Weimar by Foot

Good Evening Herr Goethe!

Goethe and Schiller in Weimar

Goethe and Schiller in Weimar

Goethe and Schiller in Weimar

            The first two full days of exploring Weimar have convinced me that a Christmas atmosphere can coexist with the necessity of commercial transactions. Maybe the smiling faces of young, seasonal employees are doing the trick. During previous stays in Germany I have sometimes noted the tired, irritated attitudes of middle-aged sales women; here they seem to have blossomed into caring mothers who patiently teach the newcomers how to make change, to answer questions, to please the customer. Everybody has certainly been very helpful to me.

            Saturday I walked several hours, without map, without design. I discovered many of the landmarks I had read about at home and was glad I had allotted almost three weeks to you, Herr Goethe, and this town of 60,000 inhabitants. Plenty of places to visit, lots of doors to enter. But, as I had promised you, my very first “official” action was to photograph you and your friend Schiller in front of the National Theater. When I saw the line of waiting photographers, I approached the monument from the back side and was able to get a few shots of the two of you overlooking the town.  I saw that you had an arm around Herr Schiller and that you lean against the stump of an oak tree. I’ve read that there is symbolism in the fact that the sculptor, Ernst Rietschel, who designed this double monument, made you and Herr Schiller the same size, even though your friend was taller than you. Certainly you two have seen much history, much political unrest pass or even involve you. Your faces have been used to bring hope to citizens and to advertise all sorts of products; you and Herr Schiller now have shopping centers named after you; students sit at your feet because they are devoted to your words, or, I imagine, to poke fun at you. And though my personal reasons for this visit were to reacquaint myself with your words and to forgive you for allowing misinterpretation of your words to cloud my mind, I have decided to simply enjoy what Weimar has to offer. I’ve heard it said that Herr Schiller was the theorist and you the realist; I want to take home a realistic image more than I desire theoretic and symbolic values. For now anyway.

            Yes, for now I want to smell roasted almonds and hot wine spices at the Christmas Market. I want to taste bratwurst, watch snowflakes glitter in colorful ornaments, hear trombones and angels’ voices.  And I did that on Saturday afternoon. I enjoyed local handcrafts, bought a pair of gloves, admired candles, and stood at a tall table next to a warming fire, drinking coffee and chatting with a young couple I would never see again. I visited Hoffmann’s book store – I remembered that a previous Hoffmann displayed the first public Christmas tree, ever, on the market square, for the children of the poor. I think it was during your time, Herr Goethe. At any rate, I bought one book “Weihnachten mit Johann Wolfgang Goethe.” (Christmas with Johann Wolfgang Goethe) An excerpt of your letter to Kestner is printed on the back cover. You describe how you got up very early on Christmas morning to write, and how you remembered pleasant times past. Somebody made coffee for you and you were going to write until daylight. Exactly what I have been doing since I arrived here, except that I have to make my own coffee. And now I am tempted to emphasize with something we call an emoticon. :)  (Doppelpunkt, Klammer) It means that I am smiling as I mention the task of brewing my own coffee.

             

Our guide, Herr Dryander

Elephant Hotel in Weimar

walking tour group

On Sunday morning I bought a “Weimar Card” at the Tourist Office. It entitles me to free local bus transportation and to reduced entry to various museums. I took a two hour guided walking tour of Weimar with Herrn Ulrich Dryander. Very informative. Funny at times. Endearing when he recited one of your love poems and told the men in the group to get busy. We had a brief chat about old times, about learning your poems by heart. The tour began at the Cranach Haus where he described the Cranach signature, a snake with bat wings. Amongst other locations we stopped at the Hotel Elephant, in existence since 1696, where you and Friedrich von Schiller, Johann Sebastian Bach, Leo Tolstoi, Thomas Mann, Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Arthur Rubinstein, and many other famous people have stayed.   We stopped at the Anna Amalia Library, saw the Town Castle, Walter Gropius’  Bauhaus School, your Garden Haus from a distance across the Ilm River, your other house, Schiller’s house and many other  interesting sites.

Lunch at the Nordsee

View from my kitchen window

At times it rained, then it snowed, and when we finished the tour at your monument the air was calm and cold and I was ready for a lunch of salmon filet and parsleyed potatoes at the Nordsee, one of my favorite fast food restaurants in Germany.  The rest of the day I spent reading, knitting, watching  snow flakes fall , enjoying the warmth and stillness of my apartment.