Category Archives: Marburg
What a View!
Today was just right in termperature, and visuals. We went back to the small streets and castle that we traveled through last night, but this time it was daytime so people were about and the buldings were lit up. I still can’t get over some of the buildings here in Marburg. They are the style that have the big pieces of wood that criss-cross through the exterior, windowboxes full of flowers, and alleyways with stairs that are incredibly narrow. When I walk through the streets I can’t help but think what kind of people have walked these streets before me. What kinds of clothes did they wear? What were their lives like?
I have to say that the hilight of the day was the big payoff after a big hike uphill. When you are in the city or marburg, in the valley, you see two buildings on the top of the hills. One is the castle that we were at last night, and the other is a stone tower on the opposite side of the valley. We decided to make our way over there this afternoon. We stopped by the oldest gothic church in Germany and then headed uphill walking our bikes in the direction of the tower. The road ended, so we ditched our bikes and began the long hike uphill through the woods (there were trails) so we hiked and hiked legs getting sore. We arrived at the top of the hill and found a restaurant that probably has one of the best views in Germany, asked where the tower was and then made our way in that direction. The base of the tower is a nice little cafe that seems like a really cool place that would be on the top of my list if I lived here. it cost one Euro to take the stairs up to the top of the tower. We took many spiraled stairs until we arrived at the top. The view from this tower was amazing. You could see over the hills surrounding the valley. Every part of marburg was visible from there, including the smaller vilages on the outskirts. The giant castle on the other side of the valley was below us and yellow and green fields in the distance were cloaked in fog. We headed home on our bikes and it began to rain, but after such a great surprise, nothing could make it a bad day, not cold weather, rain or wet jeans.
Lesson Learned today: The great things in life are worth the work. (like a breathtaking view after a LONG hike uphill)
p.s. Germans eat rolls way too often, breakfast (with jam or cheese and meat) and dinner (meat and cheese, including liverwurst, gross)…I am starting to hate rolls…However, Döner is the best food that I have ever had! (it’s kinda like a gyro)
Day 7 – Marburg
A Day Out in Marburg
Dirk and I woke up and took our time getting ready. As I was getting ready, I realized how strange all the outlets and light switches looked to me. I mean, sure the outlets have different sized plugs, but the whole faceplate etc is really big. The just seem a little obtrusive. They seem much more utilitarian, where as in America they are kind of hidden or incorporated into the room décor. Anyway, we ate a typical German breakfast, killed some time checking email and what-not, and then hopped on our bikes. We rode on a very nice bike-path that followed the river and went into the city center. We arrived downtown, locked up our bikes and before we went on our way exploring, decided to have an early lunch. We sat at a small café and ordered personal pizzas. I had the Margharita pizza, it was pretty good. After that, we walked through one of the many narrow passages between buildings into the REALLY beautiful part of Marburg.
Downtown Marburg
Small shops, restaurants, and businesses lined the cobblestone road that sloped into the hill. The exteriors of every building were a different color, timbers painted red, blue and brown crisscrossed white stucco walls. Window-boxes overflowed with beautiful flowers. I had never seen such a quaint little city in my life. People walked through the city square, some sitting on a small fountain across the street from the impressive town hall. This was the moment I fell in love with Europe. American towns and cities dreamed of re-creating this kind of feel, but could never come close.
Seeing the Sights
We walked further up the hill towards Marburg castle, which we had visited in the dark one night earlier. In the daylight, the castle was an entirely different. The view from the castle wall was fantastic. Looking across the landscape, I got a much better feel for the city. But, we couldn’t stay at the castle for long, we had a full day planned. We went back to our bikes and started riding across town. Soon we arrived at one of the oldest gothic churches in Germany, the Elisabeth Church. For me, this was a pretty special moment. It was my first time visiting a European cathedral. The stonework was beautiful and the gothic architecture was like nothing I had ever seen before. We spent some time walking through the church just looking around, but soon again we were on our bikes.
Traveling to the Tower
When we were at the castle earlier, we saw a small tower across the valley. It was one of the higher points on the hillside, and it looked kind of cool. When we were in the valley itself, it was one of the two highest landmarks on the skyline (the castle being the other). We pointed our bikes in the direction of the tower and started pedaling. After winding our way through side-streets, we met with a long set of stairs climbing a wooded hill. We tossed our bikes on the hill and started hiking. After the stairs, there was only dirt trail. As Dirk and I hiked through the forest, I began to think about what it would be like if we were in this exact place sixty years earlier. We would have had guns in our hands trying to kill each other. WWII was the war of our Grandparents generation, and today we were hiking through the forest like old friends. It made me happy to think that it was possible for us to be doing what we were doing. After walking for quite some time, we finally arrived at the tower.
Kaiser Wilhelm Tower
We entered the bottom of the Kaiser Wilhelm Tower and found that there was actually a small restaurant at the base of it. To climb the tower, it only cost a Euro. So we paid our way and started climbing the stairs. It was a long way up a spiral staircase but when we reached the top, all our climbing was worth it. We had the best view of the entire city, the surrounding towns and the rolling hills of the area. It really was one of the best views I have ever had of a landscape, and since it was a huge tower, it was a complete 360. As we climbed down the tower stairs, the clouds started to roll in. We hiked back down the hill and as we rode our bikes, rain started to pour down on us. I luckily had packed my rain jacket in my backpack so my upper half and my cameras stayed perfectly dry, my pants on the other hand were completely soaked.
