Via Romea Germanica Day 24: Kirchheilingen - Bad Langensalza

My plan for today was to take the same bus back to Kirchheilingen, and then walk the fifteen kilometres to Bad Langensalza, so as not to skip a stage of the Via Romea. There was only one little detail wrong with this plan: the bus doesn't run on Saturdays!

But when there's a will, there's a way. When I arrived at Haus der Spuren, Jörg had told me there were some bicycles, and I could use one if I wanted. So I took him up on the offer, and asked him if he wanted to come with me on a bike ride to Kirchheilingen; it was close enough to cycle there and back in a couple of hours. Jörg agreed to come with me, which meant I didn't even have to worry about finding the way!  And that is how my walking pilgrimage to Rome came to include a bicycle ride with the Dean of the School of Theology of Erfurt University! 😄

With Pegasus: my winged steed for the day

My feet and ankles had a rest day - I didn't even put on my hiking boots - and some different muscles got a workout! I had a sore rear end, too - after cycling less than 30 kilometres (14 each way). 

The church in Kirchheilingen 

The railway car B&B that I would have liked to stay in 

Cycling selfie

Keeping up with Jörg on his e-bike

Back at Haus der Spuren

I then spent the afternoon exploring Bad Langensalza.

Bad Langensalza 

A spa town with a number of public gardens, Bad Langensalza is a popular tourist destination. The discovery of sulphurous waters in 1811 led to the construction of a number of spa facilities; the discovery of salt and mineral water springs in 1996 resulted in the opening of more spas.

Stinky sulphurous water fountain in a pavilion in the Baroque gardens

In the Japanese Gardens 

Like many spa towns in Italy, Bad Langensalza has travertine quarries: the source of the stone used to build the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and Mies van der Rohe's famous Barcelona Pavilion.

The beautiful Café im Naturgarten is the perfect place to relax with a slice of cake, and a glass of the famous Apfelschorle that my Duolingo German course is always going on about! 😄 I must admit it is uniquely thirst-quenching. Especially in such a lovely setting!

After spending a delightful afternoon wandering aimlessly around the beautiful town of Bad Langensalza and its lovely gardens, I returned to Haus der Spuren, where I am staying (see yesterday's post for a brief explanation) just in time to catch a choir concert at the church across the street. The youth choir of Thüringen was excellent! The soloist had an amazing voice, and the church Kantor did an impressive improvisation on the organ. The acoustics in the church were also very good.

After the concert, we had dinner on the terrace with one of the young choristers, Johannes, as well as Jörg's friend Stephan and his mother. While they had a look around the museum downstairs, I sat outside with a cup of tea, listening to the frogs singing and waiting for the northern lights to appear (they didn't).

Kirchheilingen - Bad Langensalza 14.5 km

(by bicycle)