Bad Dürrenberg has a chapter all to its own; my grandmother lived here from 1931 to 1935. Bad Dürrenberg was the place my father spent the first couple years of his life (though I doubt he remembers any of it), and it was the last home in Germany my grandparents had before leaving under pressure for Austria and later England. From the first page:

"He [my grandfather] never saw Bad Dürrenberg itself because this complex of houses and flats had been built between the old spa-village and the railway station. Only one road for vehicles through it and foot paths from it along the front of the houses. Concrete built, a street at a time, in one go, I mean.... The rows of one family houses were numbered - no names - and of varying lengths. Terraces at the back of the houses separating neighbours visually, but not audibly, as we found out to our cost. Lawns between the "streets" and bushy plantings at the front softened the starkness of the gray concrete... we took possession of our paradise, Street No. 9, House No. 5."

After fencing in Halle, Ben and Manuela and I swung through nearby Bad Dürrenberg on the way home. Another adventure to see what we could see...

MK

MK

Bad Dürrenberg continues to expand, with these new-looking accommodations on its outskirts. The easy commute into Leipzig makes it (still) desirable, and the town is almost completely residential.

BH

As we made our way into the town, we spotted a map posted at a gas station. No streets were numbered, but Ben pointed out a section with potential:

BH

Near the train station (Bahnhof), although not exactly between it and the current center of town, were a grid of streets with artistic names. The key thing was that this was the only area that seemed like it could have had a "Street No. 9". We decided to have a look.

MK

Bingo! Rows of attached buildings, though some are now apartments instead of single family houses.

MK

And the important part: all those streets on the map are really footpaths. Only the main street and those on the outskirts allowed cars. So we got out and walked through the neighborhood, attracting some curious looks as we wandered along.

BH

We decided that Rosenweg was as likely as any other to be Number 9. Not knowing which way the numbers started or even if there are currently the same number of roads, we found a "street" that had single-family houses. Small ones. I  imagine the layout matches that of the original Number 9 anyway. Sure enough, bushes between the footpaths, and without traffic, a rather nice neighborhood. (Although maybe a bit crowded; there were a lot of people about.)

BH

Rosenweg conveniently had a No. 5, so I stopped and got a photo of it, while Ben got a photo of me getting a photo of it. (His came out better.)

Manuela

Me and Ben at the end of Rosenweg, before heading back to the car and heading home.