Night Time in Marburg
We arrived back at Dirk’s apartment, dried off and killed some time once again, checking our email and just sitting around. It was much later in the night that we decided to have a late dinner. This time, we we walked into the downtown area of Marburg. We stopped by a series of indoor shops, one of which was served Döner. We ordered our food and walked to the market square. We ate our food as the clock tower chimed twelve midnight. We walked through the quiet streets back to our favorite place to chill, the Castle Walls. We brought some beer in my backpack and sipped it while looking at the city lights below us. We took a quicker way back home, got ready for bed, prayed together, and went to sleep.
Marburg Panorama
This photo shows the tower up on the hillside (view larger)
Marburg from the Tower
This is the full view of Marburg from the Kaiser Wilhelm Tower (view larger)
Google Earth Placemarks for Day 7: 
Open this map
Pictures!
Everyone loves pictures! well I finally figured everything out and while It may be some time before yous see some pictures of the Netherlands (we go there next week and come back to Marburg where a computer and dial-up connection will await us) here are some things to show you what I have been up to. (click on the pictures for larger versions)
Here is a picture of me in front of a beautiful palace in San Soucci Park in Potsdam. There are a number of amaying “Schlössers” here all with their own unique style.
This is me on the stairs of yet another great building in San Soucci, I think a University owns this one…I have no idea who the person in the green is.
Good ole’ wind-crafts (windmills though they don’ mill anything)…quiet, clean and GIANT!
Tonight Dirk and I sat on the wall of this castle, looking over the beautiful town of Marburg. The buildings are so old, the history is in the air, and I want to kick everyone who calls this place home because I am so jealous (I’m pretty sure it is morally wrong to live in such a beautiful town)
Day 6 – Mücke, Marburg
Leaving Mücke
After a short night sleeping on the floor, the whole gang woke up early in the morning to carry on with our travels. My new German friends sang a song on the balcony, and I happily listened while sipping on some hot tea. We packed up our things, hopped in a van (which must have been owned by Günni’s family)and said goodbye to the small village of Mücke. I was excited to start covering some real ground with just Dirk and I. As much fun as it was hanging out with his friends, I really wanted to just get to know Germany and get to know Dirk. We took the van to Gießen, (a larger city close to Mucke) where Dirk and I separated from our friends and caught our train.
Dirk’s Apartment
The train ride didn’t take all that long, and before we knew it, we were in Marburg. We passed a Döner shop as we walked to Dirk’s new apartment. I really liked the feel of Marburg: people living in close proximity with little yards, and cool houses. The red tile roofs is what really made me like it. Dirk’s apartment was pretty much bare. We were the first to sleep the night there. There were some unpacked boxes from his roommates but no real furniture except a floor-type futon. The thing to remember about German apartments is that when the former tenants move out, they take everything with them. Even the kitchen sink. We had bare light bulbs, and nothing but bare pipes in the kitchen. Luckily the bathroom had a toilet and sink (they usually leave that kind of stuff). I didn’t realize how portable kitchens were. Dirk said he and his roommates had a kitchen set-up arranged to come in about a month when everyone moved in.
Settling In
Dirk had some business to take care of so we made a trip to the bank, and then decided to get something to eat. Obviously, we stopped at the Döner shop and got a very tasty lunch. We brought it home, ate it on our boxes and then rested a little bit. Luckily the phone lines were working at the apartment, so we were able to check email and dirk was able to take care of some more apartment/college related stuff. We rested a bit and then made a trip to Aldi. We picked up some things for the next couple of days: grey bread, beer in plastic bottles, sliced meat, and liverwurst (something I learned dirk loved to eat no matter what time of day) and some yogurt. As we walked home, the overcast skies began to spit at us. We chilled out some more and then ate a modest dinner of some of the things we purchased.
Exploring Marburg
After dinner, we decided to go into downtown Marburg. This was my first time seeing what I would call “traditional” German buildings. The large painted timbers crisscrossed white stucco walls. The windowsills were overflowing with colorful flowers and the cobblestone roads were narrow and winding. City centers like this truly make me wish we had more historical areas like this in America. As the sun went down behind the hills, we made our way up towards Marburg castle. The road leading up to the castle was cool enough, but when I saw the castle itself, I was pretty giddy. The view from the castle wall was amazing. It overlooked the entire city. I could see cars flowing by on the highway and city shops turning off lights for the night. Dirk and I threw back a couple of plastic beers we packed in a backpack and then made our way back the to the apartment.
Turning In
When we returned home, I uploaded some travel pictures to flickr, made a quick blog post and then prepared for bed. Dirk and I unrolled the futon, hopped in our sleeping bags, prayed, and then went to sleep.
Google Earth Placemarks for Day 6: Open this map