Cycle Tour Iron Curtain Tour, part 3 Gdynia-Aš

My bike was placed quite elegantly in the hotel's beautiful lobby, with furniture in chrome and black leather and large mirrors on the wall. There it could enjoy itself, because I enjoyed a day on foot.

First I walked through the forest up to the Wartburg, which is an important place in German history. The oldest parts date from the High Middle Ages, but the castle was badly damaged, in my opinion, in the age of historicism, which is the second half of the 19th century. In this period the architects allowed themselves to add, tear down and rebuild structures according to their own ideas about the Middle Ages. Always in such a way that laymen and regular tourists cannot tell the difference. At the Wartburg, the medieval and historicist mix was so well blended that the illusion was perfect. And I also let myself be soothed and enjoyed the magnificent castle on a guided tour of the palace with a good guide, who talked openly about what was new and what was old.

Wartburg is known for the German burschenschaften, which held the Wartburgfest ("W.party") in 1817 with demands for one common national German state under the black-red-gold colors to replace the many small ones plus the big one of Prussia. The states were just loosely joined together in the reactionary Deutscher Bund. This "party" is also where the German national anthem comes from, in which the desire for a national assembly is put as the highest one. This is what is expressed in the opening line of the first stanza "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles".  ("Germany, Germany above all") A much misused and misunderstood line, especially under the black-white-red colors (Empire and Nazi Germany), which have always contrasted with the black-red-golden colours derived from the burschenschaft people's uniform. And just on the weekend I was there, there was a gathering of these very well-dressed and very short-cut young men. They also sang the national anthem, the third stanza of which is sung today, "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit". ("Assembly, Justice and Liberty") They dominated quite clearly, especially up here in the castle, but also down in the town, because they drank a lot and made a lot of noise without causing any scandal.

Wartburg is also known for the fact that Martin Luther translated the New Testament here from Greek into German in 1521. He did it incognito as Junker Joerg, as he had been excommunicated by the Pope in Rome and condemned as an outlaw by Emperor Karl V.

After all this history, I went down to the old town of Eisenach and enjoyed life there. First on the square with coffee and ice cream, then in the birthplace of a famous child of the town, namely the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Next to it, they have built a modern house with a museum, where Bach lovers, especially those knowing music well, are really coddled. I can't read sheet music myself, but still enjoy Bach's music, and would have liked to have listened to a concert in a church, as he is especially known for organ music. It wasn't in town that evening, I was told at the tourist office. But in the museum I heard a musician play original keyboard instruments from the Baroque period and explain the differences between them.

After this cultural experience, I went down to Karlsplatz and enjoyed the pleasures of the table at an outdoor restaurant. Again the burschenschaft boys dominated the square, but they did not disturb me at all. And then I got a call from my sons on the occasion of my birthday, and it was lovely. All in all, I received many congratulations.

After dinner, I watched the second half of the German football cup final at a pub, where I struck up a good conversation with an RB Leipzig fan. He was happy because his team won 2-0. Happy about the day, I strolled home to the Hotel Hennesburg.