Escape to the Thuringian countryside
Recently I moved to Berlin, but for the last two years, I lived in a beautiful little town called Ilmenau, on the Thuringian countryside, in central Germany.
We must have probably been the minority, foreign students who came to study in Germany, and instead of a big multicultural bustling area, chose the calm state of Thuringia. Its capital, Erfurt, doesn’t even make it to the top 30 of the most populated cities in the country.
However, the ‘green heart of Germany’ with it’s mix of old history and natural sights has managed to charm many people on the way. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe himself was smitten by the land, and chose to spend the biggest part of his life there, as it was to him, the place in Germany to find so many good things so close together. His friend, the poet Friedrich Schiller also lived lengthy periods in Thuringia, and you can find both men out for a stroll in front of the Court Theater in Weimar (in statue form, of course!). The man wrote two important essays on the question of the sublime (das Erhabene),so, you should probably rest assured that he must have found something nice here.
The German philosopher Hegel, is said to have completed his chef d’œuvre, the Phenomenology of Spirit, while watching the Napoleonic and Prussian forces battle it out in Jena, on the north east of the state, where he was himself a teacher of the University. He considered this battle to be “the end of the history”, in terms of evolution of human societies.
In terms of socio-political history, the fact that Martin Luther studied and wrote his main opus in Thuringia, inside Wartburg Castle is also to be noted. Another ‘provocateur’ Karl Marx, got his PHD in Jena.
But, besides history,
The hills are alive with the sound of music!
Johann Sebastian Bach was born here and worked extensively in Weimar. The city inspired the works of Richard Strauss and Franz Liszt, and even visitant Richard Wagner.
The basic landscape of Thuringia has hills and fertile green land, making it a good destination for hikers and those fond of bike tours. Not far from the town of Eisenach with its famous medieval Wartburg Castle is Hainich Park. With a total area of circa 16,000 hectares or 75km2, Hainich is the largest continuos area of deciduous woodland in Germany. There, you can also walk on the top of the trees through a high set of canopies, and if you look really really really closely, maybe you can spot some of the wildcat population that live on the area.
For winter sports, Oberhof is your area!. Up in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, the city is a center for winter sports, with world and European calibre luge, nordic skiing, and ski jumping events taking place regularly. In recent years it has also seen the construction of lift-equipped alpine skiing slopes and an international competition standard biathlon stadium.
All this history and activities in the nature must have gotten you hungry, so, let’s talk about what Thuringia can offer to,
Fill your stomach !
Sausages
This won’t change your idea of German food, but people in Thuringia love their Rostbratwurst. Unlike the white Bavarian ones and their Frankfurt cousins, these sausages don’t get so much love internationally, but you can find plenty of food stands offering them in any German city.
People in Thuringia love them so much that they made a law to protect their purity… all the way back in 1432!
The funny people of the Bratwurst Museum in Holzhausen even choose their Bratwurst King and Queen to open the grill season. And they also organise a Bratwurst-Song-Contest every year to sing the praises of the good king!.
What’s in them?, Usually lean pork from the shoulder or belly, with a bit of beef or veal added. The meat is seasoned with a combination herbs and spices (which is of course , the pride of each maker !) — garlic, cumin, marjoram,coriander or nutmeg can be found inside.
Of course, you could have them with some ketchup, but the more local condiment is mustard. Erfurt’s Born Mustard gathers almost 200 years of experience making it, and, of course, they have their own museum too.
Potato dumplings
Thüringer Klöße are the second most famous second staple (or the first, if you are vegetarian). The fluffy balls are made out of a mix of boiled and massed potatoes and have bread filling inside. Usually, they are served to have with meat dishes, for example, meat Rouladen with pickled red cabbage.
Local boy, Fritz, went viral on youtube singing about them on this video when he was just 13 years old. Starting to notice a singing theme? I told you the hills were alive!.
Christmas cakes
Dresden is the hometown of the world’s most famous Stollen, but Erfurt’s one dates all the way back to the 14th century. The cake is studded with raisins and currant, crammed with candied fruit and sometimes, a thick, sweet slice of marzipan running through the middle. It goes great with tea or hot chocolate, the kind of things you want to be having in Christmas, after all.
Beer
Yeah, we are in Germany, after all!. Numerous breweries, large and small, are proud witness to the century-old tradition of beer brewing.
Germany’s most popular dark beer, the Köstritzer comes from Bad Köstritz near Gera.
Arnstadt was the home of the first wheat beer and their Stadtbrauerei even has a professional, Beer caller, that has been sharing his beer expertise with the guests for over 600 years. Of course, when he isn’t busy chasing the pretty barmaids!
In short, Thuringia is a great destination to check out if you want to explore a lesser known region of Germany. Germans know about it, so, why don’t you?. The nature is lovely and the people and down to earth, with a penchant for grilling and humour.
