Day 28 Meiningen to Mellrichstadt - 23 km. Total km: 535

Today we walked from Thuringia to Bavaria, from former East Germany to the West.

Yesterday Dagmar, the route sponsor, or route angel as they call themselves, picked us up from central Meiningen around 6 pm, along with fellow pilgrim Carla, and took us to her and her husband Karl's home in Ritschenhausen for dinner with them.

Before going to their place though, Dagmar took us on a drive to see a memorial to the former East-West border where there are remnants of a barrier and other bits and piece have been placed on the West German side, quite a way from where they originally were. Dagmar told us that East Germans did not want any reminders of that hard time, but the West Germans did. She wanted us to see it but didn't want to linger. She said that the area is too upsetting for her. Out of respect for Dagmar we didn't take any photos. 

Just down the road a wee bit is a sign showing the division of the East and West until 3.40 am on 10 November 1989, which Dagmar said was the time the first car from the East to drove through the former border into the West. 

Dagmar, who is a school teacher, said she and a friend drove to border at 4 pm that day and had to queue until 9 pm to be able to drive through as the queue was so long. She said it was quite frightening because they had their cars checked - her car was a Trabant which she jokingly said was made of cardboard and plastic. They drove to Mellrichstadt, where we are tonight, and found that most of her village were there as well. She remembers getting home at midnight. 

Although she said it was the first time she had been able to see any of the West, to be able to buy books and newspapers in the West, she had always been able to listen to Bavarian radio stations as she lived so close to the border. 

Because my foot had been so painful Dagmar showed a way to walk today to avoid any steep tracks which would agrivate it. It did mean that we walked most of the way on bike tracks with hard seal.

On our way out of Meiningen this morning we visited the Kirche Unsere Liebe Frau, the Church of Our Lady, a modern church with amazing stained glass windows. 

Kirche Unsere Liebe Frau, the Church of Our Lady. 

Just past the Catholic Church is a memorial to the Jewish Synagogue which stood on that site from 1883 until the night of 9 November 1938 - this was Kristallnacht, the Night of the Broken Glass. Dagmar told us that the greater area around Meiningen had had the largest Jewish community in Germany. 

The route out of Meiningen: 

The first village of the day, Sülzfeld, was also our last Thuringian/East German village. We stopped here for a morning tea break and a lovely woman tried so hard to speak with us but unfortunately I couldn't understand what she was saying. She was do disappointed, as were we. 

Sülzfeld.

Our morning tea spot - it was perfect. 

A van,  playing a little tune, arrived when we were leaving Sülzfeld and we realised that it was a mobile store and local woman were waiting for it. We turned back to have a look. It sold fruit, vegetables, meats - both cooked and uncooked, wine, dairy products, breads and buns, cakes and so much more.

Jeff decided that he would buy a piece of a sweet slice and I told him I would like the same - only it wasn't a slice, it was a slab. And we had just bought 2 of them!

The route took us through a small area of forest, our last piece of Thüringer Wald.

I liked the forest signage. 

The Jagdschloß Fasanerie - a small castle on the edge of the forest. 

Then it was on to an former East German Observation Tower on the border to Bavaria. 

The roading laid for East German tanks.

The tower it's bunker entrance.

A massive cross stands near the tower bearing the words Frieden sei dieser Welt bescheiden -  May there be peace on Earth. 

There were several people at the tower looking around it when we got there so we thought we would sit a bit further off and eat lunch. Just as we were getting organised a woman rushed up to us and started telling us something. It turns out that the tower,  which is usually locked, was open for viewing but not for very long and we had to hurry if we wanted to see inside. We left our lunch things and climbed up inside.

Some views from the top of the tower, the observation level:

The villages that could be seen from the tower were all East German. 

A woman climbed up into the tower with us and I understand her enough to know that she was the local historian. She explained that top level was the observation level, the second one down was the sleeping area with enough room for 4, the third level, which was at ground level, was for their kitchen and bathroom/toilet, and the fourth level, which was underground, was for equipment and stores. It was accessible by a bunker entrance. 

These two women were very excited when they realised that we are from New Zealand. One has a daughter living in Palmerston North and the other as son and 3 grandchildren living in Hokitika.

Walking out of Thuringia and into Bavaria.t

The next tower we came across was a hunter's tower. We were told that hunters had to be licenced and the regulations were quite strict.  The licence was to shoot deer and the number they could shoot is also controlled. One chap told us that he had to shoot three - not one, he said,  but three. How he could ensure three deer came along while he was in his hunting tower is unknown!

Karl, Dagmar's husband, told us last night that we would see many signs of Catholicism once we entered Bavaria - and we did, almost immediately. All of these were within the first few kilometres:

Eußenhausen, our second village of the day, was the first village we walked through in Bavaria: 

Then, as always, it was the last long section into Mellrichstadt, where we're staying tonight. 

Part of the old city wall in Mellrichstadt. 

The Stadtplatz in Mellrichstadt. 

We're staying in a wooden cabin on a farm complex just out of Mellrichstadt. A perfect place to end our day. We ate dinner out in our garden. 

Our cabin. 

We're very tired tonight as we were so late getting back to our accommodation  from Dagmar and Karl's last night. 

The good news is that I managed the walk! 

Mellrichstadt is a town in the district Rhön-Grabfeld, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 17 km southwest of Meiningen, and 13 km northeast of Bad Neustadt. It includes the following villages: Bahra, Eußenhausen, Frickenhausen, Mühlfeld, Sondheim im Grabfeld und Roßrieth.

Population 5,599

Source: Wikipedia