Well, after my expensive evening in the hotel restaurant, it cost me as much as one night in the hotel but I did eat and drink a lot, I decided to go to Altenburg the next day. I have wanted to go there for a while but to make a day trip from Weimar would have meant about 4 hours on the train each way. From Hartenstein it was under 2 hours with one change.
I wanted to, and did, go to the Schloss museum and the art museum. Both were fine. I do not think I need to ever go to a german palace again although I cannot think of one I would have wanted to visit that I have not. The art museum, the Lindenaur, was fine. Not a huge or important collection but nice enough to spend an hour.
I walked to the center of town and ate at the Ratskeller. 2 beers and delicious stuffed peppers and a huge green salad. It was in the town square and the service was good and I knew to eat a big meal because the only choice at the hotel is their restaurant. The next day it was dark and overcast and I walked to the town of Hartenstein. It was maybe a 25 minute walk - not bad- and I did not mind. The town itself is nothing but a small town. The only place to eat I could find was a doner store. So I boought a doner and a beer to go and walked back. I ate on the balconey and watched Rachael Maddow on my chromebook.
In a way this hotel was nuts. Absolutely nothing to do. From 10:00 am till 6:00 pm there is nothing to eat or drink available. And, there is no one around. When I returned from my walk into town I walked in and came to my room, and went to the balcony and ate and saw absolutely no one!! Very odd. That night I went down to eat in the restaurant and it was CLOSED! So I went to the reception desk and asked the woman there. I said there is no food or drink available all day and now the restaurant is closed, how can I eat. She started to look for other restaurants but I told her I did not have a car and one could see that she was starting to freak out a little. Of course, I am not the most pleasant person to begin with and I was aggravated. It works in german as well as english. But a man came hurrying out of the back and told her to make the reservation and he would drive me. So, they called an Italian restaurant and drove me there. About 25 minutes. It was a nice place and the food was good and the waiter called the man to come for me when I asked for the check.
Of course then I felt bad. He told me on the way in that many restaurants can not afford to stay open and they can not find the staff for these places because people go to work where they can make more money. That explains why there was no staff around and why the restaurant is closed on Thursday. In any event, I think my days of visiting small german towns are over.
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