After spending a day hiking, I used the following day as a rest day. And this time, I headed over to Görlitz to explore its Old Town. I've heard plenty of good things about this city, that I was definitely looking forward to see what it offers.
After procuring a ticket, I boarded a train that would take me to the city. And after an hour of travel, I found myself at the train station, and from there I slowly made my way on foot to the Old Town.
The first stop is Postplatz, which is just a short walk away from the train station. There is a massive fountain in the middle, and some interesting majestic buildings surrounding it, including the Regional Court of Görlitz, and of course, a Post Office.
North of it is Marienplatz, which is a plaza that features the Dicker Turm, or Fat Tower. Additionally, this is also the location of Kaufhaus Görlitz, which is an old department store, which later got a second life as a film shooting location. This building was used as the setting for the movie
The Grand Budapest Hotel. Unfortunately, it was closed to the public when I visited, otherwise I would have loved to see its interior.
I then headed further north, and turned a corner, and found myself in Klosterplatz, which based on the name, seemed to have been the location of an old monastery, yet now it seems instead of a monastery there is a school located there.
Görlitz has two market squares. The above photos show Obermarkt, which is a very long rectangular square, with a tower at one end. Yes, there's plenty of towers here, if you haven't already noticed.
The other one is Untermarket, which is closer to the Polish border. It also features some eccentric architectural elements, like the Whispering Arch, found on the facade of one building.
Of course, the Polish border is just right there, so I headed out to the Altstadtbrücke to snap a shot of it. It is always interesting to see how both sides of the border look like. When you look at the Polish side, there are a lot of advertisements for cigarettes and other items that Germans find cheaper on the other side. In any case, as there was the pandemic, I refrained from crossing the border and stayed well within Germany.
I visited a few churches and museums while I was in Görlitz. Stay tuned, there are a few other photos coming up.
