Eisenach, Leipzig, Hamburg

The weekend after Switzerland, 12-14th Sept, was set aside initially to visit Thomas in Dresden. He is a German friend of Nic and I who is a doctor we got to know when he was doing his attachment at NUH. He was staying at Nicolas' place for a while and I remember my parents and I bringing him out for curry fish head! haha... He just for married recently and was busy packing his home and was unable to meet me after his honeymoon to Bali! Haha.. I think most Asians will NEVER go to Indonesia or Bali for Honeymoon! But the sunny weather and beach is definitely a strong pull factor for ang mohs! People from Asia usually go Japan, Korea or Europe for honeymoon eh? =) Does this mean that places far away from home are usually more romantic? The pastures on the other side is always greener? =)

Newlywed! The bride is super pretty eh=) ... Cute car=)

Instead of Dresden, I went to Eisenach on Fri, staying over at Diana's bf's place, left for Leipzig on Sat morning and headed to Hamburg on Sat afternoon.

I spent 3.5-4 hrs walking around the small town, Eisenach. This was the first time exploring a new place on my own and it feels interesting-holding the map, asking people for directions and feeling my way around=) The weather was bad-raining, but fortunately i had my umbrella coz i was smart to check weather forecast before leaving home=) Eisenach is a small nice cosy city with nice old buildings in the city centre.

The history of Eisenach is linked with the Wartburg Castle, which was built according to legend in 1067. There were at least three settlements below the castle, that merged to a common city in the second half of the 12th century. This town, Eisenach, was first mentioned in 1180. Eisenach was the place where Martin Luther lived as a child, although he was not born there, and later for his receiving protection by Frederick the Wise after having been pursued for his religious views. It was while he was staying at Wartburg Castle that he translated the New Testament into German. The town is famous as the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach as well. He was a German composer and organist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity. The Social Democratic Party of Germany was founded in 1869 in Eisenach.

Church of St Nicholas and towngate. The Nikolai church, located on the Karlsplatz, is dedicated to St Nicholas and adjoins the former city gate , the Nikolaitor, which is the only one remaining of the original five gates. The church served as the parish for the Benedictine convent located in the area. This triple-naved basilica was built in 1180 and is considered the last example of the Romanesque architecture in Thuringia.

Look at the row of nice houses, each having their own unique design and flavour!

Shopping street with nice architecture=)

Georgenkirche and Marktplatz- The church at the market square, was first built in the 12th century and later reconstructed in Baroque style (the tower was added even later in 1902). Historically, St Elisabeth was married there to Landgrave Ludwig IV in 1221, and Johann Sebastian Bach was baptized in the church in the 17th century.

A house that is capable of PHOTOSYNTHESIS!

The Lutherhaus is one of the oldest and most picturesque half-timbered buildings remaining in Eisenach. Martin Luther is said to have lived here as a pupil during his school days in Eisenach from 1498-1501. Currently, this house is a museum featuring multimedia exhibits relating to the period. The museum is split into five parts where one can see an illustration of Luther's life and times as well as his teachings.

Rathaus/Townhall

It was quite an experience walking in the rain, and searching for Wartburg Castle which was a long walk away! The map shows that it is faster getting to the castle via a forest track instead of the normal main road that winds up a hill! It wasnt a very smart idea. After tracking through the deserted forest(probably due to the rain) for 20min, i came to this cross junction with 3 routes and i realised that i was quite lost! Hence, the best way would be to turn back and talk the main roads! After walking for a long time, i saw the castle from far and was quite sure that i did not want to continue walking in to rain to get to the castle itself. I gave up and made my way back.

Wartburg Castle: The main tourist attraction of Eisenach. It is quite silly that i din get to the castle despite it beng the MAIN attraction. But at that point in time, I have already been walking for 4hrs and more walking would kill me=)

The Luther Room in the Wartburg Castle.

I was suppose to meet Diana at 7pm but she was held up at work and she will arrive late at Eisenach from Frankfurt. I met her bf before heading for a grill with his friends! Superb food-BBQ meat with cheese, baked potatoes, baked mushrooms filled with mince meat in cream sauce, salad, sausages! Tried egg liquor with Ice cream for the first time! Yummy!

2 hours was spent walking around Leipzig with Lonely Planet=) Nice city!

Gold painted designs!

Thomaskirche (St Thomas' Church): Most famous as the place where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor and home to the renowned Thomaner choir .

Rathaus/Townhall.

Random nice corner of a building with nice, bright flowers sticking out=) It looks abit odd and out of place but it was nice=)

For those who understand german=) How much the meaning changes with 2 words=) It was a sign in the toilet. "Bitte verlassen Sie den Raum so, wie Sie (ihn vorfinden) moechte."

Magic school bus!

High-rised buildings are NOT common! First time spotting such buildings=)

Leipzig Bahnhof=) I made my way up to Hamburg on Sat afternoon. My day ticket with the DB was worth it coz i travelled so much=)

At Hamburg, Simon, me and some of his Badminton kids when to watch some Bundersleague Badminton Match, Hamburg against Saarland? Was looking forward to see Xu Waiwen play, representing Saarland. However, she din turn up=( I wonder why...The team won without her anyway.. Too strong=) Xu HuaiWen, who is a female China Chinese player, now represents Germany. She was born in Guiyang, Guizhou, People's Republic of China. She decided to play for Germany because the Chinese thought that she was too short to play professional world badminton. I saw her play during the Olympics and she is really fast for her height I must say. Watched her dialogue on Tv as well and her german is fluent! I think I need a long time to reach that standard. She even has a German accent!

Filex is one of the kids from Simon's badminton training=) He is very cute, shy and innocent! Hhaha he likes Jule, the gal on the right in the next picture=)

I have talked most with Mathilde(left). She is around 14 I think=) Very sweet, nice and chatty gal=) haha.. just like me eh;) They(Mathilde and Jule) both are being trained by Simon in a club for Badminton. Simon has been involved in Badminton at the club for a long time-playing, training, coaching and organising events. He started off at this club since he was 5! That makes it 21 years! Hanging around with them makes me feel young again.. The things you talk about are totally different....