The cutest city I ever did see.

After a heavy, fulfilling day in Friedland, we were on our way to Quedlinburg. A small central German town, unknown to most of us prior to our journey, Quedlinburg was one of the highlights of the trip for me. Situated about halfway between Hanover and Leipzig, found in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt, the entire old city of Quedlinburg is a UNESCO world heritage site. The old town has one of the highest concentrations of timber-framed homes in the world.  Spanning five centuries, these homes (and now businesses) are some of the cutest, most endearing parts of this quaint city.

Check out the beauty and Disney-esque character of these buildings! It felt like Belle would pop out singing at any moment!

Relatively untouched by World War II, Quedlinburg is today, a sleepy town still largely untouched by traditional tourist pitfalls. In an effort to make the city sound even more enticing than I can on my own, I scoured the internet for other visitor information I could pass along to the six of you who are actually reading this in an effort to get people to this beautiful city. What that convinced me of even more fully is that YOU NEED TO GET TO THIS CITY! It seems to be a secret, even to the wide world of the internet–three of the four sites I found information on started with wiki.

A couple brief insights from our 24 hours there: Hotel zum Bär is centrally located, just off the main drag in the old town. We enjoyed our stay there, and I would suggest it to anyone looking for a hotel. We also ate dinner at the restaurant atop the Cathedral Hill, and the view, and the food were well worth the (not very difficult) walk up.

I have little else to say that the photos can’t say for me, except that the quiet peacefulness of this city provided a wonderful contrast to the loud, energetic, diverse, gritty city we were about to encounter in Berlin. When I get back to Germany, you better believe that a trip back to Quedlinburg is on the agenda. I can’t wait!

MC Lean