It was a very rainy Sunday when my son and I decided to visit the "Fairy Caves" in Saalfeld or how they are called in German, the "Saalfelder Feengrotten". I asked him to drive the little yellow rental car, an "Opel Agila". I was hoping to be able to take pictures of interesting things.

Please Opel, find a compromise between the suspension of the old Citroen 2CV, called the "Duck" and the suspension of a fork lift. Than I would love this car. And please do not forget to secure the attachment of the gas springs for the rear door. It almost knocked me out when it came suddenly down.
Believe me, if you don't get scarred the car the car makes over 160 km/h or over 100 miles an hour.
The following pictures is the only one which seems to be suitable. It shows something typical for Thuringia. A house with slate siding. Slate was and is still very popular for that purpose and for roofing.
About 60 years ago pupils used blackboards and pens made of slate to make their writing practices. You see we started with paper less written communication very early.

We made it safely to our destination - Saalfeld and we found the "Saalfelder Feengrotten" (fairy caves). Luckily the weather has improved and it was not raining any longer.
Please visit our web site which we made for this attraction.

As much as I loved it to stay with my son who just moved the German part of his company to Siegritz I learned that it is very inefficient to explore Thuringia from one place. The next time I will stay in different villages or towns. Travelling takes time. Winding roads which pass through many villages with tough speed limits which are controlled by automatic radar cameras slow you down.
Despite the bad weather, I liked this region and decided already to come back if I receive a positive feedback from the Thuringian tourist business to my requests.

The Saalfeld-Rudolstadt region is also rich on history. Rudolstadt attracted many famous people. Just to name a few: Wilhelm von Humboldt, Friedrich Fröbel, Gottlieb Fichte, Arthur Schopenhauer, Richard Wagner, Paganini, Franz Liszt, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller.
I learned that the first Kindergarten was established 1840 by Friedrich Fröbel in Bad Blankenburg.
Certainly, I will have a full program if I come back to Thuringia. Not just history and culture, but also fun, exercising in state-of-the-art spas, great nature, good food and friendly people.