Short Trip with new Car Paint

Over the long weekend around the Day of German Unity, we decided to go on a short trip.
It was our first little getaway with Felía since she got her brand-new paint job. And she was shining in all her glory.

Having already been to and around Jüterbog twice for our motorbike licences, we finally wanted to take a closer look at this area.

Friday, October 3rd

Kloster Zinna

So, on Friday we set off, heading first to Kloster Zinna to visit the monastery of the same name. Unfortunately, despite what we had been told on the phone beforehand, visiting the monastery including the museum was not possible, as recent construction work had not yet been officially approved. So all that was left for us to explore was the distillery and the associated church.
The admission price to the distillery museum included a tasting of the local monastery schnapps, “Zinnaer Klosterbruder”. This herbal liqueur is distilled from various carefully selected herbs and spices, giving it a mild, almost Christmassy flavour in this blend.
The selection of herbs, spices and dried fruits, such as orange peel, was held up to our noses in a preserving jar for us to smell: wow, that smelled delicious! You could certainly have brewed a lovely wintery Advent tea from this.

Then we were finally allowed to try the liqueur. And how could it be otherwise: we found the concoction very tasty, and thus significantly better and more pleasant than many other herbal schnapps.
However, we decided against taking a bottle of the stuff home with us. When on earth would the two of us have managed to finish it?
Interestingly, the schnapps was only “developed” by a tavern keeper after the monastery had ceased operations. Nevertheless, the herbal blend had already been developed during the monastery's active years and used for medicinal purposes. Many of the herbs came from the monastery garden. Some more exotic ingredients were collected during the abbot's travels. He travelled regularly to France, Italy and the Nordic countries.
In addition, the gentleman at the ticket office told us a great deal about monastic life at Zinna Abbey back then, so we had a very vivid picture of what it must have been like at the time.

Afterwards, we headed to the adjacent church, where a volunteer lady also had plenty to tell us about the church's construction.
Interestingly, there is a side aisle here built from wickerwork and plaster. Consequently, the church has to take great care to ensure it doesn't get too damp and cold, nor too hot, so as not to damage the structure. We were also treated to a rare private tour of the altar. Here, the lady showed us a wood carving depicting a door flanked by two angels. If you look beneath the feet of the angel on the right, you will discover a face there. This is said to represent the devil's grimace. The artwork is intended to symbolise that evil has no chance in this church, as it is being trampled underfoot by angels.
There are also beautiful paintings on the altar that appear quite modern, but were simply affixed to the church façade. The wall paintings were commissioned by a noble family. In the process, old frescoes from the monastic era were presumably painted over. Even with the most modern techniques, Zinna Abbey has not yet really had the opportunity to verify this. As the descendants of the noble family still prohibit the removal of the paintings, a reconstruction of the original frescoes has not yet taken place.

Jüterbog

We continued on to Jüterbog itself. We were already familiar with the little town from the time we did the intensive course for our motorbike licences. Back then, we hadn't had the chance to explore the place.
On arrival, we found a small Oktoberfest taking place on the town hall square. Unfortunately, it wasn't very busy in the marquee at lunchtime, so we simply strolled across the square past the stalls and found it hard to resist sampling the delicacies. Instead, we turned the corner into a traditional pub, whose landlord is said to have outwitted the Devil and Death. Here, the two of us enjoyed half a duck, which was a substantial portion even for both of us.
But our real destination was St. Nikolai Church, which we wanted to visit. Above all, we wanted to climb the church towers, which are connected at a dizzying height by a narrow bridge. From there, we were treated to a wonderful view over the surrounding countryside and the former city walls and towers of Jüterbog.
Afterwards, we strolled a little further through the narrow streets lined with numerous half-timbered houses and on to a charming city gate.

Shifting Sand Dune

After that, we wanted to visit the largest shifting sand dune in Brandenburg, located on a nearby military training area. After the navigation system had initially led us astray and sent us to a spot from which we couldn't continue, we had to drive quite a way back to reach a small car park.
From there, we walked across a former military site (with plenty of warning signs advising visitors not to stray too far from the paths due to unexploded ordnance) to the beautiful sand dune we wanted to climb.
October showed itself from its best side and treated us to warm sunshine. We soon realised, much to our regret, that we hadn't brought a basket with us to go mushroom picking. If you knew what you were doing, you could have collected plenty of specimens here. Andrea was a bit sad that she knew nothing about them, and Frank said he would only take the spongy ones, not the gilled ones, as he didn't know his way around gilled mushrooms.
However, we hadn't brought any cooking equipment or frying oil with us for the short trip in the van, so we left it at that and simply admired these wonderful creations of nature.

