Book IV ~ Bonus Chapter Part 1 ~ Trawling to Thuringia

26-Sep-2021

We’ve been to the easternmost point of Germany! (see Book IV ~ Chapter 4 ~ Görlitz Gaiety ~ Eastern Escapades)

We’ve been to the northernmost point of Germany! (see Book IV ~ Chapter 8 ~ Sylt Stray Sillyness)

We’ve been to the westernmost point of Germany! (see Book IV ~ Chapter 12 ~ Greenbelt Grounds of Geilenkirchen)

And we’ve also been to the southernmost point of Germany! (see Book IV ~ Extra Chapter ~ The Heroic Haldenwang Hike)

But where haven’t we been yet? That's right! The very centre of Germany is still missing!

However, unlike with the four cardinal points, which are quite clearly defined, the question is how do you determine the centre of a such complex shape as a country like Germany? Now, the good news is that some smart people have already mulled this over… while the bad news is that they all come to different conclusions. As such, there is not only one centre point of Germany, but, in fact, ten of them. For example, you can put all of Germany in a rectangle made of meridians and parallels and then take the centre of that, you could connect the eastern- and westernmost points as well as the northern- and southernmost ones and take the place where those lines intersect, you could take an inner circle or an outer circle, you could make a cardboard model and take the point of balance, and so on and so forth.

Going through all of them would result in a trip of about 200km, which is considerably more than Robert and I have time for. However, five of them lie reasonably close to one another for the two of us to cover them on a multi-day hiking tour, and so we decide to depart for Eisenach ("Iron Stream"),from where we can - over the course of a five-day trip - hike through said five centres of Germany before arriving at Mühlhausen ("Mill Housing").

So, that's the plan. Arrangements are soon made, and thus, one morning I set out once again at the crack of dawn onto a new journey. Incidentally, exactly one year ago today was the day when Robert and I returned from our grand tour around Germany (see Book IV ~ Chapter 15 ~ A Harrowing Homerun).

Since its only shortly after 6:30 on a Sunday morning, this time around the Untermenzing station really is devoid of other people, and not even ravens are around to keep me company today.

The S-Bahn arrives shortly. Interestingly this one is one of the rare semi-old trains that I still remember from my childhood days. There is still one older model I remember - white with an orange stripe and brace-like door handles - but that's about it. Unlike some other cities, Munich regularly replaces its trains with newer models.

Soon enough, I arrive at the Hauptbahnhof, where I get myself some baked goods for the trip and meet up with Robert. I also take note that the big construction in the main hall that was here the last time around (see Book IV ~ Extra Chapter ~ The Heroic Haldenwang Hike) appears to have finished by now.

And then, we make for our train, a double-deck Regionalexpress that is already waiting for its passengers.

Now, our journey today should be just a little bit roundabout. Since we're headed for the heart of Germany - which ironically is one of its most remote regions - and have once again elected to go there using only regional trains such as to make use of the very affordable Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket ("Crosswise-Through-The-Country-Ticket"), we are going to travel on a total of five different trains with transfer times as short as 9 minutes. This promises to be exciting. First, we are headed for Nürnberg ("Just a Mountain"), from there to Bamberg ("Bam Mountain"), then onwards to Schweinfurt ("Pig Ford"), onwards to Grimmenthal ("Grim Valley") - where we also cross over into Thuringia - and then finally to Eisenach.

The first leg of our train ride today should at the same time also be the longest, taking us…

Northwards to Nürnberg

Ride Duration: 2:39h
Approximate Distance: 239km
Average Speed: 90km/h

The train to Nürnberg is kinda full, but not too full. I’d say that about half the seats are occupied, which is more than most we’ve seen on our big Germany tour last year I suppose the Green Shnolz really is gradually coming to an end.

The direct route from Munich to Nürnberg leads pretty much straight north across Ingolstadt (“In Gold City”). However, due to reasons only known to higher powers, our train runs on a slightly more roundabout track, passing such places like Ergoldsbach (“He Gold’s Stream”), Undorf (“Un-Village”) and Neumarkt (“New Market”) along the way. Actually, this makes the first part of the trip the same as the first part of our trip around Germany a year ago (see Book IV ~ Chapter 1 ~ A New Departure), though the tracks diverge at Regnieburg… sorry, at Regensburg.

