Bier, Pretzels und Kastles - My Holiday in Germany 2006 - A trip report
 

Introduction

My wife and I spent 17 days in Germany this summer, and this was our itinerary: Ulm – Herrlingen – Sigmaringen – Schliengen (6 nights with four day-trips to Freiburg, Colmar, Lucerne and Basel) – Stuttgart (3 days and 2 nights with two day-trips to Hechingen and Ludwigsburg) – Wurzburg – Rothenburg o/d Tauber – Munich (6 nights with three day-trips to King Ludwig's castles).

The places we visited are both of wide and lesser interest among tourists.

At least some of them are not too often covered on this board, and at some we saw nobody or hardly two or three persons visiting (e.g. Rommel's Archives in Herrlingen, Linden Museum of Ethnography and House of History, both in Stuttgart, Schliessheim Palace in Munich, etc.).

I hope that this information will be useful for someone with similar interests.

I like to write my reports in detail, like a story, showing not only where we were, what we visited and how we moved around, but also my impressions and thoughts, trying to convey to the reader the feeling that he is coming along with me on the trip.

I deliberately omit details about places to eat and drink, as they do not play an important part in our travels.

Only when we find something out of the ordinary, I mention the place.
Moreover, being budget travelers, most of the time we eat from bakeries and supermarkets.

To be continued...

Gabriel, you're back, great ! I read your UK trip with great interest & will look forward to this one. You're right, not many people on this board seem to go to Germany - maybe because they don't know much about it ? I've only been for a weekend in Cologne years ago & 5 days in Berlin last year. I enjoyed Berlin so much (& the fact that DH speaks German & I don't, so it was relaxing for me !) that I'd like to go back to see more of the country, but don't really know where to start.

Avid learners, thirsty for knowledge and culture, curious about history, hungry for art and lovers of nature, my wife and I have chosen to see a different place every time we have the possibility to travel.

Thus, we can compare and learn more about various cultures, quench our thirst and satisfy our hunger.

All these, hoping that one day we would finish travelling to most of the places around the world, and then we might return where we liked best.

This year was Germany’s turn and because our budget was quite tight, we did our calculations and decided that we could spend only 17 days there.

Since we had some long time friends living in the village of Schliengen, south of Black Forest, between Freiburg and Basel, close to the Rhine, we tailored our itinerary to include that area.

Munich had been on my wish list for a long time, so we had two points of reference. This eliminated from the start any chance of visiting Berlin, Dresden, Koblenz and the areas around those places.

We had to concentrate on the south of Germany, with possible day-trips to Switzerland and France, due to the strategic position of our friends' place.

We knew what we would do in every place we went. Everything had been scheduled before we left home and we succeeded to see and do all that we wanted.

We consider that we had a very good trip, we managed to combine all our interests and pleasures, and we did have time to learn and understand things.

I took more than 1000 photos and I will try to post a selection for each destination, as I go along with the trip report.

To be continued...

Hello again, Caroline!
Welcome aboard!

Thank you for your appreciation, and moreover, for joining in!

I'll take you on a trip with details and photos, so you can get a better feel of what it was like for me.

This part of Germany seen through my eyes and understanding.

Maybe I will succeed in opening an appetite to other readers, for some other places in Germany as well, as I go along with my report.

And maybe you'll get ideas of a trip for yourself, from what you are going to read and "see".

I have written until now about half of the trip report, and obviously, as I started two weeks ago, I still have a lot of work to do.

Also, since I have so many photos, it will take a while to give them names, sort them and place them online.

But, let me go on with my story...

We used Lander tickets (25 euros for up to five persons travelling together) and Happy Weekend (Schone Wochenende) tickets throughout our holiday, good for trains and local transportation (buses, trams, subways).

Of course, when we stayed in the city, we used the local ticketing system (tickets and passes), if we didn't walk.

When visiting the palaces and castles throughout Bavaria (Wurzburg, Munich and King Ludwig's castles), we used the 14-day Bavarian Palaces Ticket (36 euros for two persons together).

This ticket is a very good money saver when you want to visit more than two palaces.

Only Hohenschwangau Castle is not included in this ticket, as that is a private property, and not part of the Bavarian Department for Palaces.

For the duration of this trip, we each had only a carry-on luggage. During the day, we had a small backpack, which I carried.

In it, we kept our water, caps, maps and papers with various info about the places we visited, snacks and other small stuff.

During this holiday I realized again how useful it is to know a few words, some greetings and wishes, and basic questions in the local language.

The results have always been positive. A few words in German went a long way each time I had to ask someone something (mainly for directions).

When the answer or explanation would get too complicated, I could figure it out through their body language, and if that didn’t help, I would just ask politely, in German, whether they spoke English.

Anyway it was, I always got favourable responses. And in the end, so what if I went on the wrong street or turn the wrong way, because I didn’t understand properly the explanations in that foreign language?

I’m just another tourist after all. I try to have fun and enjoy every moment of it.

To be continued (arrival in Munich and overnight in Ulm)...

Gabrieltraian --

My husband and I are headed to Munich next month. Were there any sights or restaurants that you recommend in particular?

Turista,

In Munich I liked very much the Ratskeller, which is inside the town hall, Marienplatz.

In the Englischer Garden there's a big beer garden, The Chinese Tower (Chinesischer Turm), with happy music, overflowing beer and nice atmosphere.

Food there is in quite a variety of choices.
We as vegetarians, found a few options that we liked.

Here's a link for palaces in and around Munich

http://www.schloesser.bayern.de/engl...s/muenchen.htm

We also liked very much the Munich Residenz, Nymphenburg Palace, the Fine Arts Museums (Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek - they are across the street from one another).

Links to these art museums are here

http://www.pinakothek.de/alte-pinako...szeiten_en.php

http://www.pinakothek.de/neue-pinako...szeiten_en.php

We went at other beer gardens as well, Augustiner was one, but you find them all over the place.

You get nice atmosphere and food was good in general. But we are vegetarians...

Anyway, the smell of wurst brought back pleasant memories from the times I was not a veggie.

Dachau is only 20 minutes away by "S" train, if you want to see the first concentration camp built by the Nazis.

