Next we explore the city of Copenhagen, capital of Denmark. Having Eurail passes, we chose to go by rail, and it was certainly an experience. When we reached the North Sea, the train was ‘picked up’ by a giant ferry.
We went on a 45 minute ride across the sound.
Until the train ‘alighted’ on Danish soil, and meandered over the Danish countryside to Copenhagen.
Only in Europe, I think.
Our main reason for visiting Hannover though was to visit the grave of Hubby’s grandfather. In WWII his grandfather was an Englishman in a parachute regiment, meaning he was one of those soldiers who parachuted down behind enemy lines and fought there. He was killed in northern Germany a mere month before the end of the war, leaving behind a young wife and two small children. He was buried in this Allied War Cemetery, on the outskirts of Hannover.
The cemetery was easy to get to, and immaculately kept. The soldiers buried there came from all over the UK, different parts of the Commonwealth, as well as from all over Europe. All those young lives lost.
We found Grandfather’s grave quite easily. It was an emotional pilgrimage for Hubby, who had never visited before. We also found many other men who had died with him, from around the same period. There must have been carnage on both sides.
We were glad that the Germans have kept the cemetery is such good order, because it was a very special place. May they rest in peace.
Next, we travelled to the northern German city of Hannover. Like Dresden, it was bombed quite heavily during WWII, so it was also a mix of old…
And of new(ish)…
They rebuilt much of the new centre as a series of pedestrian malls. And as with all German cities, the transport was fantastic. We came in by train to the main station.
But got around mainly by tram, which went in all directions.
The city also had a comprehensive subway network that linked the city to surrounding towns. And of course, a great cycling path network. It made the public transport offerings in Sydney look very meagre indeed.
I can say that Germans really loved their schnitzel. It was on our plate most days, with different accompaniments. At the local deli, we had it With chips and cabbage salad.
At the Czech-themed pub, we had it With white asparagus (the favourite seasonal spring vegetable in Germany) and hollandaise sauce.
The other favourite is the sausage, or the bratwurst. The sausages are usually pork-based, and packed with flavour. It also came with different accompaniments. At an Irish-themed pub we had bratwurst with fried potatoes and onions.
And with sauerkraut and mash.
The portion sizes as you can see were generous, and we always came away very full. The cooking was generally quite homely in Saxony. I guess it reflected on the taste of the locals. No high-end, modern, experimental cooking here, just firm favourites.
In Freiberg, we stayed at a little Art Deco hotel, a former cutlery factory.
It had a pretty good restaurant which we ate at quite a few nights. We got to sample some German fare this way. The consommne with dumplings below was good, more delicate than I expected.
And the pea soup with a prawn side was also tasty.
Mains generally consisted of meat and veg or salad combinations, with lots of potatoes. There was certainly a lot of pork, either as chops.
Or as schnitzel, of varying sizes. The latter certainly could feed several people.
What we didn’t expect was that the people around town, especially those of middle age or older, had no English. I guess in the Communist era, East German had more ties to the east, hence their second language at school was more likely to be Russian. So our phrase book, especially its menu decoder, got a bit of workout during our stay. Fortunately, German and English aren’t too far apart (unlike some other languages), and with a bit of practice it was relatively easy for us to order and figure things out in general.
There were some fantastic stone work in the cathedral. This pulpit, called the Tulip Pulpit for its floral design, is completely free standing.
There were also plenty of reminders of Freiberg’s mining heritage too.
This miner remind me of the Disney’s seven dwarves. Perhaps the story of Snow White originated from this area?
But the highlight was the Golden Gate, which was part of the original 12th Century cathedral. As you can see, this was definitely a medieval extravaganza.
I really liked this place. It was certainly a hidden gem.
Freiberg had a castle (Schloss Freudenstein in German). After falling into disrepair, the city restored it to house its world-class mineral collection, Terra Mineralia, which holds beautiful minerals from around the globe.
I had a go at painting the schloss, although all the windows and slanted roofs drove me a bit mad.
We didn’t stay in Dresden long though, as our destination was the small town of Freiberg, 30km away.
This pretty town made its fortune from its silver mines which had been in operation since the Middle Ages. The town’s university still has a school of mining operating.
Given its wealth, there was a lot of intricate decoration. The East Germans loved the town so much that they even restored the town to its full glory in the 1980s, when much of the country was neglected.
It was our first taste of Germany. More to come.
From Prague, we made our way along the Elbe River valley to the city of Dresden. Although the trip was less than 3 hours long, it was a very scenic ride as we passed a narrow river valley with interesting sandstone formations and cute villages. It’s so pretty there that the locals call the area Saxon Switzerland.
Dresden itself was a mix of modern…
And not so modern.
The modern bits were the parts that were destroyed during the bombings in WWII, and the older bits were the parts that were spared. As you can see by the number of post-war buildings, the destruction was extensive. The city was quickly rebuilt post-war, and then upgraded after the end of the Communism. The modern parts now look like any other growing modern city in Germany, perhaps more well-kempt than most.
What we did not know at the time was that half of Dresden would be under water a mere 2 months later. The long winter caused the biggest floods in a long time and flooded both Prague and Dresden, as well as other places downstream to the North Sea. We were lucky to see both at its best.
Static and Silence 