Germany 2017 Post 14

We were staying in Weißenberg, but our intended destination was Bautzen. Our travel to Bautzen was timed so that we could see the many cultural traditions practiced by the Sorbian people at Easter. They are the smallest Slavic minority and have two UNESCO-listed languages that have about 4,000 speakers apiece. One branch of my own German family is Sorbian. That first immigrant ancestor with the unusual name? Turns out he was Sorbian. If you see a last name with 5 consonants in a row, it might be Sorbian. Fun! You can read more about the Sorbs / Wends on Wikipedia.

We were going to Bautzen anyway, but it doesn't hurt that it's so beautiful. It is a jewel of a town that sits on a river in the middle of farmland.

It also sports some timely graffiti, "Nazis Raus!!" which I much appreciated in the era of Trump.

Town square:

The postcard view from the bridge:

Town square, different view, different lighting:

Not sure what happened here, but it cracked me up:

And this. Bautzen was a place where my expectations were often surpassed. I booked us dinner at Wjelbik, because all of the travel sites said that this was the place to go for Wendish food. Where I expected something slightly kitchy (based on their 2016 website), instead we found the intersection of Wendish flavors, local ingredients and great service. These folks are not playing. Here is the mustard soup, served with a lacy toast wafer and hidden poached egg. So yummy. I took very few pictures because this was a fine dining establishment, we were the only foreigners, and I didn't want to offend anyone. But come on. Mustard soup. Never heard of it. Had to have a photo.