Today we visited the Wartburg Castle, which is on a forested mountain overlooking the town of Eisenach, 45 minutes west of Erfurt. It is a really good castle. It was founded in 1067, is a World Heritage Site, and Adolf Hitler is said to have called it the "most German of German castles."
We really enjoyed our visit, but it did not start out all that well. From the parking lot, you have to walk up a very steep hill for about 15 minutes. This normally would have been fine, but it was absolutely pouring down rain and we took the wrong path at first, and had to backtrack. We had no umbrella (it hasn't actually rained that much in Germany) and only I had a hood. By the time we got to the top, we were drenched.
But things improved rapidly after that. We dried out and warmed up a bit in the gift shop, and by the time we went to buy our tickets the next guided tour was about to start. (You can visit most of the castle by yourself, but the interior of the oldest section can only be seen on a tour.) That gave us further opportunity to dry out and, even better, the sun began to come out while we were inside.
The tour was in German and the guide had a lot to say in each room, but we were given an excellent English pamphlet to help us follow along and the various rooms were very interesting. This part of the castle dates from the 12th century, so there were lots of good Romanesque capitals to be seen. Most of the other decorations date from the 19th-century Romantic period.
After the tour, we headed across the castle grounds to the main attraction for many who visit the Wartburg - the Lutherstube (Luther Room). Martin Luther lived here for 10 months in 1521-22 disguised as "Knight George."
The Luther Room is a small wood-paneled room near the castle entrance in the bailiff's lodge. Unfortunately none of the furnishings are original from Luther's time, but the desk and tiled stove generally reflect what it would have been like when he was here. The portrait hanging over the desk was made during this time and shows Luther with his hair grown out as part of his disguise.
He passed the time translating the New Testament into German (previously available only in Latin, and therefore only to clergy and academics). This was an important event for both the Reformation and for the development of the German language.
Note that the wall behind the stove is in bad shape - that's because Luther fans used to scrape off bits as souvenirs. Apparently there was a stain on the wall there, and this was identified with the legendary story that Luther threw an inkpot at the devil during his spiritually challenging time in this room.
We had a late lunch in the cafe in the castle grounds, which was housed in one of the historic buildings. We had some fine German food, some of which was rather unexpected! David started out with a delicious green bean and potato soup, followed by what was described as "ham on bread."
Well, it turned out to be slices of raw meat on buttered bread! Not what he expected at all, but he was a good cultural adventurer and tried it. I chose to pass on this particular cultural adventure. He said it was lightly smoked so not technically raw, and other than the psychological hurdles of its appearance, it tasted quite good. For my part, I really enjoyed my Wiener wurst with potato salad.
For dessert we had this bowl of heaven, which is warm Milchreis with sugar and cinnamon (sprinkled on in the design of a horse, we think). German "milk rice" is similar to English rice pudding, but with a thinner consistency. This particular example was especially fantastic.
Thus fortified, we enjoyed one last wander around the castle buildings and even braved the strong winds to the enjoy the views from the south tower.
Me enjoying the forest view from a balcony near the tower.
Our faithful Fiat waiting for us. We were among the last to leave before the castle closed, so the parking lot was empty by then.
Before we left the area, we made a brief stop in the town of Eisenach at the base of the mountain. There's another minor Luther site here: the "Luther House" where he lived from 1498-1501. He was a student and was staying with friends of his family.
We also made a quick stop at the Bachhaus, where Johann Sebastian Bach was born and raised until the age of 10.
The yellow house is the one. There is a modern museum to its right and a bronze monument to Bach nearby.
Tomorrow morning we hope to squeeze in a tour of the Augustinian Monastery in Erfurt before departing for our next city, Bamberg.