904. I guess my Grandfather the eldest of the four sons wanted nothing to do with the butcher shop in Hersfeld and moved to Halle, about three or four hours to the east, towards Dresden. I’m sure that if I went back I would find records of where they lived and what kind of business they had.
I had dinner at a nearby restaurant; a marvelous wild-mushroom soup and a ‘wild’ Goulash (stew) made from venison with red-cabbage and potato dumplings. For dessert I ordered “warm Apfelstrudel mit vanilla sauce” big mistake. Everything else had been so delicious and the Apfelstrudel tasted like a Trader Joe’s reject! So much for desserts.
Next day, Wednesday, I decided to drive to Bayreuth and then on towards Heidelberg. I left Halle before 9AM and was in Bayreuth in time for lunch. I found the ‘Zentrum’ and the tourist office and was told what to see. First stop was the “Markgraefliches Opera House” a gorgeous Baroque building where I watched a very nice light and sound presentation about its history. Bayreuth is a lovely old town best known for its association with Richard Wagner, who lived here from 1872 until he died in 1883. The premiers of the final two works of the Ring Cycle, the Cycle as a whole and Parsifal took place here. Every summer Wagner’s operas are performed at the month-long Bayreuth Festival; currently waiting lists for tickets can stretch for up to 10 years!
I had lunch at a “Konditori” (pastry shop) then back on the Autobahn towards Heidelberg. It was getting late so I decided to stop for the night in Würzburg. Once again I found the Zentrum and Tourist Office and finding a hotel for the night was a bit of a disaster. The Tourist Office sent me to lovely old hotel, quite plush and round the corner from the Market Square; however they were full. The clerk was most apologetic and phoned another hotel, the Hotel Strauss, a few blocks further away. They had a room available so I walked over and checked in. Dinner that night was at an Italian restaurant called “Trattoria Lugana” it had 16 tables and the first restaurant I’ve found in Germany that was completely full by 7PM! I had Pumpkin soup; at home I dislike the taste of pumpkin and can’t stand pumpkin pie; however here I’ve had pumpkin soup a couple of times and found it very tasty; it’s probably squash and not pumpkin. Main course was house-made tagliatelle with meat sauce that was delicious and a glass of Italian good red wine. I decided not to push my luck and did not order dessert! The staff was very friendly and efficient and obviously doing something right; total cost of dinner including an aperitif and bottle of water was about $25.
Distances
Frankfurt to Niederaula about 140kms and 1½ hours; took about 3 hours
Niederaula to Eisenach about 75kms and 1 hour; took 2
Eisenach to Halle about 200kms and 2 plus hours; took 3
Halle to Bayreuth about 200kms and 2½ hours; took 3½
These distances and times come from Google Maps and are based on German drivers going 140kms per hour or more (85mph) in their supercharged Mercedes. They do not apply to an American Senior driving a Nissan Jeep rental car!
Photos
Eisenach #015
Halle #017
Bayreuth #026, 029
Würzburg #033
Tuesday at about noon I left Eisenach and decided to drive to Halle, where my Mother and her sister Hilde were born. Both of their birth certificates indicate that their parents (my Grandparents) lived in Halle. It was an easy 3 hours including a stop for lunch. Halle-an-der-Saale (now called Halle-Salle) Salle is the name of the river on which the town stands. Halle is a very old town tracing its history back to 806AD and the salt (called Halle) was extracted from underground brine springs starting around the year 1000. The Market Church is a huge cathedral with four spires; the two eastern spires are conical in shape and the two western ones, called the Blue Spires are connected with a bridge giving the cathedral a most distinctive appearance. The composer George Frederick Handel was born in the town in 1685 and is the favorite son. The city was obviously a part of East Germany with many huge, ugly block-buildings in the center. The rebuilt Rath Haus (City Hall) is also a memento of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) Halle Neu Stadt (New Town) consists of 33,000 prefabricated concrete block apartment dwellings situated across the river. The town “was supposed to be a classic example of socialist house building” and home to 120,000 people. Later with help from the Tourist Bureau I found a nice little Pension close to the Rath Haus and Main Square (51 Euro including breakfast)
My Mother was born here in 1901 and her sister Hilde in 1904. I guess my Grandfather the eldest of the four sons wanted nothing to do with the butcher shop in Hersfeld and moved to Halle, about three or four hours to the east, towards Dresden. I’m sure that if I went back I would find records of where they lived and what kind of business they had.
I had dinner at a nearby restaurant; a marvelous wild-mushroom soup and a ‘wild’ Goulash (stew) made from venison with red-cabbage and potato dumplings. For dessert I ordered “warm Apfelstrudel mit vanilla sauce” big mistake. Everything else had been so delicious and the Apfelstrudel tasted like a Trader Joe’s reject! So much for desserts.
Next day, Wednesday, I decided to drive to Bayreuth and then on towards Heidelberg. I left Halle before 9AM and was in Bayreuth in time for lunch. I found the ‘Zentrum’ and the tourist office and was told what to see. First stop was the “Markgraefliches Opera House” a gorgeous Baroque building where I watched a very nice light and sound presentation about its history. Bayreuth is a lovely old town best known for its association with Richard Wagner, who lived here from 1872 until he died in 1883. The premiers of the final two works of the Ring Cycle, the Cycle as a whole and Parsifal took place here. Every summer Wagner’s operas are performed at the month-long Bayreuth Festival; currently waiting lists for tickets can stretch for up to 10 years!
I had lunch at a “Konditori” (pastry shop) then back on the Autobahn towards Heidelberg. It was getting late so I decided to stop for the night in Würzburg. Once again I found the Zentrum and Tourist Office and finding a hotel for the night was a bit of a disaster. The Tourist Office sent me to lovely old hotel, quite plush and round the corner from the Market Square; however they were full. The clerk was most apologetic and phoned another hotel, the Hotel Strauss, a few blocks further away. They had a room available so I walked over and checked in. Dinner that night was at an Italian restaurant called “Trattoria Lugana” it had 16 tables and the first restaurant I’ve found in Germany that was completely full by 7PM! I had Pumpkin soup; at home I dislike the taste of pumpkin and can’t stand pumpkin pie; however here I’ve had pumpkin soup a couple of times and found it very tasty; it’s probably squash and not pumpkin. Main course was house-made tagliatelle with meat sauce that was delicious and a glass of Italian good red wine. I decided not to push my luck and did not order dessert! The staff was very friendly and efficient and obviously doing something right; total cost of dinner including an aperitif and bottle of water was about $25.
Distances
Frankfurt to Niederaula about 140kms and 1½ hours; took about 3 hours
Niederaula to Eisenach about 75kms and 1 hour; took 2
Eisenach to Halle about 200kms and 2 plus hours; took 3
Halle to Bayreuth about 200kms and 2½ hours; took 3½
These distances and times come from Google Maps and are based on German drivers going 140kms per hour or more (85mph) in their supercharged Mercedes. They do not apply to an American Senior driving a Nissan Jeep rental car!
Photos
Eisenach #015
Halle #017
Bayreuth #026, 029
Würzburg #033
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