My morning started with a 7:45 a.m. bus ride to Weiden, which is about 10 minutes from where Kim lives. Needless to say, the bus driver was not very friendly to me when I asked him in English if this bus will take me to the Weiden train station. Five times the driver repeated something to me in German and I finally said I don’t understand, and his response in perfect English was something along the lines of yes, this bus will take me to the train station.
Honestly, there are just a few instances where I can say German people have not been helpful, and this is one of those instances. Anyway, moving right along to the train station, I boarded the 8:35 train to Bayreuth which arrived at 9:28 to be exact. After a quick phone call to Kim and directions to the nearest TI (tourist information) I was on my way. When I arrived at TI, which was about 10 minutes down the road (and a few extra turns; my sense of direction is not that good!)
I approached a young person, because Kim always says they understand English the best, and started planning my day in town. Long story even longer, there was another person who understood English better and she came to assist, as the first girl was getting more confused the longer I talked and asked questions. Unfortunately I cannot remember her name, not that it’s important now, but she suggested the audio tour through the city. When I agreed and handed her my license (because ID is required to checkout equipment), she commented on my Ohio license saying she grew up in Ft. Wayne Indiana which prompted my comment of growing up in Whiting Indiana. The conversation began to flow comfortably as each of us shared our experiences of what brought us to Germany. After several minutes of chit chatting I was ready to tour the city of Bayreuth.
I had approximately six hours to walk around town, taking in sites I was interested in before returning the audio guide and taking a 10 minute bus ride to another highly recommended site by my TI guide. The audio city tour was quite entertaining as the commentary was given by Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia (a German composer and sister to Frederick the Great) and Richard Wagner (German composer). The audio tour provided fascinating history of the town, as well as information about museums, churches, an opera house, gardens, water fountains, government buildings, castles, a hermitage, and many other points of interest. My favorite points of interested included the New Palace and Court Garden (unfortunately pictures were not allowed), the 18th century Margravial Opera house, and the Hermitage and Court Garden both of which I will include pictures.
I spent an enjoyable day walking through the town of Bayreuth and Kim picked me up about 6:45 p.m. at the Hermitage and Court Garden’s. Unfortunately there were a few things I missed so I’m considering a second day trip to include the Sanspareil Rock Garden and Swernitz Castle.
We’ll see if my busy travel schedule allows for another day trip to Bayreuth. One last comment, this small house nestled in between the two large homes is actually a little over two meters, which is about 6 feet wide is currently lived in today. Could you imagine?
