On the footsteps of Bach

A weekend to discover the birthplace of Johann Sebastian Bach, a little trip with music and memory.

 

Prima nottata ad Eisenach

After an exhausting journey by car, arrive in Eisenach in the evening, at about 23. The city by night is very quiet, indeed, deserted! In search of a decent hotel we climb by car up a hill along a road that never seems to be fine .. After a while 'we stop: the road ends with a gate, beyond there is only forest .. is dark, no lamps or light sources (excluding the car headlights), my sister (8 years) begins to give signs of anxiety, so we turn and head back up to the city center. After a while 'is a hotel, a Best Western very luxurious (hooray advertising is!), So we decide to stop there. The rooms are two: one for me and my sore, one for mine. Ours is great, the walls are covered with a cream cloth red flowers! In a corner of the room there is a large window that forms as a niche, such as those in England. Before going to bed we turn on the TV: I'm trying to translate something from German, but know little or nothing! Finally we fell asleep exhausted.

The castle

The next morning we wake up soon is scheduled to visit the castle Wartburg. We arrived after a ten minute drive from downtown. Parking is on a hill where you can make beautiful photos. Unfortunately the day is not the best: the sky is dark, Drizzle. Despite this, we go with fearless martial step up the hill (yet! But not that of the night before!) Leading to the castle. The road is slippery, especially with the rain. We arrive at the top with the fiatone, but it was worth it: there is waiting for the wonderful input, with the drawbridge.
The castle is magical inside .. a jump in the Middle Ages. There is still the well, with a decoration of iron in the shape of a dragon twisted. The sale, which you can visit to pay, yet retain the original floor and ceiling of the tenth century, though restored in part. The magnificent hall of the bards, huge, decorated with fantastic and colorful paintings. After the guided tour you go to a room in which they are exposed ancient armor. The best part comes later, though: In the opposite in fact is the room where Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German from the greek. The room still retains the wooden desk and original furniture, which belonged to Luther!

Last Day: finally Bach!

The next day, we take the whole morning to visit the home of John Sebastian. Find it is not difficult: Eisenach is packed full of signs that indicate its position! Opposite the house there is a statue of the Master, with his initials. We marvel to watch it, raising a kind of hymn of worship ..
From outside the house is very nice, the yellow walls, leaded glass windows .. one wonders if 300 years ago were really the case .. Inside, everything is a small museum in a room are two small organs on display, a spinet and clavichord, the original of 1700 .. An organist (or harpsichordist not know!) Us playing on original instruments, and preludes by Bach leaks (of course) and we introduced briefly in English the functioning of ancient instruments. Everything seemed old, almost sacred .. the dark wooden floor creaks under our feet, and I think that maybe Bach has walked the same routes that I have walked on .. probably not, but it's nice to think.
We leave the house with eyes sparkling emotions ..
My sister keeps the souvenir shop, accompany us and go out with umbrellas, bags, earrings, pencils, pins, magnets, all closely printed pages of a Prelude, and the name of the Master.
In the early afternoon, we turn to the center of town and I do indigestion by eating a huge pancake with cream .. was not really a pancake, I can not describe it well: a good heavy and sweet, with icing sugar and jam inside!
Unfortunately, the time flies, so we rely on our journey into demolished Fiat Tipo, accompanied by a sadness mixed with admiration ..