Go to Marienplatz - stunning town hall building. Every morning at 11 o'clock people gather there to watch the dolls move around and listen to the carillon bells - absolutely beautiful.

Go to Hofbrauhaus. As touristy as it may be, it is an evening of pure fun. It is just opposite Hard Rock Cafe, a few metres separate them.
That's quite some competition!

This is what comes to mind now.

Gabriel

Arrival – July 6

We were actually on our one month annual leave, and we had a stopover in Romania on both ways.

While in Romania, in view of our upcoming trip to Germany, we visited Peles Castle at Sinaia, residence of the Hohenzollern Royal Family until 1947.

Thus, we could make a connection between this castle and the other two Hohenzollern castles that we were to visit in Germany.

My trip report for the holiday in Romania is here (In Search for the Little Paris)

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34859356

It was around 4 o'clock in the afternoon when we landed in Munich.

We proceeded through the airport's halls, looking at the unfamiliar places, at the crowds of unknown people around us, passing by shops at our left or right, and anywhere we stopped to look at something, even for a few brief seconds, we were greeted.

We liked that. Passport control was like a breeze. They didn't even stamp it.

Then we passed by the customs as if nobody was there. They were there all right, but since we had nothing to declare we just glided through.

Welcome to Germany!

We followed the “S” signs, as we knew that we had to take an “S” train. We were going to Ulm that evening, and wanted to use a Bayern ticket, costing 25 euros, valid for up to 5 persons travelling together.

We finally saw a Fahrkarten machine (automatic ticketing machine) and went straight to it. We began to find our way through the many options offered, among which the one for English language.

I finally spotted the Bayern Ticket button and then the screen where the related info started to appear.

A numbered key pad was there, so I just followed the instructions and kept pressing the required numbers.

Just when the cost appeared and the money slot started to flash, telling me to make the payment, a lady in a red uniform appeared from somewhere and offered her help.

Even though she hardly spoke any English and my knowledge of German is limited, we could still get all the help needed.

We made the payment, the machine gave us the ticket and the lady explained to us how we could get to Ulm sooner.

We had our train schedule and knew the train timings and connections, but only for after 5pm. This was because we never thought that we could make it out of the airport sooner than half an hour after landing, so by now we were prepared to wander through the duty free shop for a while.

I wrote down on a piece of paper the connections she gave us, and off we went downstairs, under the airport’s floor, to take the next fast train to Munich, which was coming in two minutes, then onwards to Ulm.

We had to change in Laim, go one stop to Pasing and from there, by a regional train straight to Ulm.

To be continued...

The fast train took us floating, we didn’t feel a thing on those rails and we liked our first experience with the “S” train.

We got off in Pasing to change trains and tracks, and the moment we were in the underground passageway the delicious scents of German bakeries, pastries and other goodies, struck our nostrils.

We found our track, saw that we still had half an hour to wait, so I went in search for some good, nostril-tickling German food.

I didn’t have to look for signs. I let my nose guide me and very soon I found myself in one of those shops.

I picked a few sandwiches, richly filled baguettes with cheese, tomatoes, eggs, cucumbers (no wurst, 'cause we are vegetarians), so thick the layers inside the bread, that with each bite I took, I had to be careful not to spill some.

And because the butter pretzels winked at me, I bought two of those as well.

That was for the first time that I had sliced pretzels with butter inside, and I thought that they were yummy.

Of course, besides the bottle of water, I bought the compulsory, the necessary bottle of German beer.

How else to quench our thirst while in Germany?

It was raining when we arrived in Ulm, at about 8.45 pm. However, we were lucky enough, as by the time we went out of the railway station, the rain had become hardly a rare sprinkle.

Our hotel was Ibis, 5 minutes easy walk from the station. However low cost Ibis is, at 63 euros per room per night, this was to be our most expensive accommodation throughout the trip.

We did find cheaper accommodations in other places, but we don’t really mind the star categorization. We only want a clean, decent place to sleep.

We checked in and went out for a walk, to make the town’s acquaintance.

What a nice surprise Ulm was! Beautiful houses, quiet streets, nice restaurants and cafés on narrow back streets, a picturesque atmosphere, a delight to walk around.

The huge, immense cathedral is very imposing over the city. The tower rises so dizzying high.

We walked around it and wondered in amazement at the workmanship, the laces and embroideries that adorn the walls, the towers, the doors, some exquisite pieces of craftsmanship, and what more, all that happened in 1531.
They did that 500 years ago! Amazing.

We liked what we saw and we decided to come again next morning to take some clear pictures in the day light.

It was late in the evening, almost 10 o'clock, and we felt hungry. We went to a big shopping centre, just across the station in an open area.

We made ourselves happy with some take away veggie pizzas and beers and returned to our hotel to feast in our room in front of the tv.

To be continued (Ulm; Rommel's Archives)...

This is a very enjoyable report and thanks very much for taking the time to write and post it.

I am enjoying your report very much. Barb

Dukey and Barb,

Thank you for your kind appreciation and encouragement to continue.

I'm so glad you're enjoying my report.

Day 1 – July 7

Ulm; Rommel's Archives

I have posted photos taken in Ulm, here

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWEy

We had quite a hectic day ahead of us, so we woke up early to have enough time to check out and catch an early train to Blaustein.

We were allowed to leave our luggage at the hotel, and went to the station.

We bought a Baden-Wurttemberg ticket (25 euros for up to 5 persons travelling together) and boarded our train.

It was a quick 9 minutes trip to Blaustein, and from there we took a bus to Herrlingen, three stops farther away.

I was not sure that the Baden-Wurttemberg ticket would work on the bus as well, but I still showed it timidly to the driver.

He said "Ja, das ist gut" and I was happy. We wanted to visit Rommel's Archives and his grave.

We had been in touch with the people at the town hall and we had to go there first to take the key. So we were looking for the town hall.

I had a copy with a layout of Herrlingen and I tried to follow it. The streets were not detailed on that map, so on the way we stopped by a grocery and asked an old lady for directions.

She tried to explain to us, but it became too complicated for my understanding of the German language, and she decided that it was better if she came with us, since her house was in the same area.

She had two bags of shopping with her, so I offered my help. She accepted gladly.

