Stroll around the city with Fidi and friends

Family vacation in Erfurt

Some very special city guides have taken up positions between the Krämerbrücke bridge and the Petersberg: characters from the TV channel KiKA, which has been broadcasting from Erfurt since 1997. Fun for adults and children alike.

The elephant is rolling his eyes. He is peering upwards as if he wants to see who is crawling around on his back. First, Clara stands on his back and jumps back into her mother’s arms. Then her friend Alma climbs onto the good-natured pachyderm, kneels between his ears and strokes them. The pudgy animal is standing in the middle of the Anger, Erfurt’s major shopping street. He also has his friend with him. The clever, cheeky mouse is smiling as mischievously as she always does when the two of them, as a TV duo, are explaining the world to children, solving the mysteries of everyday life or thinking up practical jokes. Tram bells are ringing; several lines intersect here. The figures are surrounded by a number of shops and attractive buildings, including a historic department store with an Art Nouveau façade.

Students studying education helped to develop the app

The mouse and the elephant were installed in 2009 – to date, they have been followed by a further 15 KiKA characters in various places around the city. To celebrate the fact that the children’s channel established by ARD and ZDF (German channels one and two) has been broadcasting its programmes in Erfurt since 1997 – i.e. to mark the channel’s tenth anniversary. And ever since then, the stars of the KiKA’s cartoons have been inviting people to discover Erfurt’s attractions in a fun way.

It is clear that Clara and Alma are familiar with the lovable characters, “even if we aren’t yet allowed to watch that much TV”, as Clara admits. “But we do watch the mouse sometimes. And we also see it as we pass by on the tram,” explains Alma. “How many trams can you see at the moment?” asks their mother. “One, two...” the girls begin to count. “Four!” they shout together. The question is part of the quiz on an app that Alma’s mother has loaded onto her phone. The app was developed by Erfurt Tourismus und Marketing GmbH in collaboration with students studying education and was tested by schoolchildren in Erfurt. It introduces the KiKA characters and shows users how to find their locations in the city. “Now let’s visit our good friends on the water,” invites the app. “Yessss,” shout the children in unison.

“Ahoy there, sailors! Hein Blöd and myself, Captain Bluebear, are canoeing along here,” announces the greatest ever teller of tall tales on the app. Where? Oh, there! A boat carrying these two characters really has been installed near the Schlösserbrücke bridge, in the heart of the Wilde Gera river. The girls mount the railings of the waterside promenade and would like to clamber around on them. Unfortunately, it is too dangerous. The tiger duck, which is waiting patiently just around the corner, is more suitable for climbing. First in turns, then together, Alma and Clara ride the character with its yellow and black stripes. They want to feed it, and this makes them want gummy bears. And something to drink. Luckily for the children, the Epitome café serves choco cappuccino.

While the children slurp the frothed milk with relish, the adults allow Erfurt’s beauty to work its magic. The town hall here on Fischmarkt is quite magnificent! Even more magnificent are the Chamber of Crafts and the Haus zum Breiten Herd, which are next door to the town hall. And the Haus zum Roten Ochsen, where the art gallery is located, is very stylish. Alma and Clara are discovering the magic of the old town in their own way: on the bronze model at the corner of the town hall, they walk through the narrow streets with their fingers. And can even pretend that they are jumping over the church towers.

“There is Bernd the Bread”, cries Clara suddenly and runs on to the goggle-eyed chump. Two corners further on, it is Alma’s turn to express her delight: “And Pittiplatsch!” There is a quiz question about this character on the KiKA app. “What is Pittiplatsch holding in his hand? Hmmm … it looks like a steering wheel, but is actually a motif derived from Erfurt’s coat of arms. Even the adults often don’t know that. Incidentally, it is good to see how many people pose for a souvenir photo with the chocolate brown kobold in a skipper’s hat. Always with Erfurt’s legendary Krämerbrücke bridge in the background.

The Little Sandman receives cuddles from all sides

The children know of a particular shop window on the Krämerbrücke bridge and want to go there. Because there is a puppet maker working in house No. 2. Next to the shop door, behind glass, framed like a picture and lit up with a mysterious light, stands a queen. Once a coin has been inserted, she draws back her red velvet cape and reveals the magical world of Snow White with 20 moving figures. Clara and Alma count the dwarves; then the curtain closes again. That’s mean! But fairy tales can be cruel.

The Little Sandman on the other side of the bridge soon makes them forget their disappointment once more. The girls assail the sleep sprite with the red pointed cap and cuddle him from all sides before rushing on to the play area by the ford across the Gera river. There, they try out all the swings and roundabouts in quick succession. And petted the Kikaninchen, a bunny that hops through the world of numbers, letters and colours for pre-school children on KiKA.

Alma and Clara have visited eight of the 17 KiKA characters in the centre of the old town this morning. And the girls still have one special adventure to come. In the afternoon, they go up from Domplatz to the Petersberg. First by steps or a ramp (suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs), then in a glass lift to the entrance of the Baroque Petersberg Citadel. Here too, there is a KiKA character waving at the visitors: the bat Fidi. Which raises the question of whether there are real bats behind the thick walls of the fortress?

In search of real bats

Steep steps lead deep into the listening tunnels: if enemies attempted to dig tunnels to get into the fortress, the listening posts here were supposed to work out what was going on. Clara and Alma are fascinated by the darkness. They use torches to search for bats. Every spider creates a small sensation. “Psst,” says Clara. “Fidi has knocked,” whispers Alma. He cannot be seen; bats can only be found in disused tunnels. “But that was Fidi poo,” say the children with conviction.

After the exciting day, there are just two more “veeeery” important items on the agenda. First eating an ice cream, then going to the shop window with the puppet theatre. “Please, please, one more time.”

Header Picture: ©Isabela Pacini/ CMR Cross Media Redaktion GmbH, Thüringer Tourismus GmbH