Experiencing Germany

For a quarter of a century their caricatures have scrutinized German politics in publications such as the FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and Titanic magazine. For the last five years, Achim Greser and Heribert Lenz have been based in Aschaffenburg. We talked to them in an interview.

Mr. Greser, Mr. Lenz: How did you both end up in Aschaffenburg?

Five years ago we bought a house there with a studio – it’s the cheapest place in the Rhein-Main area for real estate. We also come from Lower Franconia and were looking for something closer to home, for purely sentimental reasons.

What do you like most about the city?

The fact that there is a sort of public void here. And the only thing we hear about the region is traffic information about the massive backups on the A3 autobahn. The result is that it has maintained a level of calm that works as a shield against the hysterical obsession with all things new that plagues our times. On top of that, we have access to all types of transportation so it's easy to get out of here, regardless of the means.

What are the must-sees for visitors here?

The 400-year-old Renaissance castle. They have cork models there that are over 200 years old of classic buildings. They possess an astonishing love for detail. The models were all the rage in the old days at festive occasions when they were placed on tables as conversation pieces. The works are amazing, but you have to wonder why such conversation starters were necessary in Aschaffenburg because the people here are pretty easy to talk to and always seem game for a lively chat.

What is the most beautiful building in the city for you?

The shabbiest is definitely the house where Expressionist painter Errnst Ludwig Kirchner was born, which is only outdone by the autobahn wall monstrosity near Goldbach: a hideous concrete memorial (in a bad way) about one kilometer long that is meant to supposedly reduce noise. It should be obligatory viewing for future architects and city planners!

Where are the most relaxing walks?

In Schönbusch Park, an English-style park that the princes of Mainz built as a summer resort for their castle. The line of sight between the castle and the summer residence on the other side of the Mainz is still unobstructed, which is amazing because you would normally expect that an AOK building or a DIY superstore would have happily situated itself between here and there.

Aschaffenburg has the highest concentration of restaurants and bars in Bavaria. Where is your favorite place for a pint?

There are a bunch of places near the castle with regional specialities. “Schlappeseppel” has the best beer, in our opinion, but the “Pizzeria Zur Brezel, griechische Spezialitäten” in our neighborhood could be a contender. The jury is still out on that.

What kind of culinary delights can you recommend?

Aschaffenburg is part of Bavaria and Franconia, which has a profound influence on the identity of the aboriginals despite being linguistically and culturally more similar to neighboring Hesse. Fortunately, Franconian cuisine has been able to fight through the confusion. To make myself clear, I would like to add that it is a mystery to us why the phenomenon of cannibalism in Hesse, represented by Armin Weiwe’s in “The Cannibal of Rothenburg”, didn’t appear much earlier and more frequently with regard to Hessian cuisine. Beyond that, the frugality and awareness of tradition, if I may, among the people of Aschaffenburg has led to high standards at reasonable prices in the butchers’ trade.

The romantic Clemens Brentano is buried in the Old Town cemetery. Does Aschaffenburg have a romantic or fairy-tale aspect to it?

At Mespelbrunn Castle a little way down the road from Aschaffenburg a man murdered his unfaithful wife. Said man had once played a bit role as a robber in a Spessart theater piece and in the newspaper photo covering the crime this guy was wearing the floppy robber’s cap from the play. He just had this ridiculous puppet show murderer look about him. That’s pretty surreal and fairy-tale!

How would your caricature of Aschaffenburg look?

A freeway interchange with at least 10 lanes over the city with branches leading to all parts of the city. Add to that a rest area where all they sell are different kinds of alcohol so when drivers exit they will all be caught at a drunk driving checkpoint.

The Aschaffenburg Music School was founded in 1810 and is the oldest of its kind in Germany. In 1904 the first driving school in Germany opened here. What have you learned in Aschaffenburg?

Well, in some ways and for some things we do consider ourselves missionaries.