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Walking along the Via Romea Germanica from Stade, near Hamburg, in Germany south through Austria and Italy to Rome.

Sunday 22 April 2018

Meiningen, Bar Neustadt, Münnerstadt, and Schweinfurt – Days 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 along the way.

Despite being laid up in Freidrichroda I was quite sad to go.  I had been treated very well by the hotel, getting bags of ice for my ankle whenever I requested it, was well rested, and had been very comfortable.  The town itself is very pretty, as I had seen on my way to and from the hospital, and in the days that I had stayed there I had seen quite a change in the foliage.  It was now what I call “spring green” – that pale but bright green that new leaves have, with a feathery look about them as they grow to full size.  I caught the train to Gotha where I picked up the ankle bandage that the doctor had recommended and from there made my way to the train station, quite a way from where I had done my bandage shopping.  A young man helped me buy a ticket (as I couldn’t make head nor tail of the machine) even telling me where I would have to change trains and on what platform to move to.
 A street scene in Friedrichroda as I leave
A blossom tree in the village.

One of the two churches in Friedrichroda
The little train that took me and a whole swag of others to Gtha

The problem was that I actually had to make 4 changes (he didn’t know that!) and the last one couldn’t be made till the next day!  This meant that I ended up staying in the town of Meiningen, which before I got ankle issues I would have walked through.  I really enjoyed staying in this pretty town, which by the looks of it is quite cultural hub with its massive theatre.  The tourist office helped me find a room right in the centre of town, which meant that I could slowly meander around the town and have a look.
The Theatre in Meiningen
There were a lot of very large buildings in Meiningen, and the one behind is obviously a very important one.  People were coming in abd out regularly. 
A scene in the park where I watched the world go by for an hour or so.
Stadtkirche (Town Church), Meiningen (above & below)

The next day I sat in the park until it was time to catch the train to Bad Neustadt.  Once there I went straight to the tourist office with two requests – their help to find a room for the night, possibly two, and to try and get me an appointment with a Physio.  I was successful on both counts – a cheapish “pilger” room at a Gasthaus right in the heart of the Markt, AND a physio appointment.  I was worried that I wouldn’t make it in time, and so caught a taxi, but walking back to the town, I could have easily walked it, as it only took about 10 minutes to amble back.

The physio worked wonders on my foot, saying to decide in the morning if I needed a second appointment.  Rather than push myself, I decided I would stay another day, have a second appointment and then head off on the Saturday morning.  Again the tourist office came to the fore booking another appointment for me.  This meant that I could go to the Rathaus and introduce myself to Michael Weiss, a committee member of the Via Romea.  I suspect the staff in the Rathaus were a bit doubtful about this strange woman wanting to speak to their boss, but he came out all smiles and charm.  Again, as it has been almost everywhere on this journey, he was the epitome of help and generosity.  After having a coffee in his office, and discussing the path to come, he took me next door to the church and regaled me with stories about various things within it.
A corner of the Markt in Bad Neustadt, with the spire of the Carmelite church in rear.
My residence for two nights in Bad Neustadt
The little Marien Church I passed on the way back from the Physio.
The Carmelite Church in Bad Neustadt
The beuatiful ceiling inside the church.  
The brother atop the confessional.  After the priest had granted absolution he pulled a string and the Brother would bow in acknowledgment.
This church (a protestant one) is newer, quite grand, but in a simple way (above & below)


With Michael Weiss in his office.

I had company often while I was in this town.  People would chat with me as I sat at cafe’s in the Markt – surprised that I was Australian, and even more surprised that I was walking, and alone.  I had the company of Karin too, who was born in the house that I was staying in, but now lives in Florida.  She was visiting her family who still own the Gasthaus.

I left after breakfast, taking it slowly to just ease my foot back into walking.  It was only a short distance – 12 kms, so was a good day.  I had to use my umbrella for the reason it was designed for the first time – to protect me from the sun.  It certainly made a difference to have my own little patch of shade to walk in.  I can see it is going to be very useful for that purpose.  It is quite amazing the difference in the landscape in a week.  The hillsides are covered in blossoms, the crops have grown – indeed the canola is starting to flower, the grass has grown – so much that there were a couple of places where it had been mown on the road’s edge, and cracks are starting to appear in the soil as it dries out.
This photo is looking towards the Rhön, though it is very distant and consequently hard to see.  Parts of the Rhön are quite high, and it has a very unique landscape of volcanic origin. 
The path passed this massive quarry, beautiful in its starkness,

I stopped and had lunch opposite this church in Strahlungen.

