A right royal treat in Germany
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Germany is often overlooked as a holiday destination, which is a shame as it is full of fascinating towns, cities and countryside, which are tidy and generally litter free. The hotels are very good value for money, especially compared to the likes of Aberdeen or Edinburgh, and the people are polite and friendly.
It is easy for us to get there. I took the Lufthansa flight from Aberdeen to Frankfurt. Below the airport is a station and trains run hourly to most parts of Germany, and Lufthansa even have an add-on fare to cover your railway ticket as well. Typical German efficiency, and it makes life easier for tourists.
The first destination was Coburg, 140 miles from the airport, a lovely town with a population of around 41,000 people that lies on the river Itz. The streets are clean and tidy and busy with people shopping and going about their business, but not crowded. The interest for us is that Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert Prince of Saxe Coburg and Gotha, was born here in the Schloss Rosenau in 1819 (the same year that Queen Victoria was born, and she spoke only German for the first three years of her life).
The Schloss is easily reached from the town and is open to the public. It is a charming and attractive large house, rather than a castle, and has that instant "feel good" factor when you approach it. Inside it is grand and imposing, but still homely. Queen Victoria is quoted as saying that if she wasn’t who she was, this is where she would live. I can see why.
Among the many items on display is the bed where Albert was born, and even his birth certificate is there. Victoria and Albert were the dream couple of the 19th century. Victoria became Queen in 1837 when she was only 18, and married Albert in February, 1840. Albert died in 1863, only 42 years old, which devastated Victoria. She had statues of him erected all round the world, including Coburg. On August 26, 1865, Victoria and all her nine children came to Coburg to inaugurate the imposing statue of Albert that still takes pride of place in the market square today.
Coburg is surrounded by castles. The Schloss Callenberg and the Schloss Ehrenburg are well worth the visit, but the largest and most impressive is the Veste Coburg, a vast fortification which sits on a high promontory above the town. To get there, you can walk or take the little tourist ‘train’ (a tractor with two trailers) that runs every 30 minutes from outside the tourist office in the Market Square up to the castle’s main car park (see www.geckobahn.de).
This massive network of ramparts and walls and gates was first mentioned in 1056, and is impregnable. Martin Luther lived here for six months in 1530. It has an important collection of Saxe-Coburg family treasures. You will easily spend more time here than you plan, and children are fascinated by the suits of armour, weapons, dresses, and the many passages and walk ways around the walls. There is also a collection of what is believed to be the oldest roadworthy coaches in the world, and sledges, including ornate 17th century competition sledges.
Coburg itself has events all the year round, ranging from culture, such as the summer operetta, concerts and museums, to the September two-day onion market and other culinary events. The local beer and wines are superb! For more information look at www.coburg-tourist.de or facebook.com/TourismusCoburg.
Not far from Coburg, by road or train, is Weimar. With a population of around 65,000 people, it has a special place in German history as a centre of culture and the arts. It all seemed to start with the Duchess Anna Amalia, who encouraged writers, such as Johann Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, to come here. She also provided houses for them, which would have been a big incentive, and these are now open to the public.
The Duchess also brought Liszt, who lived here 1869-1886, and J.S.Bach, who lived here for 10 years. She had a purpose-built library which houses hundreds of thousands of books. In September, 2004, there was a fire here, which damaged 118,000 books and destroyed 56,000. Delicate and painstaking work is still going on restoring the damaged books, which you can watch as you go round it.
Everywhere you go in Weimar you see this evidence of the important centre of European ideas of literature, art theory, aesthetics and teaching. There is a statue of Shakespeare, the only one on the Continent. A large statue of Goethe and Schiller stands outside the German National Theatre. Here, in 1919 the Weimar Republic was founded. After the horror of the First World War, a new system of governance was needed for Germany.
Berlin was full of factions and politics, and so here in Weimar, with its tradition of culture, the new Republic with Germany’s first democratic constitution was signed in the National Theatre. Of course, this did not last, as Hitler’s National Socialism took over in the 1930s.
The town has a pedestrianised shopping zone and the market square with the most elaborate tourist office building ever. To one side is the Hotel Elephant, famous as being the hotel where Hitler stayed on more than 40 visits. Hitler made them build a balcony over the main entrance so that he could go out there to greet the people.
The hotel does not like being associated with Hitler so much, so on the balcony today is a gold figure of Henry Van De Velde. He was Belgian, an important artist, designer and architect. He came to Weimar in 1899, and designed the Nietzsche building and the Grand Ducal School of Arts and Crafts. Unfortunately, in 1914 as a foreign national he had to return to Belgium, but left his mark on German culture, and a much better statue to have on your hotel balcony.
Weimar is a delight to explore. The magnificent town hall has a set of Meissen porcelain bells on its wall, and at noon every day they peal an enchanting tune. The Gingko tree, made famous by Goethe, grows opposite the library, and in all there is no fewer than 16 UNESCO world heritage sites to visit.
With all this history and culture, a complete contrast comes in the shape of the horrific Buchenwald Concentration Camp, just outside Weimar, an awful reminder of the extreme cruelty of the Nazis right next to their centre of culture is somehow to highlight each one by the very contrast between them.
Germany does not hide from the horrors of the Second World War – the camp is maintained and advertised to visitors. We must be remembered of it, to make sure that we do learn from history and not let it happen again. While I was there, an election for the regional parliament was taking place.
Posters were attached to nearly every lamp post for different candidates and parties. It was interesting to see several saying that Nazis and extreme right wing parties should go into the dustbin. Others said that citizens must turn out to vote, otherwise Nazis and other right wing parties can get in – which is exactly what happened in the 1930s – the majority stay at home, don’t vote, and the extremists get in power and take over.
Weimar celebrates its cultural past, but is still modern and thriving. An onion festival, which has been going on for 360 years, in October, includes electing an onion queen. She can be seen wearing onions as a hat, jewellery and so on – not your usual beauty queen.
There is also a bee museum, festivals of local wine (excellent, not available here) and the food is excellent. Their speciality is a Thüringen sausage. You can buy these from stands in the market square. The sausage is just over a foot long, and is served in a bun the size of your fist, so you will see people walking around with these massive sausages drooping out each side of the bun. For more information on Weimar see www.weimar.de For flights direct from Aberdeen to Frankfurt go to www.lufthansa.com their service is very good – even in economy you get a choice of sandwiches and a wee bottle of wine. On my flight we were delayed by congestion at Aberdeen airport, and on the flight the stewardess came round with connection details for passengers going onwards from Frankfurt.
Book ahead online and the prices are very good, especially with the add-on rail ticket option as well. On your way back, check in at the "Fly rail" section at the railway station part of the complex and avoid all the queues at the normal check-in.
Hotels in Coburg and Weimar are very good value for money and top quality. In Weimar I stayed in the Gasthaus zum Weisen Schwan (www.weisserschwan.com) and in Coburg at the Goldene Traube (www.goldenetraube.com. Both excellent.
English is widely spoken and prices are very reasonable. It is a pleasure to explore such places – and they make very good city break destinations. Thoroughly recommended.
