"Home" to Coburg

I had recently discovered that my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Johann Georg Hamburg, was born in "Evelde" in Coburg, Germany in March 1761; a visit by three generations of his descendants was in order!

Arriving by train, we discovered a lovely town with what appeared to be excellent transit and hopped on a bus to the old town centre. After some momentary confusion, including climbing the steps of the wrong house, we found the correct door and wrangled the bags up a set of narrow steps to our quaint apartment. The back windows overlooked a treed area filled with the chirps and trills of several species of bird.

After settling in, we wandered up to the main square and took in the statue of Prince Albert and the soft pallette of colour adorning the althaus. Following dinner on a nearby patio we wandered to the royal palace grounds and back to our rooms.


The next morning, I popped down to a nearby bakery for a few pastries, then set off in search of additional items and discovered that it was market day. Purchasing a basket of fresh, local strawberries and more pastries I took breakfast back for everyone to enjoy. 


Mom and I struck off for the palace home of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Goetha. The building is on accessible by guided tour - all in German other than a few side notes, but we had an English guidebook to follow and I knew quite a bit about the family's history. (Duke Ernst I was the father of Albert, Prince Consort to Victoria of England; their son inherited the dukedom from Albert's brother, Ernst II.)  

As we learned how Duke Ernst I renovated the palace and grounds, we admired some stunning plasterwork, wood inlay and portraits of the family. The Dukes if Coburg were not know for their wealth, so they made due with some cheaper alternatives when making architectural decisions, but everything was inspired by Napoleon's style.

Ernst I also collected wealth through his first marriage; after serving her purpose and providing Ernst with two sons she was cast aside, never to see her sons again. She eventually secured a divorce after coming into her inheritance though losing her title to her ex-husband; she remarried to a man who adored her, but tragically died soon after.

Returning to our rooms, we enjoyed a late lunch and then Sarah and I set off for the Veste - a castle overlooking the town which once housed the crown jewels. Arriving with limited time before closing, we zipped through spotting some furnishings, ceramic and glass, armour, carriages and sleds, and a gallery of paintings. 






After a stroll along the battlements to take in the distant views we began to walk back toward town, knowing the bus was at least a half hour wait. After starting down a forested trail and retracing our steps, we trudged along the roadway for some distance in the heat. When the map seemed to be questionable we discovered that it had jumped back to an older search and was taking us the wrong way. Having had enough of the hot sun, and learning that a nearby stop would get us a bus to town, we scrapped our adventure and dug through our pockets for the fare. Home at last, we ordered in dinner and enjoyed a movie as a family before packing up and preparing to leave the next morning.

Next up... Baden-Baden, a five to six hour train journey away.

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