At the town hall we met the lady with whom we had kept in touch for this visit. She knew we were coming that day and took us to Rommel's Archives, located in a villa on the hill.

She gave us the key and left us there alone, asking us to lock the door and return the key when we finished.

Rommel's Archives include photos, newspaper articles of the time, medals, certificates, books, all showing aspects from his life and career.

Most of the material was in German unfortunately, but a few articles were in English.

Among various exhibits on the walls, we saw some commemorative certificates given by different British, American and Italian army units on various anniversary occasions, after the World War II.

There was a newspaper of that time, with an article describing how on July 17, 1944, a British aircraft strafed Rommel's staff car, severely wounding the Field Marshal.

There were also reports about his time in North Africa, his war philosophy and about how Hitler sent his generals to arrest him at his house in Herrlingen (he was on a list with other generals who attempted the failed plot to kill Hitler), while convalescing from the wounds he had.

As he was a great figure for the German people, Hitler didn't want to stir up the spirits and gave Rommel the choice to take poison and have a state funeral.

For his funeral, Hitler declared a national day of mourning in Germany. Official word was that he died of war wounds.

For those interested, here's a link to the complete story of Rommel's fateful day, including an account by his son, Manfred Rommel, who witnessed the last moments of the Field Marshal's life.

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/rommel.htm

At the Archives we looked around for his Marshal baton, but we didn't see it. On our way back to the town hall we asked the lady about it and she said that it was kept somewhere else, but not available for public view.

A bit disappointed about this, we went to the cemetery to visit Rommel's grave. His tomb is marked by a wooden "Iron Cross" with a simple engraving of his name and rank.

The two most important decorations that he received, the Order Pour Le Merite and the Iron Cross, are carved under his name.

Right in front of Herrlingen Station is a narrow street called Erwin Rommel, winding its way up the hill to the Commemorative Plate where he committed his forced suicide.

From the cemetery we went back to the station and started the walk up the hill on that narrow road.

The Erwin Rommel Path was quite steep, meandering through an area of woods and houses and the walk was a bit tiring.

After a few minutes of climbing, we saw a plate by the door of a house, on which were listed the previous inhabitants of the respective house.

On that list we read that from 1943 to 1945 Field Marshal Erwin Rommel lived there. That was his house at the time when he died.

Now it belongs to a private company and is not open for visit. Moreover, it is entirely covered by a few big leafy trees.

So we were reading that plate when we saw a car stopping next to us, and behind the wheel was the lady from the town hall.

She was looking for us, following the path she knew we were on, to give us a piece of valuable information.

She had spoken to the Head of the Archives at the town hall and found out about Rommel's Marshall baton.
And she came running looking for us! That was so very nice of her!

She gave us a piece of paper with the place and address where we could see it. When Rommel's son, Manfred, became Mayor of Stuttgart, he has displayed his father's Marshal baton at the House of History.

Now we knew where to go when we reached Stuttgart after a few days.
We thanked her happily, then she offered to give us a lift to Rommel's Commemorative Plate.

The street went further up the hill, made a few turns, then there was a gravel road and under a small group of trees, placed on some big rocks on a cemented platform, we saw two plates.

One had Rommel's name, rank and years of his life, and the other had a German text, which we couldn't understand, unfortunately.

To be continued (Ulm Cathedral and Sigmaringen Castle)...

WOW, what a great day you had. Terrrific history and friendly locals. I'm waiting for more. Barb

Yes, Barb, but wait... There's more to come in the same day, as until now it all happened in the morning.

Wait till I get back to Ulm and later have to leave for Sigmaringen.

We did have a busy day then. I'm now at the finishing touches of the rest of the day. More to come in a little while.

Ulm Cathedral and Sigmaringen Castle

I have posted photos taken in Sigmaringen, here

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWFF

We hurried back to the station, but we missed the 11.09 train back to Ulm, so we took the 11.16 bus, still using our Baden- Wurttemberg ticket.

We reached Ulm after 25 minutes and we walked towards the Cathedral. We went on a few narrow side streets, with beautiful and picturesque houses.

We passed by a bakery and the goodies in the shelves winked at us. We stepped in and indulged in a few slices of fruit pastries and cheese cakes, had a coffee and left.

After a few photos on those charming side streets, we went to the cathedral.

Since the time was very short till we had our train to Sigmaringen, we decided that only I would climb the 768 steps to the top, as I could do it faster, and my wife would linger inside.

She told me that THEY should pay for us to climb that tower, and not US to pay them.

The climb upstairs was quite difficult, on narrow spiral staircases, and I had to lean against the wall to make way for others who were descending.

I thought that I would never reach up, so long the climb seemed. As much as it was tiring, the climb was also rewarding.

The views from high up there were magnificent. Unfortunately, I couldn't spend much time looking around and I had to hurry back downstairs, as time was not on my side.

Well, we chose Ulm as a destination mainly to visit Rommel's Archives and grave, and as a stopover on our way to Sigmaringen. Only because it so happened that Ulm has this famous cathedral, we decided to visit it as an extra.

Obviously, we couldn't do it justice, but since we were there, why not have a look at it. Sure enough, we couldn't make it to the station in time.

It took too long, about 40 minutes to go up and come back down from the tower, as I also stopped on the way up at three or four different levels to look outside.

At a first thought, you wouldn't realize that it is so much climbing to do. Only when you do it you feel it gradually.

But then later I thought... 768 steps at 16 steps average for one storey… that makes it a 48 storey high building.
Climb that without an elevator! Never!!
But at Ulm Cathedral, you even pay 4 euros to do it!!

We went to the hotel, picked up our luggage, then hurried to the station. We already had the Baden-Wurttemberg ticket, so we just took the next train to Sigmaringen, one hour later than initially planned.

At 3.22 pm we arrived and went to visit the castle, which is just a few minutes walking from the station.

We liked the entrance to Sigmaringen Castle, a climbing tunnel with deer heads on the walls. We took a photo of ourselves there.

The castle could be visited only with a guided tour, and we were lucky enough to catch the last one.

Unfortunately the tours are only in German, so we had to rely on a leaflet given to us at the entrance.

