Being as we were in Germany, and not far at all from our old friend Toby, we decided it was a great idea to make a day trip to the city of Erfurt for a visit! After a brief chat with Toby, we found out that he was in the the middle of some exams and that the best day for us to visit was Tuesday. Our original plan was to get up early so we could get to Erfurt around 10:30 in the morning, hang out for most of the day and then head back on the last train to Dresden. Well, that didn't exactly work out!
To our credit we did in fact wake up early (I believe it was about 6:30am). In order to make our train to Erfurt, we had to catch a tram (street car) from our Pohlandplatz stop to the main station in Dresden; this car was scheduled to leave at 7:30. Being as we were up at a reasonable time (and that time being early), we weren't in any particular rush. Mistake. After showers and leisurely breakfast, our hour of time to get to the tram suddenly became something in the ballpark of 5 minutes (it takes 10 minutes at a brisk walk to get from Peggy's to the tram stop). Panic. Needless to say, we booked it for the tram stop. Despite the fact that we made record time getting there, we were literally seconds too late. I attempted to wave at the tram conductor to get him to wait, as we were maybe 200 feet from the train, but alas, he gave us the stink eye and rolled out. Naturally, we were beginning to have our doubts that we would make our early train to Erfurt, but we still had some hope that the 7:35 tram could get us there in time. Well, that tram was 6 minutes late so, we notified Toby that we would be on the next train and to expect us about an hour later than we had originally planned. As it would turn out, that Irish patron saint of misfortune, Murphy was taking that very same train...
After waiting in the train station for roughly an hour and eating some vending machine snacks we boarded the train to Erfurt (with one change at Leipzig). Mind you, these trains have several stops besides the destination. The first stop we made, picked up some American tourists (the kind that makes me embarrassed to be an American). This was a group of young kids from somewhere with a very irritating accent which sounded to me like a cross between Jersey and spoiled rich valley girl from the west coast. They aren't on the train for more than 5 minutes, when one guy who I assume was not picked for a roll in Glee, (a TV show about a high school glee club involving singing, dancing and other such nauseating shenanigans) decides that a public train in a foreign country is a PRIME location to bust into loud and out-of-key show tunes. The kicker here is that he was singing (I use the term loosely) "Edelweiss" from the musical 'The Sound of Music'. This is a song about a little mountain flower that grows in the mountains of AUSTRIA; we were in Germany. As I looked around the train car, I noticed all the other passengers had moved to the complete opposite end of the car and were looking less than enthusiastic about this concert they were getting treated to; as you may have guessed, I myself was getting quite perturbed at this time (I'm not a morning person, and I don't really enjoy show tunes outside of a SHOW). Anyway, after a blood pressure elevating train ride to Leipzig we left our Sound of Music singing companions (The Sound of an Impending Aneurysm was more like it) and got on the train to Erfurt.
This train was quiet and smooth riding. You see, the Germans are known for their engineering prowess; in this case they may have engineered the train car too well. Considering our early start, lack of sleep, and general irritation from the previous train, this new train was like a breath of fresh air... too fresh perhaps. About 10 minutes in, I notice my trusty travel companion and dear friend Matt has taken to snoozing; with no one to keep me engaged, I too soon fell asleep like a baby in a wind-up rocking crib. The next thing I know I awake to the sound of an unfamiliar noise. Turns out it was my phone ringing. Who could it be? Toby. "Hey were are you guys? I'm here at the train station and I can't find you." "We're still on the train," I said. "We're at a station right now called Gotha..." "Um you guys are waaay past Erfurt, your train came through here 20 minutes ago," said Toby. "Ok, we're getting off now and will take the next possible train to Erfurt, so sorry to leave you waiting," I said. So we stood up to get off the train, when it started to move again. Long story short, we got off at the next stop and were almost 3 hours later getting to Erfurt than we originally planned. When we did finally arrive, Toby was there waiting to meet us with hugs and greetings. Since it was about lunch time, Toby took us to a local restaurant where we dined on some authentic German bratwurst with sauerkraut, seasoned potatoes and some spicy mustard. After that train ride, it really hit the spot!
Once we had finished our lunch, Toby took us on a brief tour of downtown Erfurt including the fischmarkt (fish market), which curiously enough had nothing to do with fish. We also saw a very peculiar bridge that is one of a kind, as it is very old and has houses/shops built right on it. If you were to cross the bridge it would seem like just another street, until you see it from the side and realize that it does in fact span a small river. After crossing the bridge, we soon met up with Toby's wife Julia and the four of us were soon on our way to check out the fortress in Erfurt! Not very large by comparison to the other forts we had seen, it was still quite interesting and had a unique display of partially mummified cats that used to live in the walls and kept the rodent pest population under control. After our visit of the fort, and a brief stop at some swings, we were on our way once again.
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A view of Erfurt from the top of the fortress. |
Once we reconvened at Toby and Julia's home, they convinced us (didn't take much) to stay the night. Activities for the evening included a nice relaxing stop at a local park, (where we discussed many things from culture to the finer points of wiffle ball) a trip to the local supermarket to pick up a menagerie of tasty breakfast items, and a trip to one of the local watering holes. The following day Toby had an exam to take in the morning, but once he returned Julia fixed us up a lovely German breakfast, complete with several spreadable items that included assorted breads and something roughly translated as meat salad. It was fantastic! With our bellies full we all headed back out into town for some more exploration and more tasty treats on our way back to the train station.
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Our dear friends Toby and Julia! |
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At a cafe, we found some more eis cafe which was just as good as the one we had in Dresden! Pictured here are Matt and Toby. |
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Toby and Julia took us to a medieval themed restaurant before we got back on the train for Dresden. Here we met a very friendly and very pregnant cat who we thought might have been trying to sell us a kitten. |
With our time running out, we bid farewell to our friends and hosts and made it to the train station for our trip back to Dresden. When we arrived back in Dresden after a thankfully hitch and show tune free train ride, we were greeted with a waiting dinner and cousin Jack who had just arrived from Boston! The following day we would be on our way to Prague!
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The Dresden family, plus cousin Jack. Left to right, Magdalena and Colin, Thomas, Peggy, Stefan, me, Jack and low center baby Emma! |
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