Wenn jemand eine Reise tut, dann kann er was erzählen .
Those who travel, have stories to tell.  

Matthias Claudius wrote the phrase in the 18th century. In June 2023, the 17 WiB members made a two day journey to see the beauty of Naumburg and share their stories. Despite the half an hour Deutsche Bahn delay, the group was able to arrive early enough for the ride with the historic Naumburg streetcar to "Zur Alten Schmiede" hotel.

The city administration of Naumburg together with the State Chancellery and the Ministry of Culture of Saxony-Anhalt organized a wonderful program. The Lord Mayor Armin Müller invited the WiB members to a reception, where the Minister of Federal and European Affairs and the Representative of Saxony-Anhalt to the Federal Government, Simone Großner, who came especially for the occasion, personally welcomed the WiB members. The “First Lady” of Saxony-Anhalt, Dr. Gabriele Haseloff, and the wife of the Head of the State Chancellery and Minister of Culture, Ursula Götze-Robra, also came to the lunch of delicious asparagus in Ratskeller. The WiB members were very pleased to meet them and enjoyed the nice exchange with all of them.

Dr. Gabriele Haseloff and Mrs. Götze-Robra accompanied the WiB members on the city tours. At the end of the tour, an organ concert in St. Wenzel was conducted especially for the WiB group. The unique Hildebrandt organ was built in 1746, appraised before approving the organ by Bach and played by him personally. The sound of this “Bach” organ was simply majestic! (https://hildebrandt-orgel.de/hildebrandt-orgel.html).

Of course, the visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Naumburg Cathedral, was not forgotten. The tour was guided by Dr. Matthias Ludwig, the competent historian and cathedral archivist. The WiB members stood in amazement in front of “Uta von Naumburg”, the most famous donor figures with her enchanting countenance (https://www.naumburger-dom.de).

The next day, the group was picked up on time and headed to the Pforta Monastery, a former Cistercian monastery. Today, the premises house the present public boarding school since 1543. The competent guides gave detailed information - in and English and German - about this historic place on the east-west axis between Frankfurt and Krakow in English and German.

The WiB group continued the tour through Bad Kösen, a modern therapy center with thermal brine bath and salt grotto. Looking back on history of the brine spa, the graduation towers were used to produce table and pickling salt. Nowadays, they are centers of recreations in town where the fresh, salty aerosols are known for therapeutic inhalations.

A few kilometers further from Bad Kösen, lies the Landesweingut Kloster Pforta, the largest winery in the Saale-Unstrut region. The quality of the Silvaner and Riesling that everyone enjoyed with the hearty snacks, was very convincing. An interesting guided tour through the vineyard and wine cellar concluded the visit. The WiB members began the journey home to Berlin in the afternoon with the memory of the warm welcome and wonderful impressions of this beautiful area of Saxony-Anhalt.