The path first leads to a former bunker called “Wurzerberg”, which offers a lovely view of the sand dune.
That was exactly where we wanted to go, so off we went, into “the desert” in the middle of nowhere.
It was quite funny: right in the middle of the landscape, a huge dune suddenly rises up, so that all you can see for miles around is sand and you might think you were really somewhere in the desert.
On our way back to the car, we met a mushroom picker who had made quite the catch. His large basket was filled to the brim with chanterelles (which we hadn't spotted at all), along with plenty of red-capped boletes that we had seen everywhere. He had even found a few porcini mushrooms. He mentioned that there hadn't been many chanterelles this time, so he had simply picked other varieties instead. Feeling a bit envious (also because of his mushroom knowledge), we watched him as he moved on.

Bad Belzig

Next, we continued on to Treuenbrietzen. We had only planned a quick stop there, as we weren't quite sure whether it would be worth visiting. The small town did have a few charming houses, some of them half-timbered, but in the end we didn't stay long. Bad Belzig is probably more worth seeing.
And that's exactly how it turned out.
Here we found a lovely old town, with even more beautiful half-timbered houses. As it was getting late, however, hunger drove us to a restaurant that sounded interesting: Nepalese. As neither of us had ever been to Nepal before and we'd never seen a restaurant like this anywhere (even in big cities - though we'd never explicitly looked for one either), it was clear that we wanted to eat there.
However, when we sat down at the table and looked at the menu, we were puzzled. The menu was full of Chinese dishes. Oh, the décor and furnishings of the restaurant looked rather Chinese too. That explained the beckoning cats everywhere and the typical red lanterns.
Andrea asked the waitress whether the menu had changed, as we'd actually seen a different one outside on the terrace and by the steps.
No, that's a different place. We'd have to go back outside and then turn left around the corner.
OK, so we looked outside the terrace again to see if we could go round the corner, but that wasn't the case. However, there was another entrance opposite the Chinese restaurant, with “Café” written on it. When we peered inside more closely, we also saw the typical colourful Nepalese flags decorating the ceilings and walls. We were clearly in the right place.
The food was sensationally delicious and had influences we recognise from an Indian restaurant. We were delighted. And there was so much of it that we had the rest packed up to take away. So we had a little lunch snack ready for another day.

Exhausted but full, we drove to a beautiful parking spot where a hiking trail begins. There are two sets of wooden benches with tables for picnicking.

Saturday, October 4th

The next morning, we woke up just before sunrise. On the horizon, the sky was glowing in vibrant shades of red and orange. Not long after, we were treated to the sight of a beautiful, full rainbow.

We then headed back into the town of Bad Belzig. We wanted to look for somewhere to have breakfast.
Unfortunately, all the places we'd found online were closed because of the bank holiday weekend.
So we walked through the little town and headed for the spa gardens. Unfortunately, however, these were blocked off by a construction hoarding. On the way back, we strolled through the narrow streets and, after a few detours, ended up - quite unexpectedly - at Eisenhardt Castle. It was very beautiful, with a lovely courtyard featuring a fountain and a castle tower. In the middle of the courtyard, we came across a small building with seating and a sign in front of it. The sign revealed that breakfast is served here every Saturday and Sunday from 9 am.
We were still a bit early, so we had a look around the castle and walked along the castle wall to the remains of several watchtowers, before returning to have breakfast. But somehow the advertising didn't seem to be accurate, as here too it was probably due to the public holiday that they hadn't stuck to the details. What a pity!

Magdeburg

So we drove on to Magdeburg, our actual destination. We'd planned to go out for a nice meal here that evening to celebrate Andrea's birthday. But first, it was time for breakfast at a bakery - and a coffee, of course.
Refreshed, we set off to explore Magdeburg. The first highlight was just around the corner: the largest - and, sadly, the last - building designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Built on a site covering more than 5,000 m², the building features two inner courtyards and now houses shops, cafés, restaurants, offices, a hotel and flats. The building replaced an old prefabricated block from the GDR era and is now a real eye-catcher.
Guided tours of the Hundertwasser House, including a visit to a show flat, are offered. We found this very exciting and were keen to take part in such a tour. Unfortunately, everything was fully booked for Saturday. However, we were able to reserve two places for ourselves for Sunday. This worked out well, as the lovely café next door advertises breakfast from 9:00 am, so we reserved a table there straight away.

