East or West?

In today's united Germany, Weimar is a very interesting place.  Last year when I was here for just a couple of days, I only had a chance to see the Weimar that most people see - the one full of history: the birthplace of Schiller and Goethe, the place where Bach worked, home of the Bauhaus and the short-lived Weimar Republic. 

This is the Weimar that the tourists come to see, and from what I can tell, there are two kinds - the old and the young.  The older tourists seem to be retirees here on tours.  The younger ones are either here with their families, or with their school groups wandering through the city centre during the day.  This part of town, is quite lovely, with cobblestone pedestrian roads winding their way in and out, 19th century buildings, a lovely grand old theatre, modern shops and great places to get an Eis (Ice Cream cone . . . 1 Euro or less per scoop).  My favourite is the Dark Chocolate Ice Cream (or Bitter Shokolade Eis) at Eiscafe Giancarlo.  In my mind, the city centre combines both the old and the new in a very livable place.

In my longer stay here this time, I'm actually getting to see the other part of Weimar - the legacy of the years under communism.  I'm currently staying with 3 university students in West Weimar - what I call the "communist quarter."  Not only is this part of town filled with the concrete apartment blocks that typify the homes of the workers, but even the streets are named after Eastern-bloc capitals.  Moskauer Street leads to Budapester Street, then Warschauer Street and Prager Street., where I'm staying.  One of the students I'm staying with, Katrin, listens to DDR pop music from the 80s, displaying what they call "Ostalgia" (Ost being German for East).

This experience has reminded me that things haven't always been so rosy for the Eastern countries in Europe, and while things have changed, it's still only been less than 20 years since the reunification, and it will definitely take at least another generation for all of Germany to feel like one country again.