Where to start? and other Erfurt, Germany Things to Do Tips

Well, a good place is the local tourist office, something I should have done!
However, so entranced was I that I did a lot of rubber necking and taking photos before I got there. An earlier visit would have saved me walking around in circles a couple of times.
It happens to be in one of the town's most historic buildings though the view you see here (the more interesting one) is actually at the rear of where you now enter.
The name of the building is listed on the caption.
Its original title was Zum Paradies und Esel (The Paradise and the Donkey) and it has been remodelled to house the information centre but it dates back to 1469.
From here you can acquire a splendid publication that lets you walk around at leisure and seek out the highlights.
Frankly, two days is inadequate and I would recommend around 5 to do the place justice. As usual, I managed to cram about three and a half days into two but it was much too frantic and I would like to return someday and explore further.

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Address: Benediktsplatz

The trip on the tram was a revelation to me. The vehicle jagged this way and that around the bends and twists with pedestrians within arm's reach seemingly all the time as they made their way along the cobbled streets.
The Normandy style of exterior wooden beams intrigued me, I had always called them Tudor style and thought it was an English specialty but no, they had their own life and name here.
Church steeples flashed here and there from the end of alleyways until we reached the Domplatz

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The Domplatz is one of those gems you hope to find in a European city. A classic square with buildings to ponder over on one side, a castle and cathedral opposite and trams setting off hither and thither in every direction (well, three actually).
I loved it when I first saw it and that view didn't diminish during the time I was there. Every time I caught the tram through there I found something new to look at.
Due to the mediaeval nature of the street construction (i.e. seemingly random), coming to the Domplatz is like a breath of fresh air. At least you know you won't get lost for a couple of minutes.

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The southern side of the Domplatz has its share of historic buildings as well.
Zur Hohen Lilie (High Lily House, number 31), the green building pictured here, dates from 1538 and incorporates parts of an even older building while the adjoining Grune Apotheke (Green Pharmacy - now brown) goes back to 1632. It's the one on the left.

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Though I first learnt this in Gorlitz it was re-inforced here. The holes at the top of mediaeval doorways, clearly visible in pic 2, signified that the owner of the premises had permission to brew back in the olden days.
What happened was that they used to shove straw in the hole to indicate that there was a fresh brew available.
Today, guides dressed as a "beer crier" will not only point them out to you but show you other historical sites of importance.
Sadly, the tour, if I have interpreted the brochure correctly, only occurs in German though my brochure, in English, states "Not available in other languages". Go figure.
I took the shot of the beer crier while eating at an upstairs restaurant in the Fischmarkt, listed as being in the centre of the city.

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While we're at the fish market square let me show you a couple of the gems it has to offer.
First up consider Zum Roten Ochsen (The Red Ox). In modern times it is an art gallery and, with a facade like this, I can't think of a better place.
The frieze (pics 2 & 3) represents the days of the week and the Greek Muses.
Most of the houses here were owned by merchants who gained their wealth by trading in woad, a plant used for dying. In this regard it has many parallels with Gorlitz.
(Woad is a plant that yields a blue dye when cured with urine and dried on rooftops. Erfurt was famous for its woad dye until cheaper indigo from the tropics made woad obsolete. Today, woad dye is again being made by traditional methods in a nearby village.)

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Address: Fischmarkt 7
Directions: Schlosser Strasse will take you there

Dating back to 1584 this building is a standout in a square of standouts. Of course, when I was there it was a standout for the wrong reasons - it was covered up and under repair!
Still, someone made an effort to let the touring public know what it normally had to offer by showing a copy of key bits of the facade on the protective fabric attached to the scaffolding (pic 1).
The mouldings depict the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch (left to right). It's then continued on the adjacent Gildehaus (Guild Hall), though it dates from 1892, and show the cardinal virtues of justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance (pic 3).
Picture two shows the rooftops of the building, a shot I again took from the Italian restaurant I was eating at.
The following year the wraps were off and it was exposed in all its wonder. If there is a better facade in all Germany I have yet to see it. I'll put the new photos up in April.

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Address: Fischmarkt

The town hall is also located in the Fischmarkt and this neo-Gothic edifice, done in what may be termed a church-style, took five years to build, from 1870 to 1875.
Inside, its Thuringian heritage is writ large upon the walls in the face of the many murals depicting legends and scenes from the past.
I also liked the exterior sculptures, depicting not classical heroes but those whose labours allow buildings such as this to be erected in the first place. Sort of a "local hero" type scenario.

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Address: Fischmarkt

The type of statue in the middle of the Fischmarkt is called a Roland Statue and was a symbol of a town having the status of a free city of the Holy Roman Empire. Unfortunately, this was a status never attained by Erfurt but, in 1591, under commission by the Erfurt COuncil, the Dutch sculptor Israel von der Milla created this soldier's statue bearing the insignia of the Roman Republic.
The council and the people they represented were, in fact, on a drive for independence.
This monument replaced one featuring Erfurt's patron saint, St. Martin.

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Address: Fischmarkt

In a city where the first ever garden show ever held in Germany took place, I thought it only fair that I check out their current offering.
My host informed me of Egapark, Erfurt's version of botanical gardens. At 6 euros entry fee it would pay (pun intended) to pick the time you visit though, for me, any time is a good time to visit a park.
This area is regarded as one of Germany's finest and covers over 40 hectares.
I was just a couple of weeks short of seeing many of the annuals in the full flush of spring but, as a small bonus, the orchid show was on in the pavilion and I was directed there by the gate attendant who did his best with his limited English and my even less limited German to point me there.
There are actually six halls covering an exhibition area of 4,200sqm.
As a photographic insight I thought the last two images were of interest. They portray the same scene only one is with flash and the other without, using the colour available.

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Address: Gothaer Strasse