I know, we pack a lot into our travels, always trying to fill every day as much as we can. A reasonably sunny Sunday morning and a rental car in the garage was an open invitation to go out and find some fun.
We decided to head northwards and discover somewhere new – Marburg, a medieval university town on the “Märchenstraße” – the fairytale road of the Brothers Grimm.
Just over an hour after leaving the city, we’d parked the car and were ready to explore, thankful of the helpful map which was posted at the entrance to the car park.
The thing is, this flat map offered no clue to the topography of the town and seeing the castle perched high above where we stood, we knew we were in for some exercise.
Thankfully, there were lifts!
A quick ride brought us out into the old town; a pedestrianised area of cobbled streets and beautiful buildings clustered around a market place.
This is the town of Sophie of Brabant and in the corner of the marketplace, there was a rather elegant statue of her and her son, Heinrich.
Only now, do I realise that I failed to take a photograph of her finely sculpted skirts and elegant stance, because this is a lovely figure. But of course, someone else has taken the photograph that I didn’t…
But never mind mooching around here, waiting for the clock to chime eleven, there are places to see, a castle to visit - and steps to climb.
Oh, just a minute…the clock strikes eleven and the bird perching above the window sounds a rather weedy “toot” from high up above us all. Is that it?
It would appear so, yes. Taking a last look at this lovely figure of St Elizabeth (Sophie’s mother and founder of the church bearing her name here in Marburg) on the side of the town hall, we can put it off no longer.
It’s time to go up to the castle. We choose to walk up a steep pathway rather than take steps up there and from time to time I stop to take a picture (or more truthfully, get my breath back)
The views from the pathway are lovely and the fresh, clear air is perfect for such a walk.
The crooked tower of the Marienkirche was clear to see from this angle, in fact, the whole roof looked decidedly “freeform”
Lovely, though – especially those little attic windows.
In fact, I thought the best bit about being up here was the view over the medieval rooftops, the motorway there in the background in stark contrast to these beautiful slate roofs.
The castle itself, now part of the university, wasn’t open to look around and we contented ourselves with looking out rather than in.
We liked the way the houses are built high into that small valley over there, looking like a flow of lava coming from some volcano.
Around the other side, the twin spires of the Elizabeth church could be seen, right down there in the lower town.
By now, though, we were feeling peckish and making our way back down to the marketplace by a different route, we stopped to gaze at this beautiful house. Actually, it was a good reason to rest a couple of aching knees and agree that on occasions, the way down is as tough going as the way up!
Taking photographs in such a narrow street, it’s hard to do this beautiful house justice and the light wasn’t that good now the sun had gone behind a cloud. But look at those wonderful architectural details, the little windows, turrets and gables.
Isn’t it a great colour scheme, too?
But lunch is calling and we spotted a likely place on our way up the hill earlier. We choose a table for two in the sunshine and with our hefeweizen, schnitzel and cheese spaetzle are content for an hour or so.
Dessert is to be found further down the street!
Returning to Frankfurt for another concert this evening, we agreed how great it is to be back in Germany. We feel very comfortable here and our short weekend jolly has been a delight!