The Castle of Sigmaringen belongs to the princes of Hohenzollern, of which a branch founded the royal dynasty of Romania. One week before this visit, we had been to Peles Castle in Romania, the former royal residence of the Hohenzollerns.

About the visit to Peles Castle I wrote in my trip report for Romania, see the link here (In Search for the Little Paris)

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34859356.

The tour took us through splendid rooms, galleries and halls with lavish decorations. We were delighted with Baroque interior decorations, luxurious ceiling paintings and stucco work.

The magnificent halls are furnished with the original historical furniture, tapestries from Flanders, paintings, valuable clocks, miniatures and china.

After indulging in the art treasures, we visited the armoury, one of the largest private collections of weapons in Europe.

As the Hohenzollern family liked hunting, we saw many trophies from their hunting grounds throughout Europe. One of them was a stuffed brown bear from Romania.

After the visit to this castle, we walked through the town for about an hour, took pictures of the castle viewed from below and admired the architecture of the old town of Sigmaringen.

We returned to the station just in time to catch the train to Schliengen, in the south of Black Forest. We had to make three changes on the way, as there were no direct trains.

Again, the Baden-Wurttemberg ticket that we already had since morning, proved to be a big money saver.

We arrived in Schliengen at 9.12 pm and were met by our friends who live there.

To be continued (Freiburg)...

Day 2 – July 8

Freiburg

This is a link to photos taken in Freiburg.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWFU

Sometime during the morning we went for a walk through the forest nearby. We followed a winding path, going up and down a hill, through thick woods.

We enjoyed the beautiful nature, the fresh air and the infusion of green shades of the trees and surrounding hills and valleys.

Birds were chirruping here and there, hidden in the trees, adding colour to the forest silence. The long walk in the forest made us very hungry and we were looking forward to having our lunch.

In the afternoon we went to Freiburg. We walked through the old town and we liked the old architecture on the cobblestone streets.

It was a picturesque sight. We reached the main square and visited the cathedral.

We saw some nice pieces of work there, and we liked especially the entrance. It was an arch with hundreds, if not thousands, of coloured statuettes sculpted all around it, in several rows.

Beautiful! Our artful treat continued inside, where we had the chance to delight our eyes with some superb painted windows.

It had become a habit for me by then, to do my daily exercise by climbing a cathedral tower. So I climbed Freiburg Cathedral's tower as well, to the amusement of my wife.

This time it was not so much climbing, as not all cathedrals are even near the height of the one in Ulm.

From the top of the tower I had some splendid views of Freiburg's roofs and surroundings. I came back down and then made a tour around the cathedral, to see its surroundings, admire its architecture and take some photos.

I was on a street at the back, when an elderly lady was coming my way while I was preparing to take a picture. I stopped to let her pass, but then she stopped in front of me to talk.

She began to talk to me. She told me something easy, in German, to which I replied politely. Then she carried on with her conversation and lost me on the way.

I told her a few times that I didn't speak that much German, but she carried on. Then I realized that she just wanted to talk to someone probably, or maybe I reminded her of somebody.

Each time I could understand something, I replied with my plain vocabulary, then she kept talking. She was an intriguing character and maybe that's why I couldn't just leave and ignore her.

I listened to her and I spoke a few words when I could or when I knew what to say. She passed through various states of mind while talking to me.

One moment she was smiling, the next she had tears in her eyes, then she was happy again. I understood something like she had her children in Berlin, and they had been living there for a long time.

However, I couldn't make out why she was crying and then she was happy again, then again sad and the cycle repeated a few times.

I stayed there listening to that lady for about 15 minutes, and I don't regret a single second of that time, even though I hardly understood a few words.

She needed someone to talk to and I was there to listen, and I was happy for that moment. We wished each other a nice day, which I knew how to say, and I saw her happy and smiling when she left.

I was even happier for that reason.

To be continued...

gabrieltraian, I love to climb the towers everywhere I go. Going up is strenuous but I think it is the going down that kills my legs for days afterwards. :) We leave for Germany on Oct 10th so I am enjoying your report very much. I am waiting to hear about Wurzburg, Roth and Munich along with the castles.

Yes, Barb, going down a tower is more difficult than one could imagine. It is tricky with those narrow old steps, that sometimes are slippery as well.

Yep... you'll hear all about Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Munich and the castles. Plenty to keep you going for quite a while.

Just buckle up and join the ride, 'cause there's more coming right now!

Watching a World Cup football game at a local's home

After walking around the cathedral, we stopped at one of the cafés in the main square.

We picked up a table under a big umbrella on the terrace outside, had some ice creams and enjoyed the atmosphere, watching the hustle and bustle in the main square.

We returned home in time to watch the World Cup match between Germany and Italy. A neighbour invited us to watch the game at his home.

He wore a Germany shirt and had a German flag hanging at his window, for the right atmosphere. He spoke a little English, and I spoke a little German, so we were able to communicate with each other easily enough.

Moreover, the language of Football is quite international, and combined with some snacks and beer, communication became much easier.

During the game, our neighbour asked me if I knew what "schwein" meant, as one of the German players' name was "Schweinsteiger".

I told him I knew it meant "pig", but then asked him what "steiger" meant. He wasn't sure about the English translation, but he said it meant something like "to lift", or "to raise".

So I told him that the English name of that footballer could be "Piglifter".

We all had a good laugh at this, but later, when that very same player scored two splendid goals for Germany, our host was so happy, that he joyfully called him "Piglifter".

We had a very good time that evening and I learned that Germans score a "Tor", while the English and many other nations score a "Goal".

And of course, I have found out later that "Schweinsteiger" could mean "Pig herder" or "carer".

To be continued (Blue Mountain)...

Apologize for a big mistake...

The game was Germany vs. Portugal.

Germany didn't score any goal when they played Italy.

I can't believe I made that mistake!

Day 3 – July 9

Blue Mountain

We had a relaxing morning around the house, and in the afternoon we went to the top of a mountain nearby.

We passed through Muellheim and Baden Weiler villages, climbed a winding road through a forest and we reached the Blue Mountain top, at 1100 metres.

The views from there were magnificent. We could see the Black Forest stretching far, far away in the distance, the Rhine meandering among many villages scattered in the hills and valleys.

