On Saturday we went to the town of Bayreuth. We hadn't been there and it's not too far past Bamberg, so we decided to check it out. It's about the same size as Erlangen - give or take, and also has a university. And while it has a great deal of history, it's not nearly as endearing as many Franconian towns. But it was still worth the trip...
Bayreuth was the birthplace and home of both Liszt and Wagner - so it was a treat to see where they lived and worked as well as Wagner's grave. It also has a thriving pedestrian area with lots of shops and places to eat, so even if it's not picture perfect it still made a nice day trip.
The house below is Wagner's house - now the Wagner Museum. It sits behind a tree lined path, and is quite a picturesque home in an almost park like setting...
The details of the facade and a bust of Ludwig II (the crazy one,) who was a good friend to Wagner.
And sitting in a circular enclosure behind the house is Wagner's unmarked grave. The Wagner festival is going on in Bayreuth this month, so I'm sure there are plenty of fans leaving flowers in tribute.
A typical, little, streetside Bratwurste stand...
One of the many baroque buildings in town, which I thought was particularly pretty in this light...
Bas and Lulu approaching the Opera House. It was built courtesy of the Margravine Wilhelmina in the 18th century, and is the only authentic baroque theatre in Germany and is still in great condition.
The see a picture of the interior click here.
After walking around Bayreuth and doing a little special shopping (more on that at the end of the post) we headed out of town to the Altes Schloss Eremitage (Hermitage) where the Margraves of Bayreuth had a pleasure palace designed to retreat to the countryside. The castle is set in a huge park with formal, English style gardens, which are sprawling and pretty impressive.
The building pictured below is part of the New Palace of the Hermitage, and its columns and facade are covered with crystal like pebbles in a mosaic style. They absolutely sparkled when you got up close.
This was a fountain built into a wall near the Hermitage. In reality the face looked quite jovial as he spit some refreshing water out at you, but with the harsh light of afternoon, he looks a bit scary!
And now on to the lederhosen... after taking lunch at McDonald's (yes, we're sad Americans... but sometimes you just get that craving, you know?) We noticed a shop a few doors down with trachtenmode (traditional German dress - lederhosen and dirndls) and they had a sale rack outside the shop. So I paused to look through it, and while doing so noticed that in the window they were advertising a special offer (angebot,) which included lederhosen, two shirts, socks AND shoes for 200 Euros. It was almost too hard to believe. Most lederhosen alone are usually 200 to 250! (That may be because most trachtenmode shops are in highly touristy areas, I don't know...) So it didn't take much persuasion to get Bas in the door... and here's the new look!
And this is my favorite - the blue and white shirt used here in Franconia - with no suspenders, just to make it a little less dorky looking, and a little more updated. Bas was so excited about these I wouldn't be surprised if he starts wearing them to work! And I know he can't wait for the first local Kerwa (church festival) to break them in!
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