Fulda: Day trip to the Balkans

I know, I know.  Another blog post without first taking a month-long break?  Craziness.  This might have something to do with the fact that I've decided to try a Facebook Divorce for a while, having finally gotten sufficiently disgusted with myself over the staggering amount of time I waste scrolling down on a daily and weekly basis.

Work schedule looks like it just may be picking up; I have German to study and a gym to force myself to go to.  Dinners to make, in some form or fashion.  (Recent successes have included pasta primavera, chicken coconut curry, and chicken-broccoli stir-fry.  This past week I made the curry a second time, and actually had a friend for dinner!)  Anyway.  The point is I just don't have the bountifully-flowing buckets of free time the way I might have once had (I'm looking at you, Poti).  My time has become valuable in a way I haven't seen in a while, and since I am too tired to lesson plan (any more) or study German... instead I'm going to tell you about my most recent German adventure -- a day trip to the nearby town of Fulda.

Fulda was specifically recommended to me by a good friend when I asked (via Facebook) about German gems I should be sure not to miss.  I got a surprisingly long list of suggestions, and will be doing my best to work through them.  (Ahem... stay tuned for an upcoming post about Cologne!  Trip happening this weekend.)

But Fulda stood out to me mainly because it is only 30 minutes away by train, and is a super small little town, all of which meant no need for a hostel, and seeing as I am still meticulously inspecting every random tiny piece of lint to make sure it isn't moving, and scrutinizing my skin every time I have an itch (thank you SO much, Steff's Hostel and your bedbug mascots), a hostel-less adventure seemed pretty damn ideal.  And hey -- also cheaper.  Bonus.  (Going to have to conquer my latest neurosis come Friday...)

I kind of failed at getting out the door that morning though.  Delayed my trip for an hour so I could charge my iPhone as I'd forgotten to do that the night before, and then eventually left with said iPhone still plugged in and sitting on the windowsill.  Also forgot an assortment of other small but helpful items, such as my umbrella (it definitely rained on me).  Ah well.  If I am ever to learn to be an impulsive traveler, I must learn that these things can always be left behind!

The first thing I did in Fulda was, natch, check out a church.

And then, keeping true to form, I then swung by an old building/museum, the Stadtschloss.

The Stadtschloss was built in the early 18th century for the city's "prince-abbots (whatever those are).  It's now largely a municipal office building, but several rooms on different floors have been restored and are open to the public.  The layout was rather confusing honestly, spread out over four floors kind of randomly, and now looking back through my Lonely Planet, I see I did indeed miss climbing up to the Schlossturm, or tower.  Oh well.  The rooms were beautifully restored and the ticket wasn't expensive.  My favorite room was the one in the last picture, the aptly-named "Mirror Room".

After the Stadtschloss, I walked across the street for... another church!  Yaaaay!  This one was the Fulda Dom, or cathedral, and was quite beautiful.

I had a huge letdown at the Dom though, because there is a museum here that is supposed to be pretty cool, but I discovered it was closed for a month through February 15.  I was there on... February 15.

Also had another, slightly smaller disappointment as Michaelskirche, which sits next to the Dom and dates from the 9th century, was closed when I stopped by.  Pushing on in the face of failure!

Speaking of things I missed while in Fulda, my friend who had recommended the place to me had also given me the address of an apparently very cool vinyl shop downtown.  Which, of course, I had stored on the iPhone that was currently sitting attached to a charger on a windowsill in my apartment.  I guess the fates were just telling me I'd have to make another trip to Fulda someday.

After the Dom, I wandered a little in the pretty park that is next to the Stadtschloss, and then went into the downtown in search of lunch.

Fulda has no shortage of cool-looking restaurants.  I passed a bunch that looked like they would be excellent, but (as always) I was kind of on a budget so resisted.  I walked around Fulda's pretty downtown for a while, and eventually settled on an interesting-looking Balkan restaurant called Hansa-Keller, which is, indeed, in a cellar.

The restaurant itself was completely charming however, and the staff incredibly nice.  The menu was in German though, and there are few things more futile than trying to read a menu full of unfamiliar dishes written in a language you don't understand.  Eventually I ordered this combo-plate thing, and (natch) a mug of beer that I hadn't tried before.

What I ended up getting was a skewer of pork medallions, and four meatball/sausage hybrid thingies that were delicious.  This was a seriously excellent meal.  (And not totally unhealthy -- a salad had come out first!)  After I finished, my waiter gave me this little ampule of a strangely strong, strangely banana liqueur.

Without question, the high point of the trip!

The inevitable downside to all of this was that as I left the restaurant, I was completely ready for a nap.  Instead I explored downtown Fulda some more, and hit the Vonderau Museum.

The Vonderau Museum was interesting enough, but in keeping with the theme of the day, was also quite random.  It sure is easier to get through museums faster when the cards and descriptions are only in a language you can't read!

And after the Vonderau, it was about 4:00 and I decided to head back.  I'd seen the major sites, and the options left to me appeared to be shopping (not bloody likely), or finding a pub (more likely, but again with the budget).  So I walked back to the train station and ended up enjoying a very pleasant and quiet Saturday night in.

And that, my dears, was Fulda.  Decidedly picturesque, and very much worth an afternoon jaunt in my humble opinion.

Next up:  Cologne!