After leaving Munich behind, we first pass through the flat gravel plains around Munich, before entering the gently rolling hills of Niderbayern (“Lower Bavaria”). Eventually, we cross the mighty Donau after departing from Regensburg, just south of where it is joined by the river Naab (“Nave”). By now, we are in the Oberpfalz (“Upper Palatinate”), where the forests grow somewhat more numerous, and we should remain within this particular region until shortly before Nürnberg, where we then cross over into Mittelfranken (“Middle Franconia”).



We arrive at Nürnberg in time, and with this being the terminus of this train, a lot of people soon crowd the platform in search of wherever it is they need to go.

With over 15 minutes to catch our next train, there's no need for us to rush. However, since this is one of those trains where part of the train is going another way from some station, we're a bit confused about which part to enter at first, especially since the train enters the station the wrong way around. I think that's a typical German thing. At least I never had problems like that in Japan. And in the end, it turns out that it wouldn't have mattered either way, because the stop where we need to get up is still before the one where the train is split, but that, too, was not clearly communicated.

Anyway, with us now safely aboard the right train, we are all set for the next leg which would have us…

Brushing by Bamberg

Ride Duration: 0:40h
Approximate Distance: 63km
Average Speed: 94km/h

This next leg should be significantly shorter. In fact, the ride to Nürnberg is almost as long as all the other four legs of our trip today combined. Along the way we mostly follow the run of the river Regnitz, and with it the northern half of the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, one of Europe's most important artificial waterways, since it provides direct passage from the North Sea to the Black Sea without having to go all the way around the Iberian Peninsula. We also pass by the towns of Erlangen ("Gain"), Forchheim ("Pine Home") and Hirschaid ("Stag Heath").

Now, this train is maybe a little bit fuller than the last one, but there's still plenty of room for the two of us to find nice seats… and then promptly change them once we realize that the train departs in the other direction.

Along the way, we once again pass mostly by fields and through some forest, though quite possibly due to the fact that we are now more or less following the run of the aforementioned Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, there are somewhat more towns and villages along the way. Also, along the way we come across an interesting piece of track the construction of which is as of yet still in progress. Also, we pass by some typically German Schrebergärten, and halfway along the way cross over into Oberfranken (“Upper Franconia”), which is named that way because it is always halfway up into the Mittelgebirge (“Middle Mountains”) that rim the northern edge of Bavaria.



In Bamberg, too, we arrive with plenty of time to change trains. With over 20 minutes to spare, there's no need to rush. As such, we take our time to notice that this station can do many things: Literature, cooking, trains. Sadly, though, it does not prove to be very responsive to my subsequent order of one Kitsune Udon to go.

Anyway, we shortly arrive on the platform from where our next train is scheduled to depart…

…and soon thereafter the Regionalbahn that will take us towards Schweinfurt arrives to pick us up.

This next leg of our trip should have us follow…

The Meandering Main

Ride Duration: 0:37h
Approximate Distance: 57km
Average Speed: 92km/h

The route to Schweinfurt takes us along the river Main, which at this point is flowing left and right quite freely, and has many small lakes beside it. Though the river itself is barely a hundred meters wide, it still "occupies" a strip about 500m across. Along the way, the train also passes the towns of Gleisenau ("Tracks Meadow"), Haßfurt ("Hare Ford") and Schonungen ("Clemencies").

This time around, the train is yet again a little bit more crowded than the last one, and Green-Shnolz-conform seats are becoming a bit of a rarity.

Now, while our route takes us along the Main, I shouldn’t actually get to capture it on video since the entirety of this leg runs along the north bank, and I’m filming out towards the north. Instead, I get to see the hills of the northern bank, the slopes of which are occasionally covered with vineyards – after all, the entirety of Franconia is wine country. Since the summers here are usually quite sunny, that makes the conditions ideal for growing grapes and also all sorts of citrus fruit. In fact, I believe we have passed a lemon orchard right there. Incidentally, we have now also passed from Oberfranken to Unterfranken (“Lower Franconia”) about halfway along this leg.



In Schweinfurt, we only have 12 minutes to change. Fortunately, our train is once again on time (is it just me or are these regional trains significantly more punctual than the long-distance trains?), so we have no trouble getting to the right platform before the train arrives.

