Small Towns: Neudietendorf

Zinzendorfstraße, Neudietendorf.

While on a nine-hour train ride from Hannover to Stuttgart, Dan and I had the pleasure of seeing the landscape of Germany from the comforts of our carriage. (Nine hours might sound grueling, but it was quite the pleasant experience, especially since I already love train travel and the Deutsch Bahn is always clean and on time - bless the Germans and their efficiency.)

One of the stops was the tiny town of Neudietendorf, population 3,000. Since we were changing trains the stopover lasted just over an hour, giving us time enough to escape the hauptbahnhof (main station) and walk around the village.

It was a beautiful ghost town. We didn't see one living soul in Neudietendorf, which was strange considering we walked for 45 minutes and it was a warm and sunny day. Not a single window was open, and even the 24-hour spätkauf (night shop) was locked, lights off. It was as if every person who lived here had not just gone away for the day, but left without plans for return.

You have to be quiet when you walk through towns like this. Because it's only a matter of passing through.