Parthemores in Poland

For the 99.9% of our readers who don’t speak Polish, that’s “in Germany.”  There will be a quiz later. 

As I have said before, driving in Poland the most difficult and tiring part of any car trip.  We were on the major east-west route in the region.  I had my digital camera at the ready to document some of the “driving” techniques. 

*** something special coming soon! ***

Remembering how painful our 8 hour drive to Grafenwohr was, we decided to break up the journey over several days.  One of Eric’s friends from West Point is stationed in Wiesbaden, which is just west of Frankfort.  Halfway there we stopped in Dessau, a nice little town in the former East Germany.  Its claim to fame is the Bauhaus school of architecture.  We had a delicious dinner at the local brewpub and walked around in the snow a bit.

Our map of Germany features the major tourist attractions and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  This can prove distracting when you are trying to make good time on the autobahn.  We decided to stop at Wartburg Castle in central Germany.  When we arrived, it was beautifully sunny and snowy.  The castle is perched precariously on cliff, requiring a short, treacherous hike up a steep cobblestone road.

The Count of Schauenburg began construction of the castle in 1067.  Martin Luther stayed there after his excommunication in 1521 and translated the New Testament into German.  Looks like I paid attention on the tour, huh?  Nope.  All in German.  There were some signs that gave a brief overview in German, English, and French.  Fortunately, we are now comfortable with not understanding anything people are saying. 

Some things don’t require translation, because they are awesome regardless:

 Tapestry from the 1400s

  The view from the castle

  This entire room is a mosaic!

The “no flash photography” rule hampered my photos, but I could have stayed in that mosaic room all day.  It depicted the life of St. Elizabeth and was installed in the early 1900s. 

After a half-walk, half-slide back to the car, we continued on to Wiesbaden.

Seizing the opportunity, we purchased a random assortment of things at the Wiesbaden commissary and PX:  ice cube trays that don’t shatter when frozen, good peanut butter, Bisquick, salsa, and an industrial-size tub of hot chocolate mix. 

Dave Mattox and his wife Sara gave us a great tour of downtown Wiesbaden.  We partook of the traditional German activities of eating dinner at a Thai restaurant and going to an Irish pub.  It was great to catch up, we had a great time, and hopefully it won’t be another four years before the next get-together.  Dave, Sara, and their family are off to Alaska in April. 

Next stop:  Brugge, Belgium!