We found a place where we had a superb view down the valley and we lay on the grass. It was a tranquil spot; only the murmur of the forest was around us.

We felt the scent of green and it was so relaxing. I nearly fell asleep lying like that in the middle of the nature.

We returned home later that evening and this time our neighbour came to us to watch the World Cup Final, for another evening of fun with snacks and beer.

To be continued (Colmar and Freiburg)...

<"Schweinsteiger"
It must have been hard for him in school with such a name. ;-) Acually last week I talked to someone with the name "Herr Fick". You don't start giggling of course, it's impolite!, but where do those names come from....?

Of cooourse, I won't start giggling. Noooo....

On a more serious note, such names come from old times, when there were no registrations like today.

Then someone would get a name by the trade he/ she had, or by what that person was known best for.

Schweinsteiger was the one taking care of the pigs, while a certain Mr. Fick would take care... oh, but I promised not to...

Day 4 – July 10

Colmar and Freiburg

In the morning of 10th July we left on a day trip to Colmar, and the trip report for that day is here (A Taste of the Alsatian Wine)

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34859250

This is a link to photos taken in Colmar.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsXqw

We left Colmar later in the afternoon and stopped in Freiburg. It was our second visit to this city and we just wanted to wander the streets of the old town.

We passed by the old town's Swabian Gate and then we found a nice café. We entered to see if we liked what cakes they had.

We saw the Black Forest cake and thought that since we were in that area, we might as well try it. It was delicious, with cherries and cherry liquor.

We continued our walk through the old town, discovering a few more narrow side streets and hidden corners, where small cafés, like some quiet oases, were enjoying the presence of a few customers.

One alley, Kaufhausgassle, was so narrow that we almost passed by without noticing it. It was of about half a metre width and we thought we should walk on it.

We squeezed ourselves in and walked. Some houses actually had their doors opening in that... street.

A few windows were facing the opposite wall, at only a few centimeters in front, and moreover, there was a street lamp as well, attached above one of the doors.

We admired some more of the old town architecture and reached the other old town gate, St. Martin's.

However, we were not very amused by the fact that on St. Martin's Gate, McDonald's have claimed their rights and put their name in big letters, easily seen from quite a distance.

I gathered that that was the historical, centuries old, McDonald's Gate to the old town of Freiburg.

To be continued (Lucerne and Basel)...

Days 5 and 6 – July 11 and 12

Lucerne and Basel

On days 5 and 6 we went on two day-trips, to Lucerne and Basel, respectively.

The trip report for those two days is here (Swiss Topping on my German Ice Cream)

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34861658

This is a link to photos taken in Lucerne.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsX3A

This is a link to photos taken in Basel.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsX7w

To be continued (Stuttgart)...

Day 7 – July 13

Stuttgart

This is a link to photos taken in Stuttgart.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWFn

At around 9 o’clock we went to the station to take the train for Stuttgart.

We bought a Baden-Wurttemberg ticket from the automated machine and at around 1pm we arrived in Stuttgart.

We had to call our accommodation in advance, as the owner was out at work. We didn't do it before leaving for Stuttgart, so we called when we arrived.

The owner was at work till sometime in the afternoon. Since we couldn't check in until later, we thought of visiting first whatever was nearer to the station and according to the opening hours, while gradually moving towards the accommodation.

So we decided to visit Linden Museum of Ethnography, which was at about 10 minutes walking. We took a city map from the tourist office in front of the station and went to the museum.

It was a hot sunny day and we looked for shaded areas to walk. We liked very much the collections in this museum, displaying the life, art and culture of peoples from all over the world.

From there we went to visit Hegel's House, where the great German philosopher lived. We crossed a park, walked on the streets in the city centre, and found the house easily, guided by the map that I had with me.

We found out about Hegel's life and work through manuscripts, biographical notes, books, personal objects, letters, etc.

There were text panels and information related to his life and contemporary events. It was an interesting visit, especially for my wife, holder of a degree in Philosophy.

Not far from there, on Paulinen street, was our accommodation, and by now it was time for us to go and check in.

We found the place, a beautiful 19th century building, left our luggage and went to the State Gallery.

We chose to walk through the city centre to see Schillerplatz. We took a few pictures around Schiller's statue and with the church there, Stiftskirche. We liked this square.

We turned right towards Konrad Adenauer Street and then continued to the museum. It was a Thursday and some museums in Stuttgart have extended opening hours on Thursdays.

The State Gallery was open until 9pm. This museum is supposed to have a very good collection of Italian, Dutch and French paintings, but unfortunately this section was closed for renovation.

However, a special exhibition on Monet was going on: "Sun Effects – Fields in Spring". This really made up for missing the permanent collection.

The exhibition was held in a big hall and groups of people were here and there in front of some paintings, with a guide giving them explanations.

Couches and tables were placed around the hall, some people were dressed quite formally and at times this looked more like a reception.

Only the glasses of champagne or wine were missing, but I liked this classy atmosphere. We took our time to admire and rejoiced our souls in front of those beautiful colours and shades of Monet's paintings.

To be continued...

Near the State Gallery is the House of History, where we wanted to see Rommel's Field Marshal baton.

This museum closed at 9pm as well, so we had enough time, as it was only 6.30pm.

The House of History presents the history of Baden-Wurttemberg for the past 200 years, from the Napoleonic years, the years during and after the World War II, until the recent years.

In the World War II section, we saw Rommel's Field Marshal baton locked in a glass case, red velvet with golden insignia of eagles and hooked crosses on it. It looked quite beautiful.

Along with it were displayed all his decorations, including the two most valuable ones, Pour Le Merite and the Iron Cross, and a photo of himself holding the baton. We finished the visit and went for a walk down town.

We crossed the street and passed by the beautiful building of the Opera House. We walked in the park there and reached the New Palace building, with its beautiful Baroque architecture.

We were now in the Palace Square, such a beautiful wide green area, with the Jubilee Column rising high up to the skies, crowned with goddess Concordia.

Two superb sculpted fountains sprinkled their water at each side of the column.

