In its prime, Weimar, a small German town of 64,000, was a watering
hole for cultural icons such as Goethe, Schiller, and Johann Gottfried von Herder
(grandfather of the Romantics) whose fame still draws thousands of visitors to the city.
In 1999, Weimar was declared the cultural capital of all of Europe, and, for the occasion,
underwent extensive restoration (think prom queen the night before the formal), making it
one of the most renovated cities in the former DDR. Despite the fact that Goethe’s name is
stamped on every storefront, restaurant window, and child in town, Weimar should also be
appreciated for its brief history as the capital and namesake of the Weimar Republic,
Germany’s first attempt at a democratic state after WWI, and as the birthplace of the
Bauhaus architectural and artistic movement, whose Bauhaus Universität still brings the
city bohemian energy.

Tell any German that you‘ve just come from Weimar, and they‘ll
respond knowingly, nodding with eyebrows raised; “Ah, yes. Weimar, the cultural capital of
Germany. Did you enjoy it? And did you, by chance, notice all the culture?” Why
yes, thank you, you’ll respond. All that culture kind of hit me over the head, now that
you mention it. In fact, will you please serve me the house lager in a crystal flute? I‘m
afraid that culture has rubbed off on me a bit. “Ah, yes,” your new German friend will
respond. “All that culture is wonderful.” You both will lean back in your chairs,
unconsciously extending your pinkies and reminiscing on the refinement and, dare we say,
culture, of this small German town.