Day 7: Frankfurt > Weimar

Caught the ICE high speed train to Weimar in the morning. Over 300 km the landscape changed occasionally from forests to small villages, open plains to fields of enormous wind turbines. As we passed through Gotha it became apparent that we had arrived in former East Germany with occasional glimpses of rundown infrastructure, abandoned factories and concrete housing estates. Though it has nearly been 20 years since German re-unification, sections of the East are reminders of pre-1989 Germany - depressed, curious and (at times) strangely beautiful. Around 3pm we arrived in Weimar and on the way to Hababusch Hostel the contrast between West and East is occasionally evident in the juxtaposition of a restored/gentrified 18th Century hall and a grayscale building with bomb scars and ancient graffiti. After a belated lunch, we wandered the town centre and the surrounding parks as the light was dimming then caught up with mentor Robin Minard in his tastefully minimalist apartment for coffee, discussed our recent travels and planned ahead for the next two weeks.