After we had walked around the Hundertwasser House, we found ourselves directly opposite St Mary's Abbey Church and the adjoining Our Lady's Abbey, which is now an art museum. We had actually intended to turn right here towards the cathedral, but a barrier blocked our path. Apparently, a medieval festival was taking place here. But where was the entrance?
We suspected it was behind the monastery and so walked round it. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any further there either, so we walked down to the Elbe and then followed the barrier to find an entrance. Unfortunately, we only found an emergency exit, where, luckily for us, there were security guards. At last we received the long-awaited, albeit sobering, information: The only access to the festival is via the cathedral square. If only we'd walked the other way round.
But since we're here anyway, we might as well continue along the old city wall, walk all the way round the festival grounds and then reach the cathedral from the other side. This gave us the chance to see the cathedral from a different perspective.
We decided to visit the cathedral first and check out the festival afterward. The Magdeburg Cathedral, like many churches in eastern Germany, is rather simple on the inside. Still, it's worth stepping in to take a look and especially to see the organ. Whether the €2.00 photography fee is worth it is something everyone can decide for themselves.

If there's a festival on, we're bound to go and have a look. For the 15th time, the city of Magdeburg hosted the King Otto Festival. On Cathedral Square, the square behind the monastery, on the meadow by Fürstenwallstraße, along the city walls and in the garden of the Möllenvogtei, there were numerous stalls selling handcrafted goods and delicious food, as well as stages hosting a variety of medieval performances. Despite a light drizzle, we strolled across the huge festival grounds and watched a hilarious knights' show.
We stopped at one stall and couldn't help but start laughing. Alongside mead in all sorts of varieties and other spirits, they were serving the “Doppelten Uwe”. Of course, this had to be drunk in honour of Andrea's birthday and in memory of her late husband. It would have made him laugh too and prompted him to try the mixed tipple. This “Doppelten Uwe” consisted of a herbal schnapps and rum. Both must have been very tasty on their own, because together the drink tasted absolutely delicious.
We also loved the idea of a small children's carousel and a little swing carousel, both powered entirely by hand. Since brooms were attached underneath the seats of the swing carousel, it looked like a bunch of little witches flying through the air.

We also stopped at one stall. Here, a vendor was selling his board games. However, the game boards had been replaced by pieces of leather, which also served as packaging. And the classic game pieces had been replaced by coloured gemstones. Moreover, there were not only the familiar games, such as Ludo, chess, nine men's morris and backgammon, but also many other games that probably existed back in the Middle Ages or somewhere else in the world and are unknown here.
Two wooden tables had been set up in a nearby square, each bearing two of these unfamiliar board games etched into the surface, with the instructions included. This was the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at the games and consider which ones we might find interesting enough to buy. The board sizes and game pieces were compact, so one could certainly treat oneself to such a game for the journey. And at some point, there's bound to be a rainy day when we'll be spending time in the Felía. We do already have a small collection of cards and other games with us, but the unfamiliar and the new appealed to us.

Later, we did indeed stop by the stallholder's stand and had a long chat with him. He told us about his other visits to medieval festivals and therefore knows quite a few lovely towns in Germany. But he also told us about his trip to India, where he eventually ran out of money and then began looking after someone's goats and sheep in exchange for food and accommodation.
That's exactly how we'd imagined it - that we'd do something similar to extend our time travelling. So, quite unexpectedly, we'd found a great conversation partner, and in return we told him what we were currently doing and what we still had planned.
Apparently, he enjoyed the conversation just as much, because he spontaneously decided to gift us another game. Once again, we were allowed to choose the color of the leather and the game pieces, and he packed everything into a small pouch.
So, without him even knowing it was Andrea's birthday, we ended up receiving a birthday present 😉.
Anyone else interested in games like these, who doesn't want to or can't make a special trip to a medieval market, can find the full range online at www.historische-brettspiele.de .

Because of the fantastic festival, we almost forgot that we'd actually planned to see other sights in Magdeburg. As our wristbands allowed us back into the festival grounds later, we made our way to Elbauenpark. The Millennium Tower rises up in the middle of this park. At the entrance, however, we were told that the last admission was in about 25 minutes and the tower would close completely at 5 pm. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough time to visit it. Besides, we wouldn't have been able to visit the butterfly house either. Oh well, we'll just have to go tomorrow. Unfortunately, no! Due to a marathon and a football match, the park was completely closed on Sunday. What a shame.
But perhaps another opportunity will arise to visit the facilities. But only until the end of October, then it's off for the winter break.

In the evening, Andrea was to be properly celebrated for her birthday. We chose a restaurant a little further out, which is highly rated on Google and listed in the Michelin Guide. Even compared to other restaurants, we found the menu on offer exciting.
The evening was absolutely delicious. Just to give you a little taste of what was on offer as a three-course menu: we were served a tasty tartare with whipped nut butter and a small roll as an amuse-bouche, enjoyed a trio of starters, and savoured exquisite pike-perch and incredibly tender saddle of venison. Sensational! For dessert, there was a fruity passion fruit tart, a sorbet of spicy pineapple with cream, and a little crispy treat.
We think that you can and should treat yourself to this every now and then if you want to enjoy the world. And, of course, fine dining is part of that. We're also well aware that you can't do this every day. But that's not likely to happen any time soon, as other costs - even if it's just petrol - can also add up and quickly become expensive.
All in all, we can wholeheartedly recommend Landhaus Hadrys for its atmosphere and fantastic cuisine.

