Eisenach, Wartburg Castle, and Erfurt!

Talk about busy! Today was a very full day. The bus ride wasn't soo horrible, but it was long. Our first stop was in Eisenach. Eisenach is famous for two very important people in history. One, Johann Sebastian Bach was born there; two, it is where Martin Luther lived as a child.

Another fun fact: the Social Democratic Party was also founding in Eisenach. Although we were only there for an hour I was able to discover the city center which was home to some awesome schnitzel!

After we all ate lunch, we started the hike to the Wartburg Castle. Supposedly, this castle got its name when its founder exclaimed "Warte, Berg- du sollst mir eine Burg tragen!" (Wait, mountain- you shall bear a castle for me). Not sure this is true, but it's a cute little story. This castle has been known for the artists that have made it their homes. Also, it was the place where Martin Luther translated the New Testament from Latin to German. He was not the first to do this, but his became the most well known and wide spread. 

 Look at that view!

After the tour was over, we were able to see some cool artifacts from the castle's prime.

After the Wartburg Castle, we headed to the capital of Thuringia (the state we were in), Erfurt. It is almost in the perfect center of Germany. We had an "interesting" tour guide. He was dressed (and spoke) like Martin Luther. Martin Luther attended the University of Erfurt and also lived as a monk there.

These two churches stand side by side, on the left is the Catholic Erfurt Cathedral, and on the right is the Lutheran St. Severi Church.

The town is quaint but beautiful. I absolutely loved walking through it. It is full of life and color.

Even the graffiti is interesting!

Then, our dinner at Christoffels was absolutely delicious! We ate like kings!

I think there were more than ten of these!

 

... And a couple of these too... when in Rome, right?

After our feast, we headed out on the town a little bit, but we had to get home early because tomorrow we have an early bus ride to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp!
Bis bald!

Tschüss!

Köln

Yesterday was a busy day. I went to the Hauptbahnhof (train station) and went to Cologne with the class to site see. I didn't really know much about Cologne, but I was excited nonetheless. My first site of Cologne was this beautiful, majestic building, that at first glance (obviously before I started thinking) was that it was a huge billboard. It literally looked as if it were painted on to the landscape. Definitely my favorite sight so far. It was the Kölner Dom. 

 Not only is the Kölner Dom absolutely breath taking on the outside, but once I stepped through the doors I was speechless. The windows, statues, paintings, and even the pews were all just magnificent.

Pictures definitely do not give it justice.

We also went the Römisch-Germanische Museum, which is the home to the ancient Roman town that was built beneath the city of Cologne.

So at first, I thought this was a bathtub, but it turns out it was a coffin!

So while walking the streets on my way to lunch at a local pub, I found this gem!

I really wanted to go into Hermes, but they said we didn't have time (my classmates looked at me funny when I asked, I just wanted to look), but hopefully I will go soon!

Once we got home we went to a welcoming party, which was fun. There was a band, tons of food, and even better, tons of beer! So around 8:30 we headed to Alt Städt and went to a few bars. Today is a free day, some of us are going back to Cologne to watch the soccer game others are staying in Bonn. I'm not a big soccer fan, but as they say, "when in Rome."

Tschüss!