We started to feel hungry, so we stopped at one of the numerous terraces on the very busy Konigstrasse. The tables were arranged in the middle of the all-pedestrian street, so we could watch people passing by.

From our table we could also have a glimpse at a part of the Palace Square and the front area of the huge Konigsbau (King's Building), a beautiful building with Ionic columns, housing a big commercial centre.

We enjoyed watching so many people in that square and along the street where we were.

We asked the waitress if she could recommend anything vegetarian and she said that she was a vegetarian herself and that she had something very good for us.

To our pleasant surprise, she offered us three options to choose from, and we each had a vegetarian wrap, but with different fillings.

It was a big rolled tortilla filled with lots of chopped vegetables, a diameter much bigger than I could open my mouth to bite from it.

It was so tasty, I don't know how they were prepared, what ingredients were in them, but they were so yummy.

We each had a monk made beer, a Dunkel and a Hefe, to complete the meal. My wife ordered a Paulaner and this became her favourite beer during all our stay in Germany.

Everywhere we went for a beer, she asked for a Paulaner. What could I do but comply happily, of course.

From there we continued our leisure walk on Konigstrasse, till we reached our accommodation on Paulinen street, late in the evening.

To be continued (Stuttgart and Burg Hohenzollern)...

"Just buckle up and join the ride, 'cause there's more coming right now!"

I'm buckled up and ready to go. We leave on the 17th Oct. We will be driving from Singen to Hannover over 4 days, and am reading with interest to help plan our route.

Thank you.

The place we stayed in South Germany doesn't seem far from Singen, so indeed, you could get some ideas from my trip.

I will soon post about our day trip to Hechingen, where we saw Hohenzollern Castle, then Ludwigsburg Imperial Palace and Wurzburg Residenz.

I think that on your way up to Hannover, you could do in one day both Sigmaringen and Hohenzollern Castles. They are a short distance away from each other and they both belong to the Hohenzollern Royal Family.

Then from Hechingen is not far to Stuttgart, where you could spend the night. Visit a museum or two in Stuttgart, go to Ludwigsburg, which is more like a suburb of Stuttgart, and see the Imperial Palace there.

Then go to Wurzburg to see that beautiful city. Visit the Residenz and compare it with Ludwigsburg Palace.

You can do these and reach Hannover in 4 days.

I'll post details and photos about my experience at each and you will see if you'd like to do them.

Day 8 – July 14

Stuttgart and Burg Hohenzollern

This is a link with photos taken at the Hohenzollern Castle.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWF2

This morning we went out just after 9 o'clock. We wanted to go to Hechingen to visit the Hohenzollern Castle, and on our way to the station, we walked through the city centre.

We stopped at the Market Hall, a very beautiful art nouveau building. The court was occupied with fruit and vegetable stands.

We entered through some arcades to see what was inside. There were rows of stands with fruits and vegetables, then we saw the cheeses and groceries, the drinks and various other foodstuff.

We decided to have a fruity healthy breakfast and bought a few boxes of very good, ripe cherries and raspberries.

The weather was nice so we walked slowly, admiring the old buildings and squares. We went again to Schiller Square, which we liked so much that we took another photo, including with the Protestant church Stiftskirche.

Next we were in Karlsplatz, where we took a few pictures, including with the equestrian statue of Emperor Wilhelm I.

In a few minutes we were again in the beautiful Palace Square. We liked it so much that we took another set of pictures with the Jubilee Column and the fountains nearby.

I couldn’t take pictures with the New Palace, as they were setting up a huge stage in the palace court, the big speakers were already put to test, and the palace building was obstructed from view.

Maybe they were preparing for a festival or a concert. We went towards the King’s Building, then turned on Konigstrasse to continue our morning leisure walking.

All of a sudden, I noticed that we had just 10 minutes left till our train departure. We were still some way from the station, even though, big as it is, we could easily see it in front of us.

We sped up our pace and once inside the station stopped at an automated ticket machine. Did the usual procedures for buying the lander ticket and when it came out we were puzzled by its appearance.

Until then, all the lander tickets purchased were bigger and rectangular, but this time we received a small square ticket and the text looked different on it.

We were a bit worried, of course, as we thought that maybe it was only a notification that the machine had run out of tickets, and we paid 25 euros, but we still needed a ticket...

We were confused, as you might realize. After a couple of minutes of studying it, and putting together bits and pieces of what little German I know, I realized that that was our Baden-Wurttemberg ticket for the day.

Yes, of course, I had asked someone passing by about that ticket, but that person was just as confused as us, so I thought I'd figure it on my own. Which I did.

To be continued...

We boarded our train and I wrote my name on the ticket. When the conductor came, he asked us where we were going.

I said Hechingen, and he started to explain that we had to change trains in Tubingen. I had thought that that was a direct train, but only the first two cars were going to Hechingen, and the rest of them would remain in Tubingen.

A passenger sitting on the other aisle heard the conversation and offered to help with translation. He confirmed that we had to move to one of the front cars.

So we moved. We couldn’t just go through the cars, as some of them had no communication in between, they were just separate cars, so we waited till we reached Tubingen.

We arrived in Hechingen and from there we took the bus that is scheduled only once a day, to the Hohenzollern Castle.

When we went out of town, we could see the castle perched high up on the top of a hill in the hazy distance. The bus left us in the parking lot below the castle and we took the castle's shuttle bus for the final leg on the way up.

The castle is beautiful and its setting is like from fairy tales. The hill on which Hohenzollern Castle stands is covered by a forest and the way to the top is winding, circling and in tight hairpins.

The castle discovered itself to us gradually, in all its splendour. From the castle gate we had to climb a circular walled ramp, then a long tunnel circling a charming courtyard.

We passed through the tower gate and we had a splendid view of the castle emerging in front of us. My camera was shivering with impatience to shoot photos, so I released it to go at will.

A nice garden to the left, where they served snacks, a cannon dominating the centre of the courtyard, a stunning ensemble of walls, towers and crenellations... where to look first?!

That was a beautiful castle! I was taken by its charm and as I aimed at a certain part a wall and towers, I didn't notice that I was standing in somebody else's way.

Another tourist was waiting patiently for me to finish my shooting, 'cause I was right between him and a small group waiting for their photo to be taken.