Thanks to the wristbands, we were able to return to the festival grounds as many times as we liked on the same day. We took advantage of this after dinner to experience the atmosphere of the festival at night.
In fact, we found a few spots, such as along the city walls, that we hadn't seen before. Here, among other things, there was the chance to shoot a crossbow or attack an entire castle with catapults. The smells and aromas from the food stalls could easily have tempted us to feast on the selection of game goulash, suckling pig, pork knuckle with sauerkraut, or crêpes, waffles, roasted almonds and much more. But after the sumptuous dinner, there was no chance of that.
On the field where the jousting had taken place earlier in the day, there was now a fire show featuring two women who swallowed fire, performed fire dances and demonstrated their trapeze skills on a hoop. We' already seen many different shows of this kind, but these two actually had a few tricks up their sleeves that we hadn't seen before.
On the way to the exit, Andrea fancied a bedtime treat in the form of candyfloss at a stall (how many years had it been since she'd last tried it?) and Frank treated himself to a few quark balls. Mmmhhh - now, stuffed to the brim, off to bed.

We made our way to our sleeping spot, which was situated on the banks of the Ehle, a tributary of the Elbe. It was quite peaceful here, apart from the occasional sound of a train passing nearby or cars on the road. But that didn't bother us in the slightest and we slept well there.

Sunday, October 5th

After a pleasant night, we headed back to the Hundertwasser House the next day, first to have breakfast. We weren't the only ones who'd booked a table, as the room soon filled up and the staff at the Café “Alt Magdeburg” had their hands full.
Afterwards, we popped into the Kieser Studio Magdeburg for a workout, so that we'd have the energy to climb the towers of the Hundertwasser House as part of the guided tour.
Friedensreich Hundertwasser did not live to see the completion of his work in Magdeburg, as he passed away whilst travelling there.
But the building is definitely a great attraction in the city, one that also greatly enhances it. During the guided tour, we were given lots of fascinating information about the building and the ideas behind the unusual structure of Hundertwasser's works. For example, there is the so-called “window right”. Every resident has the right to design the area around their windows, which they can reach without assistance, themselves. Surprisingly, only two residents at the “Green Citadel” have made use of this so far. The craftsmen were also given a great deal of creative freedom during construction. This led to the name Hundertwasser being affixed to the façade. Apparently, one of the site managers didn't like this, and the “H” was removed again. Now, only “UNDERTWASSER” can be read on the façade.
From a show flat, the guided tour took us up an external spiral staircase to one of the roof terraces (despite his fear of heights, Frank mastered the challenge!!!). The spectacular view over the city and of the churches and the cathedral is truly overwhelming.

Afterwards, we headed to the Gruson Greenhouses. The Gruson Greenhouses are a tropical botanical garden that preserves and continues the botanical legacy of the Magdeburg industrialist and plant collector Hermann Gruson (1821-1895).
A visit is well worth it, as there is a wide variety of plants here that are otherwise native to other latitudes and climate zones around the world. In beautiful greenhouses, each with its own specific ventilation and/or humidity levels, you can explore and marvel at the plant life. From giant water lilies from the Brazilian Amazon region to palms and succulents that actually grow in Africa, to orchids and a wide variety of carnivorous plants, or the world of German herbs: when it came to the most diverse species of plants, there was everything one could wish for.
It was, of course, fascinating to realise time and again that we had already seen some of these plants in the wild in various parts of the world and to discuss whether the other person had also noticed that particular plant.

Brandenburg

Somewhat worn out by the wide range of temperatures and humidity levels we'd “wandered through” in such a short space of time, we headed back east and stopped off in the town of Brandenburg. Although we were a little too late to visit the cathedral from the inside, we were able to explore the old town even without it being open.
We found the Ratskeller in the town hall, where we were able to have a light dinner. Frank had actually fancied a salad, but Andrea ended up eating that, as he decided on the spot to go for the Ossi-Jägerschnitzel, which he hadn't eaten for a long time and was delighted with. Although the Jägerschnitzel came with a tomato and cream sauce instead of the classic tomato sauce, and ribbon pasta instead of macaroni, it was still delicious.

Afterwards, we headed back to Fürstenwalde, where, though tired and exhausted from all the exciting experiences, we slipped into bed feeling content.