Seume update : January 2026

In 1987, when I last visited Germany, the DDR still existed and Berlin had a wall.

Almost forty years later, everything has changed and I’m here once more, this time to start my grand stroll to Syracuse.

In January of this year, I spent five days travelling roughly along Seume’s route through Saxony. I started from where he set off in Grimma, then to Meissen and finally on to Dresden.

I’ll write about each of these in separate posts. Take this as an overview, a few quick thoughts and impressions of Saxony.

(All quotes below are from A Stroll to Syracuse.)

I buckled on my knapsack in Grimma, and we set off.

Where it all started. A small, attractive market town 30km south of Leipzig. On the market square one can see the house in which Seume worked and lived.

Onward to Meissen, where we were welcomed with..homeliness. The Elbe rolled in majesty between the Dresden hills.

Famous for producing the first porcelain in Europe in 1708. An impressive castle and cathedral high on a hill overlook the old town and river Elbe.

For twelve years I had not seen Dresden.

Beautifully restored city on the river Elbe. Very walkable with distinct neighbourhoods that hold their own character. Highly recommended.

The food was great! I made a point to sample the three major German food types: sausages, falafel, pho. All very tasty. The cakes are also very good.

German beer is excellent! I expect you knew that already. The drinks aisle of a German supermarket contains a thousand and one brands, all looking appetising and half the price of the UK.

It was a joy to enter a bar with no euro-brew on offer (i.e. Madri, Peroni, Carlsberg etc), no Pale Ale, no ‘Craft’ or ‘Artisan’, just good, well-brewed German beer. Marvellous.

I was generally lucky; some sun, some cloud, some snow. Do you know how glamorous the old town of Dresden looks dressed up in two inches of snow? Stunning, I tell you, stunning.

I was disappointed with Deutsche Bahn. Trains were continually delayed or cancelled, worse than the UK. On the other hand, the trains themselves were fine, comfortable, clean and often included a bar where one can enjoy a beer. The app is usable.

Onwards to Bohemia!

June - Dresden to Prague

September - Prague to the Austrian border (Retz)