I noticed that only after I shot mine, and then I apologized, realizing how badly I had interfered with their photo opportunity.

The American tourist was gracious enough to accept my apology with a nice smile. I know so well how it is when someone else comes in your way, while you are taking a photo.

Same like Sigmaringen, this castle could be visited only with a guided tour, which again, unfortunately, was not available in English.

We were getting used to this by now, so we relied on the castle's small guide book. However, we were amazed at what we saw during the tour: superb work on the ceilings, objects of art, splendid furniture.

In the Ancestral Hall the walls were decorated with the Hohenzollern family tree, a beautiful display of curving branches with leaves and circled names.

The Count’s Hall was quite impressive with its nicely painted rib vaults, springing from marble columns alongside the walls.

We liked Margrave’s Parlour with its combination of mahogany paneling and dark green curtains. In the Blue Parlour we liked the blue colour of the furniture upholstery.

This was one of the most delightful rooms in the castle, with its gilded coffered ceiling and golden patterns wallpaper.

In the Royal Treasury we saw some magnificent jewels, like the Royal Prussian Crown, snuff boxes, decorations and medals of honor.

One exhibit that stood out in that room was the magnificent court dress and train woven in silver, worn by Queen Louise of Prussia. They say that she wore that dress at her meeting with Emperor Napoleon in Tilsit, in 1807.

After finishing the tour, we had lunch at the castle's traditional restaurant, Burgschenke. It was a nice atmosphere inside, we liked the big solid wooden tables and the wooden interior decorations.

We had our vegetarian dishes and sprinkled them with a Dunkel and a Hefe beer.

To be continued...

Then we visited St. Michael’s Chapel, where we liked the stained windows. As we entered, the equestrian statue of St. George slaying the dragon welcomed us in the vestibule.

The other side of the court was Christ’s Chapel. This was bigger and more lively decorated than St. Michael’s Chapel.

Besides the superb stained windows, we liked the ceiling, a splendid rib vaulted ceiling painted in blue with gold patterns.

It was still early and we decided to take a walk around the castle. We enjoyed views till far away over the hills, with villages popping up here and there in the forests, green hills and valleys everywhere around.

It was 3 pm and the bus back to the station was leaving only at 4.10 pm. Our train back to Stuttgart was at 5.21 pm.

The weather was pleasant, clouds were running on the sky, covering the sun now and then, so we decided to walk the long way to town.

The descent from the top of the hill was a treat. Going on that winding road down through the forest, we smelled and breathed fresh air and felt a breeze coming along with us.

We stopped for an ice cream in the parking lot, where the bus from Hechingen stops, and decided to continue walking all the way back to the station.

The time was about 3.15 pm, and the fact that we still had two hours to catch our train was another factor, along with the nice weather, that made us take this decision.

After about 15-20 minutes, as we were walking happily like that, coming down the hill, we heard thunders from above the forest.

My wife told me that the noise was coming from the pointed towers of the castle scratching the clouds.

Rain didn’t catch us, however, and soon we were down in the plains. The castle looked stunning high up there, at the top of the hill.

We took several pictures with it as we walked that road on the field, and even some of the rare cars passing by stopped for some photo opportunities.

We reached a highway and were amazed at the speed with which some cars were whizzing by. There was a big parking lot with a big round sign at the entrance.

In the middle was the Prussian eagle, and on the board was written: Prussia – Hohenzollern Land.

Behind it, majestically dominating the Hohenzollern territory from atop an 855 metre high hill, overlooking a breathtakingly beautiful countryside, was the Hohenzollern Castle. Of course, I took the required picture.

The distance to the railway station in Hechingen proved to be much longer than we had ever imagined. We reached Hechingen and found our way through the town’s streets, but the station was nowhere near.

In the meantime the skies had cleared, there was no trace of those rainy clouds that had threatened with a heavy rain, and the sun was striking down on us.

The walk became tiring due to the hot weather. We started to ask people and luckily, we were heading in the right direction, however, we still had a long way to go.

Hechingen lies on several hills, and the streets were going quite abruptly up and down. We reached the station at 5 pm, after about two hours of walking from the top of the hill, where Hohenzollern Castle is.

If we had known how hard it would be, we’d have waited there for the bus back to the station. We were tired and the only thought on our minds was “BEER”.

Back to Stuttgart, find a “biergarten” and “beer on” the evening. And this is exactly what we did that evening.

We went to a beer garden somewhere behind the station and bought ourselves two 1-litre Dunkel beers to quench our thirst.

We were in a big garden with so many tables, all taken. We chose one of the long tables with only 4 persons at one end, and asked permission to sit at the other end.

It was a joyous atmosphere and beer flowed in cascades. We found some veggie options to eat, a kind of cheese ball with butter and some herbs, some salad with big onion slices, carrots and other veggie stuff and a butter pretzel, of course.

We liked that food so much! This garden was set up in a big park, and children were playing on the grass, by the beer garden.

We beer-ed and enjoyed the atmosphere till later that evening, and then walked home through the city centre, on Konigstrasse.

To be continued (Morning in Stuttgart)...

Day 9 – July 15

We left sometime after 9 o’clock in the morning and walked on Konigstrasse to look for a café.

We stopped at the Market Hall somewhere on the right as we came from Paulinenstrasse, to make our fill of cherries and raspberries, then went to the Palace Square.

We passed by the Jubileum Column and back again on Konigstrasse, by the King’s Building. We wanted to choose a terrace where we could have an energizing morning coffee.

We found a place where the sun cast a shadow over the tables on the street, and ordered our coffee. The waitress didn’t seem too jovial that morning, but what did we care.

It was a beautiful morning, the city centre was nearly deserted, and only two other tables were taken at that café by the subway entrance, across the street from the station.

As we didn’t have a list of coffees available, we just ordered “coffee”, and the glum waitress, visibly indifferent to her customers, brought us two mugs on the table.

Of course, we were expecting an espresso or something similar, in small cups, but no, we were going to have a good ole American coffee.

Good enough. We still enjoyed ourselves, the place, the sunny morning, watched the people coming out from the subway.

It was a beautiful morning and the coffee was a good refresher, nonetheless. When the time came near, we went through the underground and crossed to the station.

