Bautzen

Bautzen has to be one of the best kept secrets of Germany. No one's ever heard of this city, yet it is the most charming and "German" city that I visited in the east. That it's very inexpensive only makes it better.

Bautzen has all of the things you go to Germany for, old churches, a walled inner city, cobbled streets, a market square and ruins. Most of it has been recently renovated, but the rebuilding was very well done so with a little imagination it's easy to picture yourself back in the middle ages. And the best part of that is that for $30 you can wake up and see this when you look out the window.

The old part of the city is build on a rock outcropping over a river. You can get a great view of it from the bridge leading into the city. There is a market square beside the church that is full of people selling vegetables, cheese, meat and more on Saturday morning. Around the square and throughout the old town are many cafes and pubs, some of which have outdoor seating. Adjacent to the old town is long pedestrian zone with more restaurants and stores. Much of this has been renovated since the fall of communism and is shiny and new. As you get out of the downtown area the remnants of the GDR began to show up in the form of a monolithic post office that with a sooty concrete facade that appears abandoned and highrise apartment blocks (some of which are being torn down).