The train to Grimmenthal arrives soon after. This one is a Regionalexpress, and appears to be of the same make as the modern S-Bahn of Munich.

With that, we make ourselves comfortable inside the train, as we now should have no more troubles…

Getting to Grimmenthal

Ride Duration: 0:49h
Approximate Distance: 74km
Average Speed: 91km/h

Near the end of this leg, we should cross over from Bayern to Thüringen. Along the way we pass through places such as Ebenhausen ("Flat Housing"), Münnerstadt ("Men City") and befittingly, shortly before passing over into Thüringen, Mellrichstadt ("Girlie Land City").

Again, this train is reasonably full, though maybe a little less so than our last train.

The ride to Grimmenthal takes us mostly lengthwise through a network of shallow valleys housing little streams and small rivers, amongst which is also the Fränkische Saale (“Franconian Halls”). As such, we occasionally pass beneath some bridges of federal road, such as that of the B279 near Herschfeld (“Rule Field”) and the somewhat tall-ish bridge of the B285 just after Mellrichstadt.



In Grimmenthal, we arrive without any delay, which I quite good since this is our shortest transfer, with only 9 minutes to spare. This is made yet more interesting by the fact that the Grimmenthal station features a rather unique design, with our arriving and departing platforms being separated by a stretch of road.

Anyway, we manage to make our connection, and catch a train of the STB (Süd Thüringen Bahn = "South Thuringia Rail"), which like so many trains that are not of the DB is of pretty modern make.

With that, we managed to make our last connection for today, and now can relax and sit back as this last train starts…

Winding the Werra Way

Ride Duration: 1:15h
Approximate Distance: 68km
Average Speed: 54km/h

Our last leg to Eisenach should for the most part leads us along the Werra, which is a river that we should yet encounter later on during this particular journey. Along the way we pass by the towns of Schwallungen ("Onrushings"), Bad Salzungen ("Bath Saltounges") – where we leave the Werra behind – and Marksuhl ("Marrow Wallow"). Also, this time around the train stops at literally every station, so despite this leg being shorter than the one from Schweinfurt, it takes significantly longer.

This last train is also the least crowded, with barely a quarter of all seats taken, so we pretty much have free choice of where to sit. In the end, we take a seat near the very front, and yet this train is so short and open that we can see all the way through to the back.

For as long as we stay in the valley of the Werra, the terrain is mostly flat with fields and occasional forests. The Werra itself is mostly hidden from view by a row of trees and bushes, but occasionally we also get to see some of its riverside ponds.Shortly after we cross the Werra – which up here is barely 20m wide – for the last time and subsequently leave it behind, we enter the forested hills to the south of Eisenach, and by the time we emerge from them we are already in the middle of the town.



Finally –, after an array of train ride that took a total of seven hours from start to finish – we arrive at Eisenach. Had we elected to take long-distance trains instead, the whole trip would have lasted only 4 hours instead of 7, however, the price would have been about four times as high as what we paid, so I figure this was worth it. Also, we got to see more of the landscape that way.

Now, all that remains for us to do is to…

Walk to the Wolfgang

Distance: 2.1km
Ascents: 25m
Duration: 0.5h

Our stay place today is still a few kilometres away from the station, so we need to walk there. Compared to what still lies ahead of us on this journey, this is only a very short distance, and yet with all our luggage on our backs it gives us a first feel of what we have yet to expect. For the most part, we follow the course of the Mühlgraben ("Mill Ditch") – a small stream running through the city that used to power a mill – but near the end we need to walk a bit up the hillside to get to our stay place.

Right outside the station, the town of Eisenach presents itself in a diverse light, with modern buildings starkly contrasting with the old houses, at least along the main street.

The back roads, meanwhile, paint a much more traditional picture of the city.

Our final challenge for this stray should be the Wolfgang, which is not only a typical German given name, but in this case also the name for a somewhat steep road up the hillside. It translates to "Wolf Corridor".

Climbing up the somewhat steep road with all our luggage is quite strenuous. However, in the end, we make it and arrive at our stay place for tonight, the Pension Metilstein.

There, we check in, stow away our luggage in our room, and promptly proceed to go out again. After all, today is still far from over, and we yet want to visit the first of our five targeted centres of Germany. However, the tale of the five centres is one that deserves a chapter of its own, so stay tuned for the next chapter of the Travelling Fox Blog!