On Wednesday afternoon we caught the train for Naumburg, a town about 40 km northeast of Jena. In 1028, Naumburg became the seat of a bishopric and its most important landmark is the cathedral, built in the 13th-15th centuries. Throughout the Middle Ages Naumburg was a market town, profiting especially from trade in the blue dye derived from the flowering plant woad. Though indigo supplanted woad in the 17th century, the former wealth of Naumburg remains visible in the many historical structures still standing. Climbing up into one of the surviving city gate towers helped us understand some of how the medieval city functioned. Early parts of the cathedral were built in Romanesque style, but later parts, following changing architectural tastes, were completed in Gothic style. The cathedral is noted especially for sculpted figures that are among the earliest realistic depictions of human expression in post-classical western art. Before traveling home, we visited several other points of interest in Naumburg, including philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s home, an ice cream shop (to celebrate Rosemary’s birthday), and Naumburg’s Peace Pole—like the one on the GC campus but with the addition of colorful streamers.