Tangermünde & Quedlinburg, Germany
Today was a big travel day. I ventured more than three hours by train to the southwest of Berlin into the heart (literally, the Harz) of Germany. On the weekends, Deutsche Bahn runs a special called the Schönes Wochenende ticket which allows you unlimited travel for a set price.
Here I was, ready to go at the Berlin Zoologischer Garten bahnhof early this morning. Hey, I look more chipper than the guy on the bench behind me ha. The trains are updated with the latest digital signage which alert you to the station coming up so you can be ready to jump off. Much better than straining to hear (and understand) a voice over the loudspeaker.
There aren’t many small, picturesque towns within an easy distance from Berlin. I’m not sure if this is because of the war, Communist urban planning or what exactly. I had read about the interesting town of Tangermünde on the Elbe River and decided to head west.
It was exactly what I hoped for. The Altstadt (old town) remained protected by its medieval wall stretching along the river. Lots of good fortune here, the town hall had three stork nests perched on top!
The size was perfect. Enough to see and do but small enough to just sit back at an outdoor cafe and watch people as they went about a normal Saturday.
I watched a wedding party (Hochzeit in German, literally “high time”) and Germans cooling off their dogs under the town water pump. Plus this guy:
He struck me as someone who worked for years behind the Iron Curtain with guaranteed state job, full socialist benefits and little contact with the outside world. Can you imagine how much has changed for him since the wall came down?
I came across a store that sold nostalgic items from the old East Germany. Even though no one would go back to Communism after 28 years with capitalism, there is a lingering Ostalgie, (combining the German words for “east” and “nostalgia”) here.
I mentioned that Tangermünde sits on the Elbe River. It was here that the advancing American army fought retreating Germans for the bridge crossing the river. The plaque below shows the bridge after it was detonated. With the war lost, it’s estimated more than 100,000 German soldiers and civilians later crossed the rickety ruins of the bridge on foot heading west. They were fleeing the advancing Russian forces from the east.
When I’m hiking around, I like to eat and drink a little at a time. It’s better to sample things here and there and not sit down to a long and expensive meal. You can’t go wrong with just about anything they serve over here. It’s all good. I like asking the people serving the food what they recommend.
My next stop was the town of Quedlinburg, further to the southwest near the Harz mountains. This was one of the most important towns in the German region in medieval times. Handsome Fachwerk (timber framed) buildings and homes were erected. Then, fortunes changed and Quedlinburg stagnated. Hard times inadvertently fossilized the architecture for us to enjoy today.
I enjoy just wandering down small streets and discovering things on my own. Sometimes I find a dead-end and have to backtrack but most of the time, I appreciate details and views of town I would have missed if I stayed on the main path. Sometimes that seems like a good philosophy for life too.
For example, here’s a close-up pic of this handle on a door of the church I wanted to share with you. It’s an ancient pig jumping through a hoop. You can see how his back is shiny, worn from all the hands over the centuries who used him to open the door and step inside. Imagine what he’s seen! Probably helped transmit some bubonic plague but nevermind that…
I’m headed to the Reichstag in the morning to climb the dome. You have to pre-register with the government, pass a background check and receive permission. I’m good so I need to get some sleep to get up early. Gute Nacht!
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