I cant tell you what this tower is called, but I am guessing that what looks like arrow slits makes it a medieval tower, standing all alone in a patch of scrub on the edge of a field. 

I met a few people along the way, stopping and chatting to them.  Michael had talked to me how the Rhön was going to become even more popular in the next few years.    It is an ideal place for hiking, mountain bike riding and skiing.  He also said how this is one place where it is possible to see for miles (at one point over 30 kms) – something unusual in Germany (He was laughing when he was telling me, an Australian, how wonderful that is!!!)  As I climbed the hills out of Bad Neustadt I got wonderful views looking back over the Rhön, being able to pick out some of the landmarks that he had told me about, and the views continued almost the whole way.

My destination, Münnerstadt is an old town, some half timbered houses, medieval walls, and sits in a nice little valley with the River Lauer dividing the new town from the old town.  There are two churches in the town, one having a beautiful wooden sculptured altar piece.  This contrasts markedly in its wooden simplicity with the other church which is in a very showy Rococo style.  The new town slopes down to the river, and leaving the old town one has to go gently up hill away from the river.  Another town that suffered loss and damage during the 30 years war.
Stadtpfarrkirche Maria Magdalena .....
......and the beautiful wooden altar. 
and the rear of the church
The Rococo style Catholic church (above and below), once part of a very important abbey

The Rathaus (left) and my hotel (back right) in Münnerstadt.
The Obere Tor, Münnerstadt - 1293

Today I would have had 27 kms to walk, but decided that perhaps that might be pushing my foot recovery a bit far.  As it was Sunday and I had no way of getting assistance from the Tourist Office I decided that I would catch the train.  I bought my ticket and sat and waited.  Fortunately a man came onto the platform and told me that the train was not running today (track repair) and there was a bus instead.  Thus I entered Schweinfurt by bus, walked into the city (quite a long walk), feeling relieved that my foot felt pretty good, found a hotel and went out to explore.  Explore means:-  visit the church (have a sing if no-one is there), find an Eiscafe – preferably in the Markt, watch the world go by for an hour or so over an ice-cream, and then meander back to the hotel by a circuitous route, maybe checking tomorrows exit on the way!
 I passed this interesting clock on the way into Schweinfurt.
St Johannis Church, Schweinfurt - 1640  
 When I saw these cuts in the bricks my mind went back to what Thomas had told me that when men were heading off to war they cut a little from the stone to take a bit of home with them.  Not sure if this is the case here, but it looks similar.
,,,, and the view from my hotel
 The Rathaus, Schweinfurt - first worked on in 1397
Tomorrow's directions (bottom left)
The pollarded plane trees with their first leaves.

As you may have guessed the name Schweinfurt has something to do with pigs.  However apparently it refers to wild boars rather than domestic pigs.  The furt means ford and so this was a place where the wild boar crossed the river or literally “swine ford”.  What river you ask?  The River Main – pronounced Mine.  I have yet to explore that yet, but will be walking beside it for quite a way tomorrow.  As I have walked today my foot has felt pretty good, so I am feeling pretty confident about starting tomorrow.  Unfortunately I think I will have to leave before the tourist office opens so will have to trust that I will be able to find accommodation in a town a little short of the suggested destination.

5 comments:

  1. Great to hear from you again. Loving the village stories & photos. Clearly off the tourist trail. Very wise to be making haste slowly with the injury. Enjoy!

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  2. Very off the tourist trail, mostly, and just delightful. The injury gets better every day, though pounding ashpalt cycle ways is a bit of a worry. Makes one a candidate for all sorts of tendonitis - I know - I've had just about every one!!

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  3. Janet: I just discovered your various blogs covering your fascinating wanderings. I'm an American writer/illustrator of books for young readers; I'm currently researching an historic period in which German clerics possibly traveled la Via Romea Germanica. I live in Roma, and would love to meet you when you arrive. Is there some way to contact you privately by email to hopefully arrange this? I do hope so. In the meantime, buon viaggio! -- Susan Milord

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  4. Hello Susan, I am quite a way from Roma as yet, but would love to catch up with you (though I am not sure how I could help you). I have gmail account. You can contact me by putting the name jlmagpie in front of the usual gmail address. Hope that makes sense. Cheers, Janet

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  5. Hi Janet It’s good to see you’re on the move again! I hope you fully recover as there’s lots of climbing in the Süd Tirol part of the walk.Ive got about 1300m to do today! Paul

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