Coburg - Eisenach - Frankfurt

Today we left Nuremberg and drove to Eisenach. On the way, we stopped at the Coburg Castle. Most folks know about Wartburg, but fewer about Coburg. We'll get to the Wartburg, but Coburg is the Castle where Luther stayed in 1530 as the Diet of Augsburg was happening. He was still an outlaw and so couldn't be in Augsburg for the Diet (i.e., assembly, congress), so he stayed nearby at Coburg while Melanchthon accompanied the princes.

The Luther Chapel

A Luther rose on the wall

After this, it was off to Eisenach for the night. Eisenach is quite the sleepy little town. We found some interesting accomodations there. (Sorry, no picture! But it did have a Croatian restaurant with it!) We ate at a place called the Augustiner, a little old place buried in the midst of the town. 

This is called The Augustiner Teller, So I had to try it. And yup, that's pork!

The next day was Sunday, so off to church. We had checked with our missionaries in Germany and there were no good English services to go to in Eisenach or the nearby area, so we decided to drive over to Frankfurt am Main (about 2 hours) to go to the church one of our missionaries is at, who is also a friend of mine. After the service, we took him to lunch and then he took us on a walking tour of the old part of the city. 

An interesting mix of old buildings in the foreground and a modern skyscraper in the background.

With our missionary and tour guide, Rev. Gary Schuschke.

Took this picture not only because of the old buildings, but because of the flags flying in the front: The EU, German, Frankfurt, and Ukranian flags together. You may not see that ever again.

The Market Square in the heart of the Old City, where the Christmas Market is every year.

Locks attached to an old walking bridge over the Main river. I saw this some other places in Germany (but not this many!) - and wondered about it. The story is that when someone gets married, they put a lock on the bridge and throw the keys in the water, so their marriage will never be "unlocked." Some of these locks were quite elaborately made for the occasion, too! However, there are so many on this bridge, it is now against the law for people to put any more on - they are getting too heavy for the structure! But we saw a few very recent ones anyway.

So after a nice day in Frankfurt we bid farewell for the drive back to Eisenach. Only one more day in Germany!