There was a food store inside and I went in to buy some water. Through one of the narrow aisles I happened to come across a lady, who said to me in German: “Enschuldigung!”

Given the circumstances, I thought that that meant “Excuse me!” I was then in line at the cashier and this lady was just behind me.

I turned to her and asked in German whether she spoke English. She said “a little”, and then I asked her whether “enschuldigung” meant “excuse me”.

What a bright sunny smile she gave me, confirming that yes, it did mean “excuse me”, or “I am sorry”! That brief exchange was so rewarding.

Not only I had learnt a new German word (and a complicated one!), but I had a pleasant experience to associate it with.

Well, enschuldigung, I got a train to catch and a story to tell!

To be continued (Ludwigsburg)...

Thanks for those posts, I really enjoy reading them. So many details, not just "the usual". The new word you leaned is "Entschuldigung", don't forget the "t".

Oh... entschuldigung for that!

Thank you, logos999!

Ludwigsburg

Photos taken at Ludwigsburg Palace are here

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWGJ

At Stuttgart train station we bought a Happy Weekend (Schone Wochenende) ticket, as from Ludwigsburg we wanted to go to Wurzburg, in another land.

For this reason we had planned to be in Ludwigsburg on a Saturday, and make our trip to Wurzburg the same day. A Happy Weekend ticket is good for travel across Germany at a cost of 30 euros for up to five persons travelling together.

We boarded an “S” train to Ludwigsburg, and after a few stops we were there. We left our luggage in a locker and walked towards the Imperial Palace.

It was a Saturday, 15 July, and that was the day when the Market Square Festival took place.

On various streets, in and around the market square, were stages set up where artists performed, and many food stalls and tables, crowds of people having a good time in the open air, over a beer and a wurst.

It was a joyful atmosphere on that sunny Saturday morning in Ludwigsburg, and we liked it.

As we got nearer and nearer, we could see the palace more and more in all its magnificence. Indeed, Ludwigsburg Palace is one of Europe's largest and most beautiful baroque residences.

We bought our tickets for the guided tours of the Main Palace and the Favourite Palace.

As the tours were scheduled for certain times, we visited other areas and museums within the palace, available without a guided tour.

The first was the Fashion Museum, which was quite good. We were given an audio guide, as it was included with the entry ticket.

The audio tour took us on a journey in the evolution of fashion and courtly clothing for men, women and children, starting with the middle of the 18th century to the end of the 20th century.

When we finished our fashion history travel, the time was up for the guided tour and we joined the group that was formed at the entrance.

When we first came into the inner court of the palace, we saw a wedding going on in front of the Old Main Building. A bride was there and a few vintage cars.

After we finished the visit to the Fashion Museum, we came out in the inner court again, and this time was another wedding, with a different vintage car and a group of well-dressed participants.

We didn’t have time to admire the bride, as we had a tour starting. We climbed a magnificent stair into the Palace Museum.

This palace is a huge art gallery in itself. We kept looking around us at every step we made, we couldn’t help gaping in awe all the time.

Touring the Palace Museum, we had the chance to admire three great periods, Baroque, Rococo and Empire. We were overwhelmed by the beauty and splendour of the works of art inside.

To watch and admire those superb chandeliers, those frescoes on the ceilings, the stucco work, the mirrors, was almost crushing.

Ludwigsburg Palace exceeded any and all our expectations of richness and grandeur, it was a hidden jewel waiting to be discovered.

The palace is surrounded by a splendid Baroque garden, so after this tour we went for a walk around it. We were delighted to see such a superb embroidery, like a lace.

Our next scheduled tour was at the Favorite Palace. We walked on an alley with lovely coloured flowers, and we could see the Baroque façade of the small palace in the background, across a quite busy road.

We had to cross over a walking bridge, then walk on a climbing path. A clock at the door showed that there was still time till the next guided tour, so we went for a walk in the park and forest behind the palace.

This palace was the "favorite" hunting lodge and we could see a large deer park there. A big herd of deer was roaming near the main foot path, showing little fear of humans.

We were so happy to take a few pictures with one of them near us! They were quite cute with their flat antlers, like some spatulas.

We sat on a bench in the shade and took in a little of the park’s greenery and soothing murmur, while looking at the deer grazing peacefully in front of us.

When the time was up, we went to the front door of the palace, to start our tour. We didn’t see anyone there and we thought that we were late.

We went inside and looked around. Behind a counter was a lone lady. We approached her timidly and asked if she knew of any tour that had started or what happened.

She said that she was the one to guide the tour and that there was nobody else joining. So this nice lady took us around for the tour!

We were the only ones, just my wife and I, and we felt privileged. It was like a private, exclusive tour.

We couldn’t believe the lack of interest shown by other tourists present at the main palace, but didn’t care to cross the road and come to see this little jewel.

The Favorite Palace is small, we visited about seven rooms. We saw some beautiful works of art, rich silver and gold covered ribbon work, fine stucco ornaments and pieces of furniture.

Then we returned back to the big palace. We visited Carl Eugen Apartments, another display of splendid interior decorations, furniture and objects of art.

We crossed the inner court to go to the Baroque Gallery, and saw two more brides with their accompanying parties.

The Baroque Gallery in the Old Main Building is a branch of the State Gallery Stuttgart, and presents a collection of Baroque paintings, mainly German and Italian.

We didn’t have enough time to visit the Theatre Museum, as we had to catch a direct train to Wurzburg. We had the Happy Weekend Ticket, so we just collected our luggage from the lockers and boarded the train.

Ludwigsburg is such a beautiful town, with its big infusion of Baroque. It is a thrill for such a small place to have a grand and crushingly superb Imperial Palace like that.

To be continued (Arrival in Wurzburg)...

Thank you, thank you for this wonderful trip report. I am learning much. We will be in southern Germany for only about a week in November. Reading your report is very helpful

Pam

Yes, Thank you so much for this wonderful story! We will be in this area in June 2007 and you have given me many ideas for great side trips! Please continue..

Laurie

Pam and Laurie,

Thank you for your kind appreciation!

I'm so glad that you're enjoying my report and that it is useful to you.