Polaroid of the week: Charming and fairytale-like Erfurt, Germany

Last Updated on February 23, 2021

I left Berlin for a quick visit home to my loved ones, and most importantly, to photograph the wedding of one of my oldest friends. Usually I dread visiting Erfurt, the town I grew up in, because if there is such a thing as growing apart from your hometown, then I have certainly experienced it. I doubt that I’d ever go back there if my sister and a few friends were still living there, and usually only spend a few days there to catch up with everyone.

This time it was different though. It had been a while that I’d visited Erfurt during the summer, and having a first-time visitor in town for a couple of days also helped me seeing my oh-so-boring town in a new light. I spent hours wandering the cobble stone streets, marveling at the well-maintained and restored half-timbered houses, the imposing cathedral and the picturesque little squares, lined with coffee shops and restaurants. Al fresco dinners on warm summer evenings, picnics by the river, a wine festival and long runs with my favorite running buddy also helped making me appreciate my town again. I might not ooh and aah over the Kraemerbruecke, a bridge covered with houses on both sides (pictured above), like many tourists do, but I can see why people are charmed by it and I even felt some hometown pride when I showed my visitor some of my favorite spots around town. Quaint, small Erfurt sure is different from Berlin, where I am spending the rest of the month, and even more so from New York, but the slower pace was a welcome change after spending so much time in big cities over the past few months.