weimar

We went to Weimar this past weekend as a school group, lead by our cultural excursion friend, Micha. I don't want to give him an official sounding title, because he really is our buddy by this point.

My dad, uncle, sister and I were here 5 years ago and I was thrilled to see the city center with the same Thüringer Bratwurst stand.

Weimar is a sweet, small town that is jam packed with cultural history. Goetha and Schiller headline, but they're just the beginning.

Example: At one point, we sat outside a creperie enjoying the breeze through the narrow cobblestone alleys for a snack and cappuccino pick-me-ups. The pleasant locals, breezy sunshine, and vined buildings were made all the more idylic after we noticed a plaque commemorating Martin Luther's 22 year residence in the home just to the side or our table.

I stayed for the first time in a hostel. I'm not sure it was the true hostel experience with strangers and all because I am quite keen to everyone in the program and we definitely filled up the bunked rooms.

Before our one full day in Weimar, we leisurely sat at breakfast at the hostel and listened to one girl tell us about her Goetha Faust class. Recently, the discussions about our various electives and areas of study have proven incredibly useful.

Goetha's home and garden

In between a few failed attempts to visit some historical buildings (sold out museum and closed church tower... bummer... but really - no sarcasm! they sounded interesting) we opted for something a little more conducive to the entire group of students.I don't know what they're called, but we laughed the entire time.

(hills + failling breaks) x (adventure) = even better

We pedaled around the park surrounding the river Ilm, stopping to get out and look at Geotha's garden house and other buildings in the landscape of the sentimental garden. It was beautiful park and renting bench bikes was really the best decision we made all weekend.German food last night together, 2o or so of us

We visited Buchenwald Memorial, a former concentration camp, this morning. *deep breath* I am still getting sick over thoughts of the site, so perhaps I won't share or even try to communicate my scrambled thoughts on the subject.

Obama recently visited as well; the information desk said that a noticable amount of Americans have visited since.

Back to Weimar. 3 hours. Back to Potsdam.