Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [194]
Hotel Stadt Aachen ( 2470; www.hotel-stadt-aachen.de, Markt 11; s/d/tr €62/73/98) Watch the action on the bustling market square right from your room window in this traditional inn with its vine-covered facade. After a hearty dinner in the downstairs restaurant, you can retire to good-sized rooms decked out in rustic furnishings.
Zur Alten Schmiede ( 243 60; www.hotel-zur-alten-schmiede.de; Lindenring 36-37; s €68, d €90-105; ) At the snazziest place to stay in Naumburg, rooms neither skimp on space nor on charisma, especially if you can score one of the newly renovated ones. Robust fare is served in the ground-floor restaurant.
Zum Alten Krug ( 200 406; Lindenring 44; mains €4-7; ) Although many come here just for a cold beer, this rustic inn also serves a range of casual fare, from succulent ribs to fried sausages, all best paired with their mild sauerkraut.
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Getting There & Away
Regional trains chug to Naumburg from Halle (€7.20, 45 minutes), Jena (€6.90, 45 minutes) and Weimar (€8.40, 30 minutes). A local line runs to Freyburg (€2.50, eight minutes). For Leipzig, hop on the fast ICE train (€18, 40 minutes).
For boat trips to Freyburg, see opposite.
By road from Halle or Leipzig, take the A9 to either the B87 or the B180 and head west; the B87 is less direct and more scenic, though it’s the first exit from the A9.
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FREYBURG
034464 / pop 5200
With its cobblestone streets and medieval castle clinging to vine-covered slopes, Freyburg has a vaguely French atmosphere, the sort of village that puts the ‘r’ in rustic. Sparkling wine production has been the main source of income here since the middle of the 19th century, and to this day Freyburg is home to Germany’s most famous bubbly brand, the Rotkäppchen Sekt (named for the Little Red Riding Hood from the Grimm fairytale). The town seriously comes alive for its wine festival in the second week of September.
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Orientation & Information
To reach the town centre from the train station, turn right at RegioBike (see right), left into the park and cross the bridge over the river. For the castle, take the second road to the right (Schlossstrasse). Keep bearing left for the Markt and the tourist office ( 272 60; www.freyburg-info.de; Markt 2; 9am-5pm Mon-Thu, to 6pm Fri, 8.30am-2pm Sat).
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Sights
Established in 1856, and the biggest sparkling wine producer in Germany, the Rotkäppchen Sektkellerei ( 340; www.rotkaeppchen.de, in German; Sektkellereistrasse 5; tours €5; tours 11am & 2pm daily, also 12.30pm & 3.30pm Sat & Sun) is one of the few companies that survived the GDR and, since reunification, has acquired enough muscle to buy other brands, including Mumm.
The two-hour tours take in the historic cellars and the production facilities as well as a two-storey 120,000L oak barrel decorated with ornate carvings (no longer in use) and the Lichthof, a glorious skylit hall used for concerts. In the end, you get a glass of bubbly to quench your thirst. Between 10am and 5pm, you can also taste and buy a whole range of Sekt at the shop out front.
Naumburg’s other attraction is the large medieval Schloss Neuenburg ( 355 30; www.schloss-neuenburg.de; Schloss 25; adult/concession €4/2.50, with tour €6/4.50; 10am-6pm Apr-Oct, 10am-5pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar), on the hill above town. It houses an excellent museum that illuminates various aspects of medieval life. There’s also a rare Romanesque two-storey (or ‘double’) chapel and a free-standing tower, the Dicker Wilhelm (adult/concession €1.50/1; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct), which has further historical exhibitions and splendid views. Castle/tower combination tickets are €5/3.
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Getting There & Around
Freyburg is about